The Green Sheet 032

ISSN 1476-3842

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Featuring Case Studies from the Health Sector

C -9

Pages 23 - 26

News

Features

Products

Case Studies

People

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advertisers’ index Altek S ystem s............................................................... 31 A n a co m p ....................................................................... 31 Crowley Company

................................................. 12,13

Dass L aboratories.........................................................31 e-lmage D a ta .................................................................19 EDM Group ................................................................... 17 Flora Int

........................................................................ 31

Genus Group

AIIM news

.................................................... 11.21.22

GB P roducts................................................................... 26

13

IBML

................................................................................8

Image Retrieval

CeBIT review

14 -1 5

Indus

..............................................................4

............................................................................. 26

K o d a k ............................................................................. 32

interview with peter smith

16-17

Mercury Visuals

........................................................... 31

M icroV ue........................................................................ 17

feature articles

18-22

M S T C ............................................................................. 31 nextScan......................................................................7,32

case studies - health

New Zealand Microfilm

2 3 -2 6

.............................................. 31

O IT U K ............................................................................. 25

NEWSPLAN

Penny Im a g in g ..............................................................31

27

Upton S e rvice s..............................................................29

people on the move

Western M icrographics................................................. 31

2 8 -2 9

Wicks & Wilson

world news

.............................................................. 5

Zeutschel........................................................................ 15

30

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The educational opportunity

By Simon Stammers UK Sales Director, Anacomp Limited

predict the future; everyone must plan for

and maybe for another decade. For certain

First is that the floppy disk drive is no longer a standard component of the PC. Second is

technological evolution. Sarbanes-Oxley requirements are not a US-only concern,

industries, insurance being the obvious one, retention requirements span many decades.

that several really hefty fines have been handed out in the courts, when companies have not been able to produce the right

with around 200 US-listed European companies having to comply, and an EU

If business managers need to go to Court to protect the assets of the organisation, or

Auditing directive on the way which is predicted to be in some ways more stringent

to defend themselves, how can they

records at the right time. And third is that once Sarbanes-Oxley has really kicked in, the notion of "effective control" will mean that senior managers will have to

than SOX. And real fines, amounting to millions of dollars at a time, cannot be expected to remain an isolated American

demonstrably prove that they are able to access not only key data, but also key

phenomenon. In fact, some European organisations have already identified their

documents down to a very granular level.

inability to retrieve certain documentary

Three things have struck me recently.

Research that we are currently conducting is already indicating a substantial gap amongst European companies between practice and preaching in document

evidence.

O f course, we can recognise the reasons why document and archive management has

management, and it will only require a few

not always been top of the management agenda. Modern fiduciary controls mean

high-profile legal cases on this side of the Atlantic (parallel to clear and present examples from the US) to have everyone

that individuals, teams and companies are now commonly measured on a quarter-by­ quarter basis. For this reason, it has been

scrabbling to set their house in order. Yet doing things in a panic is never the best, nor most cost-efficient, way of proceeding. Well

difficult for managers to invest in a long term document archive. Managers now feel that if there is a document related problem

thought-out document strategies should be

six years from now, they will be long gone and the problem will probably rest with their

demonstrate that these old digital documents, such as e-mails, are authentic?

How can a defence operate if relevant edocuments cannot be found? And worse, what are the implications to a jury of twelve good men and women if the defendant cannot find relevant documents but the plaintiff can?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;....everyone must plan for technological evolution.â&#x20AC;?

In short, a focus on compliance and

successor's successor. Hence organisations are exposed to increasing levels of

legalities has given the document management community a (possibly) unique opportunity to accelerate document issues up

knowledge sharing, and so on - so that corporations are not simply plastering over

document risk.

the corporate agenda. There needs to be

the cracks, but are obtaining measurable value for money and return on investment.

signed contracts, a copy is held by each counterparty. But as there are such large volumes of different types of documents

able to prove tangible benefits throughout an organisation - in risk mitigation, compliance, customer service quality,

This issue fundamentally affects underlying technology choices, especially document capture (scanning) business rules and frequencies, categorisation and indexing, and the requirements for microfilm-digital (conversion) capabilities.

The demise of the floppy disk drive (in favour of read-write CDs and DVDs) provides topical proof of one of the document management community's main mantras - namely that although mid-term electronic storage media are vital, the march of technology often makes electronic media and formats obsolete over time. No-one can

For some document classes, such as

being created, this is not a practical solution for all. It is now common practice to store the documents digitally - either magnetically or optically on the equivalent of a CD. The whole structure of the IT business is based upon change. Even in the last 10 years the software products we use have changed significantly. It is unlikely that an e-document created in the 80's could be read, without modification that affects its authenticity, in a contemporary software product. Yet a raft of digital documents created in the 80's will have authority now

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more discussion and advice put the way of general management about how to judge the point at which microfilm storage should be maintained because of the obsolescence threat. Organisations need to be helped to realise not absolutely everything needs to be stored, nor is rapid access and retrieval always the norm. Compliance, risk mitigation and cost-efficiency can go hand in hand. Finally, a good document and content management solution, whether inhouse or externally hosted, should always aim to bring additional competitive benefits to an organisation through improved knowledge sharing and research efficiency.

For more information visit www. anacomp. co.uk

S C A N N IN G

SCANNING THE JURASSIC COAST W hen a 95 mile stretch o f the Dorset

gained a reputation for its a bility to

The flag banners are to be printed on

and East Devon Coast - the "Jurassic

handle large documents and other objects

spun polyester and displayed on a 48

Coast" - was designated a UNESCO

that are historic, delicate or both. A large

specially designed flagpoles in 6

W orld Heritage site in 2001 the three

form at colour scanner was used to digitise

prominent locations in and around

local councils responsible for the Western

in 24 bit colour and the output sent to

Exmouth. They w ill be unveiled for the first

gatew ay at Exmouth decided to mark the

"print ready" uncompressed TIFF files -

time at the Exmouth Summer Festival

occasion in a highly visible way.

each file was over 7 0 0 megabytes in size!

between 26th - 30th M a y 2005.

Preview Services Limited is a specialist

The councils commissioned local artist Jane W itheridge to create a series of

provider of outsourced document

banners to illustrate aspects o f the geology

management services to businesses and

and palaeontology o f this unique

public organisations o f all sizes. Clients

coastline. Jane worked with GCSE

include m ajor sales and leasing

students from Exmouth Community College

companies, airlines, engineering firms and

to create six stunning silk paint on silk

government agencies.

Based in Hanworth, Middlesex the

artworks measuring 2.0m by 0.9m approxim ately 6 feet six inches by 3 feet.

company operates one of the UK's

The banners represent the three periods of

leading document scanning bureaux and

the Mesozoic Era - Triassic, Jurassic and

is developing innovative and cost saving

Cretaceous - spanning 185 m illion years

solutions fo r document management.

o f Earth history.

Contact: Preview Services Ltd, 1 Mount

Preview Services was called in to assist with scanning the delicate artworks. O ver the past two years, Preview has been asked to take on some highly unusual

Pictured above are two o f the banners designed by Jane Witheridge

Road, Hanworth, M iddlesex TW 13 6AR Tel: +44 (0)20 8 755 5704 Fax: +44 (0)20-8755-5715 or visit: www.previewservices.com

scanning projects and the company has

iim a g e n e t r ie v a l Exclusive Reseller for UK & USA The

Book Scanning Range used for archiving the Gutenburg Bible LA N D O F V IS IO N

llmage Retrieval (UK) Ltd W andle House, Riverside Drive, Mitcham, Surrey CR4 4BU T e l: + 4 4 (0)20 8 2 8 8 1212 e m a il: sales@iiri.co.uk Fax: + 4 4 ( 0 ) 2 0 8251 2001 W eb: www.iiri.co.uk

S C A N N IN G

llmage Retrieval, Inc 3 6 2 0 NJosey Lane, Suite 103, Carrollton TX 7 5 0 0 7 USA T e l: +1 9 7 2 4 9 2 0 9 3 0 email : sales@iiri.com Fax : +1 9 7 2 4 9 2 5 1 2 4 W e b : www.iiri.com

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The difference is in the PERFORMANCE

CS 750 Aperture Card Scanstation •

Up to 750 cards per hour

•

AGI greyscale output

•

High productivity, 24-7

RS300 Roll Film Scanstation •

Up to 325 frames per minute

•

Simultaneous greyscale and iito n a l output

•

FS200 Microfiche Scanstation

High productivity, 24-7

•

Up to 100 frames per minute

•

AGI greyscale output

•

High productivity, 24-7

'Excellence by design' Wicks and Wilson Wicks and Wilson Limited, Morse Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 6PQ, United Kingdom Telephone:+44 (0)1256 842211 Fax:+44 (0)1256 840997 Email: sales@wwl.co.uk Web:w w w .wwl.co.uk

Fujitsu redefines Small Document Scanning New A6 Flatbed Scanner introduced to revolutionise scanning of passports, prescriptions and other Essential Documents Fujitsu announces the launch of the fi-60F A6 document scanner, specifically designed for small format documents. The fi-60F has been created to speed up data capture in

even the smallest desktop.

Integration into industry applications -

The fi-60F simplifies and speeds up processes at the point of sale Incredibly fast, the fi-60F can scan a document in gray-scale in just one second (8 Bit/pixel at 200 dpi), and can produce colour images (24 Bit/pixel at 200dpi) in less than two seconds. The scanner can also handle photos and images of up to 600 dpi.

The speed and tiny size of the scanner (145 x 234 x 40 mm) mean that documents can be scanned immediately in the customers' presence. Employees no longer need to leave the reception or cash desk to scan or copy documents, ensuring that the sale point remains manned at all times.

industries where it is necessary to store information from customer documents, e.g. passports at customs and immigration authorities, prescriptions at doctors surgeries or pharmacies and drivers licenses at car rental agencies. Weighing less than 1kg, and scanning in only a few seconds the tiny fi-60F flatbed scanner is ideal for use on

The fi-60F scanner is also easily integrated into industry solutions - where it can not only save time, but also take the pain out of compliance.

