Scanning…

WHAT CAN IT DO FOR ME?

Scanning - the Pro’s and Con’s

Having had a scanning bureau for over a year now I believe that I am in a good position to answer many of the questions associated with this type of Service.

What are the advantages of having your drawings scanned:-

Advantages

Safe and Secure – Drawings once scanned can be placed onto CD’s, Your Server, in the Fire safe, so many copies can exist (even off-site).

Find Fast – Drawings can easily be found and printed out using simple Explorer type searches and cost-effective View/Print Packages. Drawings cannot be lost or filed in the wrong location, thus taking hours to locate.

Regain your Office Space – Drawings take up a fraction of the space. For example 1000+ on a single CD (depends on size of the original and resolution scanned at).

Passing of Information to Customers – with a scanned drawing you can very quickly e-mail the information to your Customer in TIF (Tagged Image File) format or even easier PDF (Adobe Acrobat File) (If/as required). A lot more professional that sending 8 A4 Photocopies via the Fax machine!

Disadvantages

Not Readable!! – A poorly scanned drawing that is incomplete or unreadable is not worth a jot. You may as well have not had the drawing scanned in the first place. This is a big problem when part of the drawing is light and part is dark….getting a good contrast across the drawing when scanned can be difficult.

Find that Drawing!! – Even when scanned, drawings need to be easy to locate. If your whole system relies on the ‘Dusty Drawing Office Manual’, then perhaps you may struggle to locate a particular drawing once scanned.

Plot to Scale!! – Depending on your Viewing and Printing/Plotting software you can have problems.

Drawings on their SIDE!! – If you scan an A0 drawing in a standard A0 Scanner, then it will come out ‘on it’s side’. Unless it is rotated in the Viewing Software. A pain if you just need to quickly read a part of a drawing.

Objections Overcome

How can you get around the disadvantages posed above?

Not Readable – Ensure that the Company doing your drawings guarantees that every drawing is checked as it is scanned.

Find that Drawing!! – If the numbering system you use is not clear then why not ditch it for something more easily understood as your drawings are being scanned. Lets have a chat about your filing system and devise easy ways for everyone to find that elusive drawing.

Plot to Scale – Ensure that the Company doing your drawings gives you proper advice ref your Viewing and Printing/Plotting software and what options are available.

Drawings on their SIDE! – Ensure that the Company doing your drawings rotates the drawings for you before saving onto CD.

Scanning FAQ’s

Ø Q. What format are the files in when I get them back?

A. Normally in .TIF format. These files are compact and can easily be viewed on many Graphics softwares (Imaging etc).

Ø Q. Do I need special software or hardware to view/print from the disks?

A. No a Windows based PC with CD Rom drive and Windows Imaging will view and print TIF Files.

Ø Q. How many documents will fit onto a CD Rom

A. It all depends on the quality of your documents, however as a general rule you can expect to get approximately 20.000 A4 image files on each CD.

Ø Q. Can I put the scanned files onto a network?

A. Yes – this will mean that they are available to all who have access rights to the particular Directory where they are stored.

Ø Q. What if I need to modify the scanned files or add extra files later ?

A. Files can be updated or added by us at any time as required.

Ø Q. Can we copy the CD ourselves? Is there any extra fee to be paid?

A. There is no extra Fee - You can freely copy the disks.

Ø Q. Can I have my documents indexed and put onto a Database?

A. Yes, but before scanning we will discuss your exact requirements and provide you with a sample for approval. There are various options available.

Ø Q. Can you Vectorize/OCR a document or drawing?

A. Yes we can OCR single scanned pages or entire drawings. We would need to discuss this with you and check the quality of the originals.

Ø Q. Can I print a drawing back to its full size?

A. Yes you may print out any size you require, so long as the printer/plotter supports the output size required..

Ø Q. Can I e-mail a scanned file from my PC?

A. Depending upon the e-mail software, documents can be e-mailed via an Attachment and then viewed Printed via Windows Imaging etc.

Ø Q. Can you scan old linen drawings and/or dyeline copies.

A. Yes, but again the scanned file quality depends on the quality of the original.

Ø Q. Can I print out a small section of a drawing/document?

A. Yes you can print out small or large sections the capability of the printer selected is the only restriction.

Ø Q. How easy is it to find the items on the CD?

A. Very straightforward - the images on a disk will normally be made available using the name of the Drawing file and stored with a TIF extension.

Outline of Service

ADVERT ALERT!!!

A Personal Scanning Service…

I can provide you with a Personal Scanning Service and guess what….I always check ‘every’ drawing to ensure it is readable. If not I re-scan, sometimes providing you with two or more copies of the same drawing: These have either an _LT (Lighter) or _DK extension to the filename…thus ensuring that between the drawings you will be able to read all of the important information.

Rotation of Large Drawings…

Drawings are also rotated as required, plus I use Windows Imaging….a Free Package that allows rotation with a minimum overhead. Some Image Viewing Packages increase the size of a drawing quite alarmingly when rotated. Imaging is very good at this.

Advice on Filing Systems…

I can advise you on how you might re-order your naming system to make the drawings more easy to locate using logical Folders/ Directories to help you find particular drawings.

Help with Viewing and Printing Softwares…

Education and Helping my Customers has been the key to my business and it’s success, so I will do my very best to help you get the best Viewing and Plotting/Printing Software (at the very best price – FREE if possible) so that Plot to Scale problems are eliminated.