In 2004 the government introduced amendments to the Asylum and Immigration Act 1996. The new provisions under Section 8 include stricter rules regarding the verification of a jobseeker's identity and make it mandatory for employers to check and retain a copy of one of certain documents including passports, ID cards and UK residence permits. For industries that have a high turnover of temporary staff, such as the hotel and catering industry, a fi-

"Skewed" scans are a thing of the past

60F scanner linked to a W ORM (Write Once Read Many) storage solution provides

The user can choose to operate the fi-60F with or without the cover. Regardless of the

a simple and space-saving way to capture the information and comply with legislation.

angle to the edge of the scanner at which documents are placed on the A 6 sized scanning area, the fi-60F automatically aligns the resulting scan and matches it to the actual size of the original document.

Software developers who are interested in integrating the fi-60F into their existing industry solutions should contact Fujitsu by e-mail at: bfortune@uk.fujitsu.com

Best Image Q uality - the " 100% carefree package" Microform GmbH goes for all-inclusive document capturing solutions For Microform GmbH, this year's CeBIT in Hanover was all about all-inclusive solutions. These specialists in document archiving presented their "Best Image Quality" concept, a concept that encompasses the entire capturing process.

Outstanding scanners combined with

you can not only convert documents of all

Roland Reinberger. "We sit down with our

kinds quickly and efficiently to high-quality

customers and discuss every last detail.

Together we draw up the perfect, fully customised solution for their specific field of operation."

images and archive them, you can also edit the scanned images directly during the scanning process in preparation for subsequent processing steps on the basis of non compressed colour image formats.

powerful software to facilitate further processing of the images. But Microform's portfolio also includes consulting, the

Microform's systems as well as training for their users are a matter of course. Even

drawing-up of customised solutions, training, expert installation and

details such as ergonomic workplaces get the full treatment. "Only when every single detail is spot on and our customers are

maintenance of the equipment it markets.

Even the best hardware available isn't

satisfied, can we also be happy with our work", stresses Reinberger.

W ith its enhanced "Best Image Quality" concept, Microform provides complete, efficient and tailor-made capturing solutions for production-oriented service and in-

capable of performing successful and effective archiving of documents entirely on its own. This is why Microform is putting its weight behind its enhanced "Best Image Quality" concept - the all-inclusive solution for the entire capturing process. This concept is still based on the high-quality scanners of the MF S 4 1 5 /4 5 5 and MF S 6 1 5 /6 5 5 families, now in conjunction with the ingenious software from Janich & Klass that is perfectly configured to these units and their users' needs. W ith this system,

S C A N N IN M G

But this isn't the end of the line for Microform's intensive consulting services.

Expert installation and maintenance of

But it doesn't stop there, because there's one thing, in addition to quality and economy, that counts above all else in the eyes of the capturing specialists at Microform: the user. "For us, "Best Image Quality" begins right from the consulting phase", explains Marketing Director,

house applications. In this way, Microform hopes to prove that the combination of experience and innovation produces the best answers to the needs of demanding customers.

Contact: Roland Reinberger, Microform or visit: www.microform.de

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Kodak celebrates 15 years in Digital Document Imaging and regulatory agencies, rely on document

to newer scanners from Kodak," said Irene

numbers that describe the industry

scanners to convert paper documents into

leadership and digital innovation of Kodak Document Imaging Products & Services.

digital images that can be shared and stored electronically via information

Price, executive vice president, West Canadian. "In fact, our 923 has captured

Seventy-seven, fifteen, and one: Three

Seventy-seven years ago, Eastman Kodak Company launched into the document imaging business when George Eastman helped a New York banker with a business problem - handling the increasing volume of cheques. Eastman in 1928 developed a commercial camera and special film - called microfilm - to help the banker capture images of the paper checks. Thus was born document imaging at Kodak.

y

0

'W

Celebrating

Initially, the scanners developed and manufactured by Kodak were high-volume models capable of scanning tens of thousands of pages a day in large, centralised operations. But as information technology has permeated the workplace, more and more companies are turning to distributed scanning environments, using desktop models to scan documents as they are created or received.

Recognising this trend, Kodak is integrating

o Years Kodak

i 300 million images to date."

technology networks. But as business has changed, so have document scanners.

the robust features of its production scanners into lower volume models such as the Kodak

Document Scanners

Fifteen years ago, Kodak became one of the first document imaging companies to launch a digital document scanner - the Kodak IMAGELINK Scanner 900. Designed as a high-volume production scanner for use by companies with large, centralised scanning operations, the Scanner 900 also represented one of the first digital products

ilOO Series Scanners, which the company rolled out in January. The goal, Schwarzl said, is to provide customers with the best document scanners - from high-volume production models to workgroup models with the qualities Kodak has become known for: outstanding paper handling, image quality, simultaneous output capabilities, and, more recently, Perfect Page Scanning with iThresholding.

West Canadian, a Kodak Authorised Imaging Reseller and commercial printer in

by any Kodak product group.

No. 1 is Kodak's current market share position in the mid- and high-volume production scanner segments worldwide, according to market analysts, who further noted that Kodak grew its market share in

Calgary, Canada, was one of Kodak's early

these segments during the past year.

1990s, and it's still running today, right next

"Our rich 77-year heritage 15 of them in digital - serves as the platform for our strategy of

customers.

"We bought one of the original Kodak IMAGELINK Scanner 923s back in the early

Reference Archive Meanwhile, Kodak has applied digital technologies to its original document imaging product - microfilm, which is still considered the medium of choice for the long-term preservation of documents and critical business information. Because electronically stored data can begin to degrade after about seven years, companies and other organisations rely on microfilm to preserve documents for much longer periods of time. To meet this need in a digital world, Kodak rolled out the Kodak Digital Science Document Archive Writer, Model 4800, in 1996. This innovation, which has evolved to today's Kodak i9600 Series Writers, writes digital images to a special archival microfilm developed by Kodak. The Kodak i7300 Scanner can then convert microfilm images back to digital files so they can be shared electronically within an enterprise when needed.

"O ur ability to apply digital technologies to what was once thought to be a purely analogue process again illustrates our industry leadership and digital innovation," Schwarzl said. "And our customers have responded to these innovations as we are recording double-digital sales growth in the archival media used in our digital-to-film writers."

offering the industry's broadest portfolio of document imaging

Quality, Speed, Reliability.

products and services," said Erwin Schwarzl, W orld-W ide General Manager, Kodak Document

nextScan Scanners for Rollfilm or Microfiche

Imaging. "In fact, during the past five years alone, we have launched 56 distinct hardware and software products or product enhancements to help businesses better capture, manage, archive, and deliver their critical business information."

Digital Document Scanners Corporations, including those in the healthcare, financial, transportation and insurance industries, as well as government

Eclipse: Lightning fa st production level rollfilm scanning at 300 pages per minute.

Mercury: Rollfilm scanning at 120 pages per m inute fo r conversion on a tight budget.

Phoenix: A product designed to f i t w ithin the housing o f older SunRise scanners.

Rollfilm at 220 pages per m inute and Microfiche at 125 pages per minute.

Get the superior performance you've always wanted in a scanner instead of the technology you have been forced to accept!

"We are sure nextScan scanners w ill play a key role in our continued growth in the market" Spencer W oolley, MyFamily.ccnn The largest provider o f genealogical data over the Web.

See us at AIIM, booth # 247 nextScan, Eclip se, M ercury and Phoenix ore tradem arks o f nextScon. A ll other com pany and product names ore tradem arks or registered tradem arks of their respective holders.

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nextScan

The Next Generation in Film Scanning Technology 208-514-4000 â&#x20AC;˘ www.nextscan.com

S C A N N IN G

8

Literally drowning in paper SCANNING may provide the necessary life saver The Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) seems to be collapsing under a backlog of 7 million paper documents waiting to be copied, an overflowing flood that is causing the agency to literally drown in paper.

DBPR licenses one out of every 16 Floridians, handling 250,000 new applications and 355,000 renewals a year.

These fall into 200 categories of licenses ranging from auctioneers to professional boxers. About 4 million of the overflow documents involve real estate-related activities.

The backlog - currently crammed into file cabinets and boxes piling up in the basement of DBPR's office building in Tallahassee, the state capitol - hasn't yet affected pending licenses or complaints under investigation.

But, aside from that inevitable possibility, the proliferation of paper creates a safety hazard and a possible documentation nightmare.

Should the building catch fire or be devastated by a hurricane or other natural disaster, there is no backup for the documents, which include personnel files, applications for real estate and other profes­ sional licenses, and copies of legal proceedings and complaints.

Evolution of a storage nightmare How did this situation come about?

Broken microfilm equipment - primarily microfiche cameras - get most of the blame.

Almost unbelievably, there is no money in the department's budget for machine repair.

Until the recent DBPR request for $US 1m to get rid of the 7 million document backlog, state legislators claim they had no idea of how bad things were. Now the DBPR's budget director admits the agency has been operating with an "archaic" system and, therefore, has been unable to keep up with the growing volumes. Critics of DBPR agree on the outmoded system but also point to a recently-completed internal audit that admits a "significant inefficiency" in records management in some of DBPR's divisions.

Legislators suggest that inefficiency and poorly trained staff also contribute to the problem. "There's no tracking of documents.....(the staff) doesn't know what they're supposed to do with files and documents" added one legislator who guessed it could take years to reduce the backlog.

The current situation: looking at scanning Now DBPR is asking the Florida legislature to give it $US 41,000 for a feasibility study to

determine what might be the best document copying system to use. Evidently having pre­ determined that electronic scanning is the route to go, DBPR is also asking for $US 1.3 million to begin purchasing software to do the job. The agency estimates a cost of 14 cents a page (!) to do the conversion, for a total of more than $US 1 million. It hopes to outsource the job and, presumably, ongoing conversions.

How well - or little - the agency has learnt its lesson is open to question. While scanning is clearly a big part of any solution, DBPR is also touting it as a "more permanent solution for storing the records". What happens when down the road some of the documents might have to be retrieved and accessed? Today's software and hardware might be obsolete.

And no mention has been made of a migration programme. A hybrid system scanning now and using converted microfilm (from the electronic images) for long term storage - seems to be worth considering but, based on public statements, DBPR doesn't seem to be aware of such systems. Possibly the feasibility study would bring it to the agency's attention.

The Florida legislature will decide when the new state budget is finalised in May.

H a s y o u r s c a n n in g p l a t f o r m k e p t u p w it h c u r r e n t d o c u m e n t c a p t u r e ?

O ur latest generation of the ImageTracÂŽ Scanning Platform takes document capture to the next level!

By utilizing in-line intelligence to capture a combination of criteria and instigate associated business rules, these new platforms are designed to deliver significant improvements in image definition (create up to 10 images of different profiles in a single pass + file types), OCR/ICR extraction, imprinting, sorting by pocket, redefine document type and discard page.

Combine this enhanced technology with continuous feed, throughput speeds of over 120 -330 A4 dpm and management software that monitors, controls and reports on all usage, interfaces to ail backend applications and you have the best ROI in the industry.

To request a video demonstration on DVD email uksales@ibml.com uksaies@ibml.com

+44 (0) 1483 549818

www.ibml.com

IBML opens UK office IBML brings the latest 'intelligent' scanning platform to the Document Capture market Imaging Business Machines, LLC (IBML),

physical configuration demands (inter­

developer, manufacturer and marketer of the high-speed colour ImageTrac Scanning Platform claims 'top-spot' as the market leader of intelligent document scanning solutions. As they continue to build on this reputation with over 60 units installed in the UK and over 750 worldwide, IBML is , pleased to announce the opening of their new office in the UK.

mixed documents, various paper thicknesses and sizes). ★

Traditional high-end scanners typically have their roots in microfilm cameras and, as such, simply capture an image for post processing with limited ability to adjust the capture process to suit the dynamic profile of the documents.

The Solution

Pictured is the ImageTrac III

★ The ImageTrac Scanning Platform is a suite of products that includes the ImageTrac Scanner and SoftTrac Application Interface. The combination of these products results in a short deployment time; adaptable scanning processes, and significant r eduction in project risk.

The opening of this office and the recent establishment of a facility in central Europe,

Every application presented to the

which houses customer services, help desk, documentation, training and recognition technology development, and the backing of

scanner can be defined as a 'quick load job' profile, adjusting not only the physical scanner settings (right down to

a globally resourced manufacturer, has positioned IBML even better, to bring the

the feeder and transport motor speeds),

proven benefits of intelligent document scanning to the UK Document Capture

but also defining all the image and business rules at the touch of a button.

W ithin each application/job SoftTrac can

market place through the ImageTrac Scanning Platform.

be setup to recognise an inbound document by a pick and mix of criteria ('events') and perform a mix of resulting

The Problem Organisations deal with a wide variety of

'actions'. In other-words the SoftTrac application software applies intelligent

applications, which differ drastically in

business rules:

the business rules they employ, to the

Events: recognise a document by Colour,

★

Dimensions, OCR/ICR, Patch/Bar-code, MICR, Blank page, Doc.-Type (envelope, invoice etc.).

• Action: Image definition (create up to 10 images of different profiles in a single pass (& file types), OCR/ICR extraction, Imprinting, Sorting by pocket, Redefine Doc.-Type, Miss page For the client, intelligence simply means the application can be scanned once and as it comes. The scanner will work out whether you want an archival image a n d /o r a dropout (any colour) image for recognition etc. etc. on the fly. Combine this with throughput speeds of over 100 - 300 A 4 ppm (200-600ipm) and management software that monitors, controls and reports on all usage, interfaces to all backend applications and you have ultimate produc­ tivity and of course all important ROI. Imaging Business Machines provides intelligent scanning technology for the most demanding document imaging applications, including mixed documents of different weights, sizes and compositions. The company's ImageTrac Scanning Platform consists of the ImageTrac scanners, SoftTrac user interface and professional services.

ImageTrac scanners offer front and rear colour image capture, multiple image outputs, barcode, 2D barcode, ICR, MICR and multiple sort pockets. Every day, hundreds of ImageTracs capture millions of colour and bi-tonal images for IBML customers in 26 countries.

Visit www.ibml.com for more information.

EDM first in UK with high capacity scanning EDM will be providing UK businesses

documents in a format automatically tailored

with an increased capacity electronic document management from April due to the forthcoming installation of two

to the specific requirements of each individual client and are four to five times faster than document scanners currently used

ImageTrac IV scanners. As a UK first, EDM

by other electronic document management

will be introducing the new hi-tech scanning

companies.

EDM operations director Karl Jacobie comments: "EDM recognised the need for an intelligent solution which could consistently

machines to its electronic document management capability in A pril following consultation with international scanning technology specialists Imaging Business Machines (IBML).

EDM will offer its clients a competitive and superior electronic document management service enabled by the new high speed scanners each processing up to 330 documents in a minute. The ImageTrac IV scanners have the capacity to scan

manage the high volume of document scanning that is needed to cater for the range of clients and individual requirements.

The company approached IBML who recommended the ImageTrac IV scanners.

"EDM has invested £0.5m to demonstrate that the company is committed to providing its clients with the most efficient and cost-

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effective electronic document management service available on the market. The scanners will enable a substan­ tially increased throughput and a reduction in the cost of production and EDM looks forward to providing clients with this addition to the overall service and continuing to work with IBML to further discover the benefits of innovative document management technology."

S C A N N IN G

Scanning news from W icks and W ilson

Celebrations are called for Wicks and Wilson, the manufacturer and supplier of a most comprehensive range of microfilm scanning/imaging products, have cause to celebrate this month with the manufacture and shipment of their 3000th unit.

A part from manufacturing what they describe as the most advanced and

productive scanners available, Wicks and Wilson attribute their success to their profes­

product improvement", both the reseller and customer can be assured that Wicks and

sional reseller partners around the world, who not only have the ability to demonstrate

Wilson will always be at the leading edge, providing the industry with cost effective,

the products and produce sample scans they also understand the microfilm market and

productive and dependable scanners that provide the answer for the smallest to the

can relate to their customers requirements W ith a company policy of "continuous

largest scanning job where throughput, costs and image quality are all critical factors.

Solution provided for Advanced Total Imaging Advanced Total Imaging Inc, a California service bureau and imaging software house, just completed a significant 16mm microfilm conversion job for a major international tobacco company. The project entailed scanning some 290 million

50 temporary staff. Operating over 3 shifts, seven days per week the project was

and Wilson FS200 microfilm scanners and some thirty high speed paper scanners

delivered on time and within budget.

making them one of the largest conversion service bureaux in the United States.

Commenting, John Knight CEO said that

The RS300 Scanstations, capable of scanning at over 300 frames per minute, ran constantly scanning over 7 million

"scanning 290 million images in such a

Inc. and Wicks and Wilson Limited, ATI sourced fifteen (15) RS300 Wicks and Wilson roll film scanners, 5 servers with

images each day and "never missed a beat".

The final storage requirement was 12

short time frame is no mean feat, we could not afford any down-time or compromise on image quality - it has to be said that

Terabytes. ATI now has the capacity to scan over 6,000,000 frames of microfilm on a

with the performance of the Wicks and Wilson scanners we achieved our

over 45 Terabytes of disk storage and hired

daily basis. In addition ATI has four Wicks

objectives......and made a little profit".

images from 58,000 rolls of microfilm in 41 days. Working in concert with Lason

Sydoc beats deadline... ...w ith a little help from their friends W ith offices and state-of-the art scanning facilities strategically situated throughout Europe, Sydoc (UK) limited, a Dicom Group company, is recognised as one of the premier single source service providers of Information Capture and Transformation Services.

When clients of Sydoc were looking to place a major fiche scanning contract, where legibility of image was paramount, Sydoc had no hesitation in approaching Wicks and Wilson.

Not only was Wicks and Wilson a recognised leader in the field of microfilm and fiche scanning, but the range of equipment offered for the purpose was receiving very positive reviews from across

Trials showed, not only that the speed of

the industry. Specifically, the FS200 fiche scanner appeared to fit the requirement exactly.

As Andrew Chescoe, Professional

the machine was acceptable, but also that the service and support received from Wicks

Services Director at Sydoc explains, "We had to process almost 50,000 customer fiche to a strict timetable and exacting

and Wilson was second to none.

Running two FS200's on a 2-shift system, Sydoc commenced the project on a planned throughput of 4,000 fiche per week,

image quality standards. This left no room for delays or re-scanning - it had to be right

targeted to end by mid-March 2005. Due to the project organisation and reliability of the

first time."

Wicks and Wilson moved swiftly to

equipment, this deadline was bettered by 2 weeks meaning the customer had ample opportunity receive the output and ensure

ensure that an FS200 fiche scanner was available to Sydoc to demonstrate speed and quality of production, backed by the

the quality was as agreed.

Sydoc is headquartered in Switzerland,

availability of Wicks and Wilson technical

with UK offices in Hemel Hempstead, Plymouth and Rotherham plus operations in

staff to ensure that machine setups were optimised.

Italy & Croatia.

For full Wicks and Wilson product details visit www.wwl.co.uk t

S C A N N IN G

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Big plans for Large Format Division Document Management specialist Genus Group is boosting its range of services with the launch of its new Large Format Systems Division - LFSD The division will specialise in providing innovative and costeffective storage and archiving solutions for documents up to AO size. Products sold by the division will include all aspects of large format document management such as : colour and monochrome scanners, digital reprographic systems, plain paper printers, colour inkjet plotters, large format folders, microfilm scanners and document management software.

The markets for these products are engineering companies, architects, consulting engineers, home builders and local councils.

The Genus Group already has many customers in these industry sectors.

Companies and organisations looking for both security and convenience can take advantage of the wide range of service and solutions on offer from Genus.

Large format drawings and plans cannot only be written down to microfilm, which is a virtually indestructible storage format and has a storage life of around 500 years, they can also be scanned into an electronic storage system. Once scanned onto the document management system the drawings can be accessed via the click of a mouse. Storage in this format also allows remote access to vital documents and drawings.

In addition Genus are offering a full range of scanners, plotters, printers and consumables to compliment their large format storage solutions.

SPECIALIST SUPPLIER OF LARGE FORMAT SYSTEMS • Large format paper scanners

Heading up the new division will be Phil Jones, a specialist in

• Plotters

the large format field with 15 years experience with 3M, Imation and DSS in providing document storage solutions for businesses across the UK.

• Copiers

Commenting on the launch of the new division he said: "The Large Format Systems Division is an exciting opportunity for me to bring my knowledge and experience to an already thriving business and to take it forward into a new sector."

• Digital reprographic systems

Phil Jones' appointment was also welcomed by Genus Managing Director Paul Negus who said: "The launch of the Large Format Systems Division marks the beginning of a new and

• Microfilm scanners

exciting chapter for the company. I am sure that under the direction of Phil the division will prove a worthy addition to the group.

"Coming on the back of our most successful financial year since

• Large format folders

we started trading more than 30 years ago, I feel that the new division shows our customers that we will continue to thrive and grow whilst maintaining our commitment to service and quality."

For more information please call us on

For more information on the Genus Large Format Systems Division log onto www.genusit.com/lfsd.

024 7625 4955 or visit

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w w w .g e n u sit.co m /lfsd

12

Kendata enhances bureau service Kendata Peripherals, a leading provider

codes and free text boxes, and when

of data-entry products and services, has significantly enhanced its forms-processing

complete they are returned to the Kendata | bureau for scanning and processing.

bureau service through the use of an inhouse developed software package and by

Automated systems already enable

investing in additional hardware at its Southampton-based facility.

The company's bureau-service clients are typically organisations using short question­ naires to obtain feedback from customers or staff. These questionnaires normally include a combination of check-mark boxes, bar

| number of forms for Q A validation from each batch, thereby ensuring that quality | assurance checks are carried out in accordance with the sampling requirements

Kendata to process thousands of forms in a short period of time, and the company's

of IS02859/BS60QI. After each batch has

Developed by Kendata after years of using commercially available products, the new software minimises the

software, Kendata has invested in additional | equipment, including the Kodak i260

j been scanned, the software prints out two copies of a batch label, identifying the new forms-processing software further improves service levels because it specifically documents selected for Q A and listing any forms in which errors were detected. addresses the needs of the bureau To complement the new forms-processing environment.

need for operator intervention and handles all the decision making when errors such as

I scanner - which features ultrasonic double­ sheet detection - and the latest PC hardware, l7in. and l9in. TFT monitors and DVD writers.

double marking are detected.

As each sheet is scanned, a unique identification number is

The company has also introduced an online response-monitoring facility that enables customers to use a secure area of

printed on it to provide a complete audit trail, which is especially important when

the Kendata website to check how many completed questionnaires have been

dealing with longer survey booklets as they have to be separated into individual sheets prior to scanning.

In addition, the software randomly selects a certain

received each day.

Contact: Kendata Peripherals Ltd. Tel: +44 (0)23 8086 9922 Fax: +44 (0)23 8086 0800 Web: www. kendata. com e-mail: sales@kendata.com

Meeting all your Digital and Micrographic Needs!

PROCESSORS a C CROWLEY company

Toiog; i Q i

A

.

. the

(CROWLEY) \

com pany /

5115 Pegasus Court Suite E Frederick, MD USA 21704 www.CrowleyMicrographics.com (301)631-6825 sales@CrowleyMicrographics.com sales@Mekel.com

S C A N N IN G

Color Film Processors Bitonal M icrofilm Processors

Roll Film Scanners M icrofiche Scanners

CROWLEY M icrographics Archive W riting Archival Preservation M icrofilm ing Services M icrofilm and M icrofiche Digital Scanning Bound Book Scanning Large Format Scanning Aperture Card Scanning M icrofilm Duplication Data Field Indexing

ZEUTSCHEL Book Scanners Planetary Cameras Archive W riter

^Microsystems a©

CROWLEY c o m p a n y

Roll to Roll Duplicators Silver Film Duplicators Vesicular Duplicators Step and Repeat Cameras

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A IIM continued profitable run in 2 0 0 4 Expects breakeven or even better this year AIIM International started the new year on a very bright note, reporting a net profit

handling of electronic documents and records".

for 2004, the association's second straight year in the black after an extended

Where the money came from and went

drought. Pending final audited figures, which will be available in M ay at the group's annual conference and exhibition to be held in Philadelphia, the profit is about $US 300K on total revenues of approximately $US 6.8 million compared to total expenses of $US $6.5 million.

For 2005, AIIM's board of directors approved a break-even operating budget of$ U S 7 .1 million. This does not include investment income, which the association is planning to use to undertake several unspecified initiatives.

John Mancini, AIIM president, proud of the fiscal achievement, said profitability was "no small accomplishment when many associations are facing significant budget shortfalls". He was equally enthusiastic about the association making major progress on "one of our major objectives for the year: educating senior management within user organisations about the compliance risks related to improper

operations.

In 2004 AIIM held an IMX road show in the UK, plus records management and

Meetings (54%) were 2004's biggest source of revenues, followed by advertising

j document management training sessions, a records management conference, and AIIM Europe trade member summit. Elsewhere

and sponsorship (23%), member dues (16%), royalties and other sources (6%).

in Europe AIIM presented or was present at conferences in Sweden, Ireland, Germany,

j

The major expense categories were

Norway and The Netherlands. Similar activities are planned for the UK and

programmes (42%), staff (38%) and nonstaff overhead (20%).

For 2005 AIIM is projecting similar

Europe in 2005.

Combining FblA and SCEF?

breakouts for revenue sources and expense categories. The major revenue differences are expected to be a slight increase in meetings and advertising and sponsorship that will compensate for small anticipated

AIIM International unofficially is reported to be working on merging the

j j

declines in dues, royalties and other sources, Programmes are forecast to cost

and partially subsidised by, AIIM. If the merger is completed it would likely be

slightly more while staff and non-staff overhead expenses should decline.

Approximately three quarters (73%) of budgeted revenues are expected to come from North American operations and the rest (27%) from European operations. AIIM has offices in Silver Spring MD and Worcester UK, respectively, responsible for the North American and European

Film-Based Imaging Association and the Service Company Executives Forum, both of which are now loosely affiliated with,

announced at the AIIM conference in May and then made official at the SCEF annual meeting and exhibition in November. The

j

combined organisation - name to be

J determined - would be absorbed into AIIM j

as a special interest group rather than being independent or semi-independent entities.

a

T

h e

M

C R O W LE Y c o m p any

a c h

IV

Roll film scanning as never done before:

Actual Speed - True fast scan with all processing - speed is never compromised.

300 images per minute at 300 DPI - 600 images per minute with dual output.

No "Adaptive Speed Control" necessary.

True 10 bit image processing - No gamma correction required - full depth of pixels processed. Real time image processing provides 5x the processing speed.

Direct path imaging - Camera, Film and light source all in line.

Advanced adaptive AGC - Handles varying film density in REALTIME across the film.

80 megapixel/second camera - Full 8192 pixel CCD array for highest optical DPI in the industry.

Film Cleaning on the fly -Technology provided by the industry leader HF Processing, also a Crowley Company.

16mm/35mm roll film - 1000 foot roll standard.

Stop in and see The Mach-IV while at AIIM - The Crowley Company is at Booth #1125

The Crowley Company Meeting all of your digital and microfilm needs!

5115 Pegasus Court*Suite E*Frederick*MD*21704* (301) 631 -6825*www.Mekel.com*info@Mekel.com

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A IIM NEW S

/ " ( a D I T A b rief rev iew from H an nover I

I

I

From our European correspondent

Talking to exhibitors during the show it appeared that the number of visitors was up on the previous year. After the show the feeling was not quite as buoyant, with the general feeling that the show was great for talking to existing international dealers but not so good for new end user clients.

This appears to be supported by official post-show figures from the organisers. They talk about an increase in exhibitors from 6109 to 6270 this year. They also talk about 480,000 visitors this year but, interestingly, they do not reveal how this compares with the previous year. Another interesting statistic is that a huge 88% of those 480,000 visitors were trade professionals (a four percent rise on the previous year). This reinforces the feedback we have received

patient files with radiographs can be copied to microfilm.

| scan stations up to payment. Library users profit from Hermes Digital, since they can

For the first time, Zeutschel presented the latest generation of their Omniscan 11

j place their purchase orders by Internet and will receive the scanned newspaper essays

Software (OS 11) with a new highlight, called "Region of lnterest"-Scan (ROI). W ith

j

this feature you are able to work even more

reduced considerably, since the transferred amount of data will be smaller, and the scanner scans only the determined area.

Zeutschel took the opportunity to announce the new ArchiveWriter OP 500 for long-term archiving of digital data. It produces best possible high-resolution microfilms of digital images and documents. So the OP 500 secures the readability of the contents independently of the technological development of hardware and software.

This new product of Zeutschel is primarily focussed to archives and libraries, to guarantee long term preser­ vation for digital files. The ArchiveWriter can also be used by Banks, Insurance Companies, Authorities and Hospitals. Text documents, e-mails, CAD data and complete

C eB IT R EVIEW

j KIP stand. As well as being a very

J

interesting new aperture card scanner, it also exhibited a unique new tie up with the i KIP 1100. By packaging the Microbox and

j

SMA were showing their popular SMA 105 and SMA 51 digital to microfilm writers. The SMA 105 produces 105 x 148mm fiche with either 98 or 288 frames and the SMA 51 produces both 16mm and 35mm microfilm on the one unit. The other

follows:-

announcements made at AIIM this year so Wicks and Wilson need watching carefully.

Microbox had their relatively new Microscan 400 Aperture Card scanner on show on the

digital A 2 printer.

product areas. A brief round up of the microfilm and document scanner exhibitors

top of the range aperture card scanner. It appears that there will be new product

library is able to cash up directly with the end consumer.

demonstrate a seamless Aperture Card

microfilm scanning and digital to microfilm

microfiche were exhibiting their ever popular RS300 16/35m m roll film scanner, the FS200 fiche/jacket scanner and the CS750

j

j KIP 1100 together they were able to

However there were some new microfilm product releases at CeBIT which is positive for the industry. These tended to be in the

manufacture a complete product line for scanning aperture cards, roll film and

payment, Zeutschel has established a prepaid-system in Hermes Digital, so that the

productivity with small originals. The required time for a scanning operation is

that it is O.K. as a place to meet your trade dealers but not so good for new end users.

Wicks and Wilson, the only company who

digital copies can be delivered coloured, black and white or with grayscale. For

efficiently, since the field of work of the scanner is reduced to a desired dimension (for example from total AO-format of the scanner to A3-format of the document). Thus the ROI driver clearly provides a better

or book chapters quickly and uncomplicated by e-mail. Depending on the request the

j advantage of the SMA 51 is that it uses ; conventional 16mm and 35mm silver Another new product introduced for the fair was the microfilm camera system Omnia j camera film. This keeps the on-going production costs much lower. SMA were also OK 400. All kind of media like newspapers, showing some brand new products in the books and maps can be filmed even more easily and conveniently. The control panel of the OK 400 has a graphic touch-screen surface. The user navigates directly on the screen and he is led through the individual menus with the help of the graphic user interface. Furthermore the newly integrated book cradle system OT 180 H 35 offers a high operator convenience and productivity

form of digital microfilm readers. The idea with these is that you look at the film digitally (rather than through an analogue reader) and then you can choose to print or save.

SMA

due to an integrated automatic lowering system and a book-conserving mode of

revealed a new

operation with a stepless contact pressure for books up to a thickness of 35 cm. There

development on their

is optimal leg room for the user with a comfortable sitting position. The National Library of Buckeburg is acting as a pilot customer for the Omnia OK 400. The system has been used there since December 2004 and is being subjected to substantial testing.

Last but not least Zeutschel presented the new electronic document delivery service Hermes Digital. Hermes Digital is a service designed specifically for libraries and it supports all processes concerning the electronic document delivery: from the recording of incoming purchase orders to the distribution of the orders to all sorts of

A 0/A 1 scanners at CeBIT which can now scan' without the need for the book/document to be pressed against a glass screen. The glass screen still comes with the scanners but now you have a choice of whether you wish to use it or not. Also announced at CeBIT was an improved version of the SMA 32 A3 scanner. The new version will be available soon with a 600dpi scan in 4 seconds.

Kodak had a number of new products on show in both the microfilm and document scanner arenas. On the microfilm side was

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15

the nextScan Mercury 16/35m m scanner

departmental scanners should turn some

those who already have an i800 scanner.

which Kodak previewed at CeBIT and will be sold and serviced exclusively by Kodak in Europe and Greater Asia Region. Some

heads. They are designed to fit between the i3 0 /4 0 and the i2 5 0 /2 6 0 in Kodak's scanner range. Shape-wise they resemble

For the newly introduced, i600 series the CSM's were quite exhaustive including

key features included a USB 2.0 interface

the i2 5 0 /2 6 0 but with a smaller footprint i

and can take anything from business card size to A3 size

120ipm for 16mm film and 80ipm for 35mm film. It also has dual stream scanning \

documents with a very

producing both grayscale and bi-tonal images at the same time with no reduction

useful unique double feed detection system.

allowing it to be easily used on the clients PC (the Eclipse model has a built in PC) and Fusion software. Realistic speeds are

in scanning speed. It is due for release in the j summer. Kodak distribute all of the nextScan I Inc products exclusively in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

On the document scanner side Kodak had the brand new i 150 (simplex) and i 160 ] (duplex) scanners that were launched at CeBIT. These scanners are manufactured exclusively by Kodak and scan at a very respectable 40ppm (landscape) and 80ipm

Thrown in with the above prices are PerfectPage and i-thresholding software, to allow de-skew, cropping and fully dynamic image enhancement, giving Kodak some very competitive new scanner models.

On the production scanner side Kodak launched the new Customer Satisfaction Modules (CSM) at CeBIT. For the i800 series

(landscape i 160). In portrait these speeds reduce to 32ppm and 64ipm respectively. At

scanners (only the i820 and i840) the CSM's include grayscale image output, i-thresh­

a list price of Euro 3795.00 for the i 150 and Euro 4495.00 for the i 160 these

olding and PerfectPage. These are now downloadable from the Kodak web site for

additional flexibility for the adjustable elevator feeder positions for increased productivity so the feeder can home at 100, 250 or 500 positions. This means that the user now can save time by setting the optimal start position Also on the i600 range is Auto Colour Detect (ACD), which enables the scanner to automatically differentiate between colour and B&W documents. The ACD learning mechanism makes it very easy to adjust the colour threshold automatically. This results in a controlled image output, where images are only in colour when the document is in colour. This obviously reduces file sizes and means that patch cards in many cases are not required.

The final enhancement is an ultrasonic detector with 3 different settings that can all be set independently to avoid unnecessary scanner stoppage in very specific circum­ stances.

Cool Technology -

If you want to keep a cool head when securely archiving precious cultural artifacts and documents, talk to us. We have been provi­ ding state-of-the-art solutions since 1961, and offer complete digital and analog systems for scanning and microfilm technology.

Zeutschel, the future of the past.

Distributed in USA by:

Distributed in United Kingdom by:

M r Christopher W. Crowley,

Mr Brian Graham, BEST-TEC Ltd.,

CR O W LEY M icrographics, Inc.

Venture House, Arlington Square,

5115 Pegasus Court - Suite E,

Downshire Way, Bracknell,

Frederick, Maryland 21704, USA

Berkshire, RG12 1WA, Great Britain.

Phone: (301) 631 6825

Phone: 07000 - 785368

Fax: (301)631 9466

Fax: 0 20 - 7691 9661

info@crowleymicrographics.com

info@best-tec.ltd.uk

www.crowleymicrographics.com

www.best-tec.ltd.uk

ZEUTSCHEL Zeutschel G m bH • H eerw eg 2 • 7 2 0 7 0 Tubingen Tel.: (0 7 0 71) 9 7 0 6 - 0 • Fax: (0 7 0 71) 9 7 0 6 44 info@ zeutschei.de

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www.zeutschel.de

C eB IT REVIEW

6

EDM - Bringing the debate to the table The EDM Group was the name on everyone's lips in the UK last year; as the independent company pioneering electronic document management for UK businesses. Bringing the document management debate to the table, EDM has been active in communicating the need for businesses to consider efficient ways to manage and access their documents. EDM is a company on a mission to progress innovative ways o f affordable and efficient electronic document management as companies increasingly struggle to manage and physically store legally required documents.

It appears that this mission is certainly not falling on deaf ears as EDM can boast new client take-ons including Canada Life, NFU Mutual, Lloyds TSB, Kwikfit and Companies House. With contracts ranging from £50,000 to £2million and ambitious growth plans for the company, which include taking on at least 50 new staff over the next year and increasing turnover from the current £22million to around £30million in the next 12 months, how is the group intending to build upon recent success and maintain its position as the UK's leading provider o f electronic document management?

Here, EDM Chief Executive Peter Smith discusses the group's strategic vision for growth and development with GS editor, Tim Nixon, and how electronic document management must now be a top priority on every company's agenda.

TN: You are, currently, facing a changing marketplace - how do you intend to proceed from here?

TN: So what are you actively doing about promoting the outsourcing options?

PS: Yes, indeed, the market for electronic document management is

PS: I predict that demand in the corporate market for electronic document management will soon be extremely high and that is why EDM is developing a long term document management format

in a real state of flux at the moment and the EDM Group is feeling very positive about this situation. We have seen substantial development in terms of market growth in addition to a wider awareness of the service and we are certainly anticipating steady market expansion, which is good news not only for the industry but also for businesses looking to address their document management needs.

A t the inception of the company the strategic vision of EDM was based upon the clear growth opportunities available within the document management sector and since the initial acquisitions of Storwave and MBS Group in March 2004 which formed the EDM Group and the subsequent acquisition of AMI - The Advance Group in August 2004 which established the company as the largest independent document management company in the UK, we have been working hard to ensure that the foundations are firmly in place for EDM's continued growth and success in the market.

O ur strategy has certainly grown to accommodate the changing pace of the market, in particular to accommodate the size of contracts that we are now seeing. Traditionally, contracts might typically be in the range of £10,000 to £200,000 mark and we are now aware of contracts worth £6 or £7 million, which is an exciting reality for the market. In anticipation of this sudden growth we have been actively driving the business forward to build upon the original objectives in addition to identifying the gaps in the market for larger businesses and their electronic document

which will deliver a solution and pricing model based on a longerterm three to five year contract. As a key platform for our own business development and growth, this solution will ensure that there is an efficient and cost-effective outsourcing option available in the market. The storage and retrieval of paper files is increasingly becoming an issue, particularly within large organi­ sations, so the need for the services that the EDM Group provides will become more and more acute over the coming years. We are also investing in cutting edge technology, such as two new ImageTrac IV scanners, to enable us to continue to improve our service and help clients across a range of different market sectors achieve increased efficiency in their businesses.

TN: Do you offer tailor-made solutions to your clients?

PS: We always look at the specific needs of individual businesses and work alongside clients to understand exactly what it is they require in terms of service, for example - document collection and digital conversion, online hosting and viewing or onsite document recycling - we create a bespoke solution which meets a business' individual objectives and maximises its performance. And it is by taking these bespoke solutions to develop new services and solutions that EDM is also growing organically through each new client take on.

In addition to the development of bespoke solutions, the cross

management needs.

Initially we were winning small one-off contracts for businesses looking to transform their existing document management into an

selling of services across the EDM Group also provides an essential growth platform as the company moves forward. Working closely with clients to identify potential opportunities for businesses to

electronic system. Having enjoyed success in this area of the market we recognise that the service can be even more beneficial for larger

maximise investment in electronic document management, EDM sees the bigger picture for clients rather than delivering a quick 'in and out' at the'point of installation.

companies looking to completely overhaul and outsource their electronic document management.

IN T E R V IE W

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TN: EDM is where it is today entirely on the back of an acquisition trail - do you intend to continue this policy or are you now going to rest on your laurels?

ACCESS

PS: We are certainly not going to become complacent, as the business goes from strength to strength, we are constantly seeking opportunities to continue the buy-and-build strategy and we are currently looking at a number of businesses for future acquisition.

Ongoing expansion through the development of the four main regional offices will see EDM build on its national presence through major sites in the South East, South West, Midlands and the North.

TN: So would it be fair to describe the future for EDM as "Onwards and Upwards"

PS: I believe so. EDM has always seen the very real need to promote debate around the document management industry, simply because we have such a strong belief in the benefits that the service can deliver for any size of business. As the market continues to grow, I strongly encourage businesses to place document management as an issue high on the agenda. For many businesses,

The key to

a more efficient business...

EDM is the market leader in electronic document management and specialises in converting your hard copy documents into easily accessible, fast and efficient information stored on EDM online.

failure to investigate the electronic document management solutions

Effective electronic document management impacts on your bottom line and increases your

that are available could be extremely costly, considering the competitive advantage that it brings to the daily administration and

competitive advantage. Make the right choice and unlock the potential of your business.

delivery of a business service.

EDM

TN: Well, thank you Peter for your time, and I must say that it is a refreshing change to talk with someone who is so positive about the future.

Leaders in Electronic Document Management

PS: Thank you it was a pleasure, and remember to let your readers

EDM G roup Limited Woden Road Wolverhampton W V10 OAY

know that we are in the job of making the paperless office a reality, and in doing that we will endeavour to encourage businesses to join the discussion on how electronic document management

T 01902 459 907

F 01902 351 243

www.theedmgroup.co.uk

improves both productivity and efficiency.

EDM Group enjoys record quarter Following on from the above interview the latest quarter figures from EDM have been published and appear to bear out the

Commenting on the business wins, Smith said: "We are delighted with the response

The EDM Group has won £4m worth of

we have had to the new company which was formed following the acquisition of three of the market leaders in the industry.

new business and taken on 30 new staff in the past 3 months since the company was formed following a series of takeover

We have streamlined the organisation and are already building a strong brand and reputation within the electronic document

deals.

management sector which has been borne

optimism of CEO, Peter Smith

mu h e

taking on at least 50 new staff over the next year and increasing turnover from the current £22m to around £30m in the next 12 months.

Of 16 mm and 35 mm

For further information, please contact: Tel: +972-4-6062171 Fax: +972-4-6062168 e-mail: info@microvue.co.ii web: www.microvue.co.il

Smith expects this trend to continue and has ambitious growth plans for the company going forward which include

MANUFACTURERS

PRODUCTS

MicroVue Products

out by the impressive client wins."

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IN T E R V IE W

Creating "Trusted Systems" helps preserve records State of California leads the way with a system that can be applicable to any vital records programme.

by Kevin FitzGerald - President, Cynrede Inc. State law in California stipulates that state and local governments protect public records by using "trusted systems". The state further stipulates that all records be maintained in such "trusted systems" if they are to be considered as evidence in California courts.

That raises a big and important question: W hat are "trusted systems"? In general the term refers to systems which are necessary to preserve public and evidentiary information. They are made up of a combination of techniques, policies and procedures that guarantee a document retrieved from, or reproduced by, the system cannot differ substantially from the document that was originally stored.

The principle of - and need for - trusted systems is growing in the private sector as well as in government. Business-critical records continue to increase at an accelerating rate. According to Gartner, an internationally known information consulting firm, and other sources, records that (1) contain fixed content, (2) are compliance regulated, and (3) have a high business value are expanding at a rate of 12% annually. This means that there are between 122 and 240 billion business critical records throughout the world, including between 53 and 100 billion such records in the United States alone.

A snowballing records world Compliance requirements and regulations worldwide are accelerating the growth and retention life of records. Until recently the accepted practice for managing businesscritical records has been to capture paper records through scanning and then merging the scanned records with electronic records (e-records) into content management systems. There are enormous benefits to such procedures, but also drawbacks. These drawbacks are generally associated with preserving and maintaining the integrity of the information over long periods of time, usually more than 15 years.

Conventional wisdom has been that a backup is adequate to protect needed information. However, most backup systems have been designed to make a copy of magnetic storage, not to assure that the integrity and permanence of records is maintained.

FEATURE ARTICLE

Enter the idea of "trusted systems" which is now moving from being just a conceptual term to an implemented strategy followed by more and more private companies in addition to government entities.

Characteristics of "Trusted Systems" Trusted systems accurately reproduce the record (paper or electronic) and will not permit additions, deletions or alterations to the record. In addition, records preserved under trusted systems have very specific characteristics: Authenticity. An authentic record is what it purports to be. It also includes the name of the record creator and indicates the time when the record was created.

Reliability. A reliable record can be trusted to be a full and accurate represen­ tation of a transaction, an activity, or a fact.

Integrity. The record is trusted to be complete and unaltered.

Usability. The record has to be capable of being easily located, retrieved, presented and interpreted.

When trusted systems are created, several copies of the records are made and it's important where these copies are kept.

Typically, one copy should exist near the source of the original record(s) and be accessible like the original record for which it is a stand-in. If anything should happen to disable an organisation's content/records management system, the trusted system copy will provide for business continuity as well as be legally admissible.

A second reproduction (copy) should be maintained in a separate and safe location.

In case the original record and the local reproduction copy can't be accessed or used, this second security reproduction copy, which has to be easily accessible, is fail-safe protection.

Various media for Trusted Systems The processes for maintaining trustworthy records are generally the same for both e-records and paper records. However, e-records present a special challenge in creating trusted systems. The multiple sources of data and forms used to create a record may permit additions, deletions or alterations to the e-records, bringing the credibility of the record into question. In a

trusted system, the completed record is captured, thus preserving the actual record.

Consequently, Enterprise Report Management Software and Open Document Management Integration tools provide the basic components for capturing e-records to be used within trusted systems.

There are many media used to create trusted systems. Paper continues to be the most common medium but it has the drawback of not allowing for the preser­ vation of electronic records unless every record is printed. Keeping this drawback in mind makes Optical disk (OD) and microfilm systems attractive and cost-effective alternatives to paper storage.

The OD alternatives A wide variety of OD systems are available to meet different needs. Ultra density optical (UDO) systems are suitable for medium-term record storage since they have a life expectancy (LE) rating of up to 50 years, based on test standards currently being proposed by the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

The story with CD-ROM isn't as good.

Although they also are optical disks, the life expectancy of CD-ROM media can vary from manufacturer to manufacturer as can the quality. Therefore, CD-ROM may not be suitable for medium-term record storage.

Even with that caveat, OD systems have many advantages. Generally, information is recorded digitally onto Write-Once Read Many (WORM) disks that will not permit additions, deletions or alterations to the records going into a trusted system. WORM disks have capacities ranging from 700 MB (CD-ROM) to 30 GB (UDO).

Advantages of OD systems include the ability to integrate OD drives and libraries (jukeboxes) directly into computer networks, thus making information available on-line.

The density of OD media, especially UDO, makes storage and access of information very efficient. Finally, OD media are easily replicated, allowing for offsite storage in a separate and safe location.

Still there are major disadvantages with OD. First, for retention purposes care must be given to separate long-term records from permanent records. When the time comes to destroy the long-term records, the entire disk

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19 must be destroyed since in a trusted system records cannot be erased. The remaining permanent records and other records not set for destruction must be transferred to another disk.

for retaining both long-term and permanent records. The microfilm also can be easily replicated, allowing for storage of information in multiple locations.

information. As software changes, the OD information must be migrated to assure that

of OD are positives for microfilm in connection with creating trusted systems.

W ith proper planning, long-term and permanent records can be batched and

the information continues to be an accurate reproduction of the information. This

maintained on separate rolls of microfilm (one roll of microfilm will hold about 300

migration is a special and expensive problem with electronic records.

MB of information as opposed to 30 GB on UDO). The separate rolls of film can be destroyed in accordance with record retention policies without having to go back

The microfilm alternative Microfilm is another medium that can meet trusted systems requirements. Using the process of document archive writing (going from digital originals to microfilm copies) works well. Under this process, machinereadable electronic information is converted to visible analogue images and recorded optically onto film. The analogue images accurately reproduce the record (paper or

and transfer any information to differentiate between long-term and permanent records.

A special advantage for microfilm in a trusted system is that microfilm images are analogue and require no special machinery or computer code to read the images. In a pinch, a simple magnifying lens can be used to view the images. But, perhaps most importantly, with microfilm as a storage medium there are no migration requirements

electronic) and will not permit additions, deletions or alterations.

Index information can be archived onto the film as well as added back to the content management system's index, allowing for easy retrieval of specific images. Most microfilm today has an LE rating of 500 years, when created and stored under

because of software or hardware changes.

Microfilm does have its disadvantages.

Due to its lower storage density, more space is required to store images. Also, microfilm is generally an off-line or, at best, a near­ line system. Once an operator loads the film onto a scanner, images can be sent to the

specified conditions. This makes it suitable

intervention.

General rules

Interestingly, many of the disadvantages

Second, OD requires specialised hardware and software to read the

desktop, but this requires some manual

Users must keep in mind that any media used in a trusted system needs to be inspected on a regular basis. If the medium is deteriorating, the information must be replicated again to preserve the content.

ISO and ANSI (American National Standards Institute) standards, as well as recommended procedures, have been established for storage conditions and inspection requirements for each medium, including paper.

As business-critical records grow within an organisation, the people charged with maintaining and securing those records should include a trusted system as a key strategy for protecting long-term and permanent records. Using the State of California's example in creating a trusted system can be the way to protect valuable information and insure that records are admissible as evidence as well as to meet the increasing numbers of compliance requirements.

Kevin FitzGerald is president of Cynrede Inc., a records and electronic document management consultancy in Laguna Hills, California. He can be reached by e-mail at kfitzgerald@cyn rede, com

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20

Compliance:

W hat do w e need to do? ,

,

Doug Miles Marketing Manager for AIIM Europe attempts to answer the question Businesses today face a number of challenges. Content is increasing by, depending on which source you consult, somewhere between 45% and 200% per year. Most of this content is unstructured such as emails, letters, reports, web content, rich media.

W hat have we been doing to tackle burgeoning information volumes? We've super-sized; we've bought a bigger PC, a bigger fileserver, a bigger mail server. Has this provided a solution? In short, no!

Throwing technology at the problem arbitrarily, installing stovepipe solutions, simply makes the operational information

ARMA (American Records Management Association), published earlier this year highlighted the scale of the problem. 41% of respondents said that electronic records were not included in their records management programmes. 47% said that "IT" is not represented in the formulation of records management programmes and 59% did not

The latest Compliance Report from the analyst company Butler Group cites the

supposed to contain - it's right. (c) Authenticity - proving it is what it

following examples of the business effects: ★ The estimate of Fortune 500 companies

purports to be - it's source or origin can be reliably demonstrated

★

Sarbanes Oxley, Basel II are about regulating corporate compliance and disclosure. More than that, though, such legislation has highlighted the need to have more effective control of corporate information and the ability to evidence that control. We need to consider compliance in the broadest sense; to think about compliance as a strategic enabler to performance and a means of minimising risk and creating transparency. Too many organisations, however, do not connect their ability to demonstrate sound governance practices with their strategy (if, indeed they

facing an average of 125 non-frivolous lawsuits at any given time for which they

(d) Accessibility - knowing you can find it and deliver it as required.

have to locate information to operational decisions.

Don't think of compliance as a cost

One Fortune 500 company had to spend US$750,000 to locate e-mails from an archive in response to a subpoena for discovery.

★

The Sarbanes Oxley Act and "Euro SOx", the European equivalent currently in development, caused consternation among senior executives and within the Financial Sector in particular. We know that IFRS, IAS,

In the US, companies have been fined between US$10 million and US$100 million for not having adequate

Consider a wider viewpoint - the "Total Cost of Failure" just in the same way as you consider the "Total Cost of Ownership" when considering a major asset purchase.

Compliance failure can lead to the bankruptcy of the organisation, imprisonment

In the UK we have seen fines for similar

of the CEO or other officers, substantial fines or substantial unbudgeted costs (e.g. the cost of finding all relevant information to defend a legal action).

issues ranging from £1.2 million, to £2 million

An example may help make the point. In the case of responding to a court or

Understand compliance needs and make them part of the process

regulator, what is the Total Cost of Failure if your company:

Achieving compliance is not a project it's a process. If you build the needs of

★

compliance into your organisational policies, procedures and processes, compliance is an outcome, not an overlay. It's not just about email, it's about all media - paper, email, web content, instant messaging, voicemail,

★

information retrieval procedures ★

audio (e.g. call centre transactions) and

have one) for managing documents and records.

video (e.g. ATM transactions) - you need a policy to decide which of these are business records which need to be managed and

Consider this: It is believed that 60% of business information is now conveyed on email. Emails now number in billions per

which are not. This does not mean that everything should be kept - especially if there's no requirement to do so. Retaining

year, yet most organisations do not capture email as part of their corporate record.

Research, undertaken by Cohasset Associates in conjunction with AIIM International and

and cost you money. Information has to be managed and disposed of strategically.'

FEATURE ARTICLE

about having records you can TRUST. Trust in this context means: (a) Integrity - proving it's never been altered since it was created (b) Accuracy - proving it contains what it is

international corporate arena - Enron, W orld Com, Parmalat - have raised the issue of governance (internal reporting) as well as corporate compliance (external regulations).

the scope, scale and diversity of your operations, the likelihood of litigation and the nature of the regulatory environment. It's

have a formal policy regarding record retention practices for email.

problem larger, less streamlined, more unwieldy, and significantly, better able to conceal fraudulent activity than before.

Scandals, which have occurred in the

management. The level of risk depends on the type of organisation and its complexity,

information can sometimes increase your risk

Compliance management is about risk

Fails to have a plan in place in advance of the request for information?

Fails to have policies telling employees what to do, or not do, in the context of electronic discovery?

★

Fails to have technology available to help garner and produce the information?

For one seemingly simple request for "all potentially relevant evidence" come numerous sources of hard and soft euros "Total Cost of Failure" costs including: ★ ★

Search and retrieval costs Inconvenience of additional regulator or court scrutiny

★

Diminution in productivity

★

Potential loss of reputation

★

Resulting loss of business

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★

Software or hardware needed to access or unearth the records.

★

Employee time lost.

★

Lost opportunity costs

The next layer in the pyramid is the Information, the resource required to enable activity. Most of this is unstructured. And the lowest layer in the pyramid is the System,

★

Expert's fee for data recovery

which must be the foundation that supports

★

Lawyers review time

the upper layers.

Potential economic and non economic

This means that to derive value from people and from information, organisations

★

damage of losing the legal matter ★

Loss of use of computers, servers, and networks during the search

★

Inconvenience for staff

★

Decline in employee moral and

★

productivity Penalties for delay or destruction of

I

evidence The good news is that taking control of your organisation's records will most likely reduce costs, improve efficiency and enhance customer service. It will also protect your organisation. Protecting against the unwarranted actions of an employee or against false claims from a customer or supplier.

There's also a governance perspective.

Even if there's not a statutory or regulatory requirement it can improve the brand reputation, increase shareholder value and enhance the standing of the employees and the organisation. Fewer management failures means better business.

Leveraging the Power of Technology Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions allow you to derive value from both the people in your organisation and the information. It allows for collaboration, cost reduction, compliance and business continuity.

Think of the organisation as a pyramid.

The Customer is on top. The Business Processes, which encapsulate the means of providing our service to the customer, form a layer underneath this.

The Activities, the operations we carry out to enact business processes, sit underneath.

need to ensure that the technology it invests in sits underneath the "pyramid" and supports the layers in the current formation as well as the formation that the organi­

exceptions. Every employee must understand the importance and the implications of failing to implement and maintain it.

AIIM represents the Information Management community as the global association for both users and suppliers of Enterprise Content Management (ECM) solutions - the strategies, services and technologies which enable organisations to capture, manage, store, preserve and deliver information to support business

processes.

AIIM is a not-for-profit organisation with sation requires in the future. There are a great number of good solution providers out j a mandate to ensure that users and suppliers have opportunities to become better there, but they need to understand your connected and have broad access to the "pyramid". Only then will you ensure that knowledge, skills, advice and support you have a good foundation.

Any solution needs to be based on good policies Recognise that there is a technology/

necessary to tackle the evolving challenges of Information Management successfully.

AIIM's key objectives are to provide:

policy cycle. Policies need to change to reflect changing technology. You need to be able to find records electronically in a cost

★

Executive Networking

★

Market Education

★

Industry Advocacy

effective way. There is a need to mesh compliance needs with privacy obligations,

★

Professional Development

concerns and issues. Protecting organisa­ tional information is critical when it can so easily be moved, copied or published electronically. Any compliance strategy needs to accommodate disaster recovery planning and the need for continuity.

Compliance is about people, process and technology. It's not about products or suppliers.

The compliance message and the organi­ sations commitment to getting it right needs to ooze from the top down. Executive responsibility is key. The programme needs proper funding, clear policies and procedures, and thorough documentation.

Teamwork and effective delegation are critical to success. Top to bottom ownership is essential.

There must be regular communications of

There is often a significant discrepancy between the definition of Business Processes

its importance at all levels from the CEO through the executive to line managers in each business unit. It must apply to all

understood by managers, and the reality of

employees, all business units - no

Information Nation - the Seven Keys to Information Management Compliance by Randolph Kahn and Barclay Blair and is published by AIIM and is available online at www.aiim.org.uk. It sets out "Seven Keys" for you to tackle: - Good policies and procedures - Executive level programme responsibility - Proper delegation of roles and activities - Effective communication and training - Auditing and monitoring - Effective and consistent enforcement - Continuous programme improvement Doug has worked for 25 years in marketing and technical management for both large and small IT companies.

An early pioneer o f document and drawing management systems, he has also worked extensively with manufac­ turing ERP and CRM. Doug is currently the marketing manager for content management association AIIM Europe.

the tasks performed by users.

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FEATURE ARTICLE

22

Can IT Reverse the Outsourcing Flow?

Jonathan Symons, UK MD of document management and data capture specialist, ITESOFT looks at why some companies outsource, and how appropriate IT can be an alternative

Overseas outsourcing providers have enjoyed a boom in business over recent years, utilising growing ranks of relatively low cost employees especially for tasks such as processing large volumes of paperwork such as invoices and purchase orders.

There's no surprise as to why companies are outsourcing: a recent study by the Institute of Management and Administration revealed that invoice-processing costs have risen 37% in the past four years alone. The same study showed that Accounts Payable (A/P) staffs are shrinking, being reduced by 34% from 2001 to 2003. So less people must process more work, in an environment where per-page processing costs are skyrocketing.

Low labour costs allows outsourcing firms to offer a comparative cost advantage, but outsourcing to gain the advantages of these lower costs also carries the risk of inferior service quality, compared with keeping processing in-house.

New automatic document management and processing technology is being evangelised as a viable alternative to such outsourcing of paperwork. According to Atos KPMG Consulting there is a growing awareness amongst UK business leaders that automation can present an attractive option compared with outsourcing. The keynote address at the Consultancy 2004 Shared Services Week stated clearly that technology can deliver cost savings in line with those

achievable in low labour cost markets.

Let's take a closer look at how the right document processing solution can be deployed as an outsourcing alternative, and the benefits that it can deliver.

Most of today's document processing applications are used to create efficiencies in individual processes such as invoice and cheque processing. According to a Byline Research study, nine out of ten invoices are still paper, taking, on average, twelve days before the invoice is processed and paid.

This process involves many people, and so is prone to errors, inefficiencies and even fraud. Invoices can be lost, or paid twice whilst purchase order (PO) and delivery note reconciliation remains problematic. A single piece of paper misplaced can create a diversion which slows manual processing across an entire department.

For each invoice received, there may be numerous disparate bits of paper that relate to that transaction simply floating around the company. This information must be collated to increase the productivity of the A /P staff, while ensuring earlier trapping of errors and speedier resolution of anomalies, reduce overall cost of administration, faster turnaround time for transactions and closer financial management based on more reliable information. All of these issues require a tremendous investment in manpower - hence the attraction of cheaper

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overseas labour.

Capturing savings However, deploying automatic document management and data capture software with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology just in the area of invoice processing can deliver a substantial boost to efficiency, and defiver ongoing cost savings

FEATURE ARTICLE

A document processing solution of this kind is able to read and capture the key information from nearly 100% of all incoming invoices - in turn freeing up valued

The paper chase

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while maintaining in-house service quality.

and often overworked A /P staff, enabling them to focus on other business needs. It also presents a real alternative to paperwork outsourcing.

In a recent survey of customers, ITESOFT discovered cost reductions of 50% after implementing its ITESOFT.FreeMind for Invoices solution. The biggest savings were made in the validation step due to automatic matching of invoices with purchase orders and delivery notes. For example, one customer, Kiabi, slashed its weekly keying-in time by five hours, while another customer, Saint Gobain, was able to re-deploy four out of seven A /P staff due to savings in time spent processing invoices manually.

Customers also experienced an improvement in cycle times of approximately 50%. General Electric reduced overall invoice processing time from 18.6 to 4.6 days, and reduced their overall cost per invoice from 8.66 euros to 3.55 euros - a 60% cost reduction, and a very real and ongoing return on investment.

In conclusion The cost-benefit calculations for outsourcing are based on straightforward calculations in terms on manpower needed, and costs per document handled. Document processing technology is able to demonstrate real, long-term savings in both of these parameters, by dramatically reducing the amount of manual intervention typically required. This in turn has knock-on benefits in reducing errors and improving cycle times. What's more, these solutions can deliver ROI typically within six months of deployment.

So for those companies that are considering taking the "leap of faith" that outsourcing requires, the ability of automatic document processing to deliver real cost savings and increase service quality will be welcome news.

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CASE STUDIES We have always carried 'Case Studies' in The Green Sheet, but as a new departure we are targeting certain industry sectors. To begin with we are aiming specifically at Health. All types of commercial organisations need good document management and need to be able to store and retrieve records efficiently, but in no industry sector is this more important than in when dealing with patient records, which can literally be a matter of life and death.

For future reference the forthcoming subjects for 'Case Studies' will be "Finance" in June, "Local and Central Government" in August, "General Commerce and Industry" in October and we will finish off the year in the December issue with "The Public Sector" which will incorporate education and the utilities etc.

Medical Record Processing streamlined and Patient Care improved Situation The Walter Reed Health Care System

this type of value-added information but lacked a mechanism to easily update the

provides comprehensive health care for more than 150,000 soldiers, other service members, family members and retirees in

system.

the National Capital Area. Its hub is Walter Reed Army Medical Centre, the clinical centre of gravity of American military

residents can no longer work longer than 80 hours per week, fitting in the educational,

medicine, based in Washington D.C. Dr. Marc DiFazio is head of the Pediatric Neurology department at W alter Reed Army Medical Centre. As chief of his division, Dr. DiFazio's primary responsibilities include patient care, training of residents in their track toward becoming doctors, and general performance improvement for his division of the medical centre.

Handling the daily administration of his department requires the use and management of vast amounts of paperbased documentation, such as patient charts and records, as well as research materials for training. This documentation was housed

Second, with residency programmes placed under the strict constraint that

research-oriented component of their instruction became increasingly difficult. Dr. DiFazio sought to find a method to "short cut" the research time and speed the residency evaluation process. He determined that his department required a document­ scanning solution with easy-to-use document management software to better organise all the information that can be appended to an EMR. Solution Dr. DiFazio turned to Kofax's Capio

such as invoices, legal or medical records, receipts, o r any other paper items that can clutter a worker's desktop. Using Kofax' proprietary VRS (VirtualReScan) technology to improve both image quality and OCR (optical character recognition) accuracy, Capio delivers unmatched image quality and eliminates the need to rescan document images because of its automatic check for and adjustment of alignment (skew), brightness, contrast or image-clarity inconsistencies.

Capio provides Dr. DiFazio with a means to electronically archive the paperwork that is generated from quarterly reviews of hospital residents and staff, thereby stream­ lining the review process, improving their efficiency through easier access to information, and dramatically reducing research time that can further impact a

software to optimise the storage, retrieval and processing of patient medical records,

resident's already hectic schedule.

as well as add elements that are traditionally

Results W ith Capio serving as his document

in many filing cabinets, where residents

capture solution, Dr. DiFazio is able to significantly improve patient care, especially

would search for and pull records to find the proper information.

in demonstrating trends in a patient's care.

Now, processing patient forms is greatly

Challenge Dr. DiFazio wanted to address two operational concerns that were affecting his department, both pertaining to the handling

simplified due to the search capabilities (e.g., keyword searches) that are available because the data is in electronic form.

of paper documents.

First, patients at Walter Reed Army

Also, Capio enables Dr. DiFazio to maintain a more efficient data processing

Medical Centre have an electronic medical

infrastructure and reduce the amount of physical storage space required to house the large volumes of patient records at the hospital - both critical elements in a medical environment.

record (EMR) that details the care that is provided at the hospital and is accessible at all other military medical facilities after their stay.

W ith the pervasiveness of the Internet and the access it gives to medical journals, photos and graphics, and other electronic content regarding patient care, Dr. DiFazio wanted to append his patients' EMRs with

difficult to include, such as detailed graphics and photos, relevant articles from medical journals, patients' written comments (mostly handwritten or contained within emails), and any other materials that can be scanned.

Capio enables users to quickly and easily scan, store, search and retrieve documents,

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Contact: Kofax, 16245 Laguna Canyon Rd. Irvine, CA 92618-3603 U.S.A. Tel: 949-727-1733 Fax: 949-727-3144 E-mail: info@kofax.co.ul<

CASE STUDIES

OITUK in the UK Health Sector Most NHS sites (Trusts) hold patient related data in a variety of ways using differing media, eg. paper, microform, and

OITUK can provide the relevant calls to enable the Trust's developers to interrogate

Oracle, using ODBC, at North Stafford Combined NHS Trust, two-way integration

and use the contents of the neutral table to

digital. Although some areas have

access images as well as automatically send

with Sybase at Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust, integration with MS SQL at Swindon &

introduced bespoke databases allowing storage and audit the majority rely on more

documents into the EDM system. This

Marlborough NHS Trust, etc. The OITUK

approach does not rely on any other thirdparty software (API/DLL calls) and is

solutions also support native-mode connec­ tivity with SQL databases.

therefore fully flexible between the two systems. The benefit of the neutral table is

It is important to note that the EDMS technology provides a compound document

that neither party has to learn about tables in the other system; the integration is at a

repository that can be shared amongst many departments, to unify the document

high level. The neutral table approach has been used successfully at many sites, both in

repository and provide access to the Integrated Patient Record:

when required. This practice has resulted in falling standards for timely filing of patient

the public and private sectors.

The OITUK DocFinity EDM system will

Integrated Patient Record

related documentation in the patient's acute medical record; increasing risk and

manage a multi-object document repository

traditional means. It is currently very difficult, if not impossible, to identify exactly what information may be held on a given patient. Some departments compile their own copy of patient's records, specific to their department's needs, with the prime objective of having information to hand

disadvantaging patients and clinicians.

that can be accessed via third-party system, allowing, for example, users to access

Hospital data systems hold a wealth of patient related information; yet data entry is

document images from within the third-party screens. However, this basic image enabling

duplicated on a routine daily basis as secretaries have no facility to directly

is just one example of the integration between the two systems. A more robust,

populate MS W ord documents. Using Information Technology (IT) in this area

two-way integration may potentially include the following:

alone would deliver real benefits to secretarial staff and improve data quality.

a. Index validation and population in EDM particularly relevant for indexing

Advances in IT have paved the way to providing a central Electronic Document Management (EDM), delivering measurable

b. Update status flags in third-party systems, to record availability of scanned

benefits, in real time. EDM systems facilitate the electronic transfer and storage of documents ensuring high levels of security and audit. EDM is, however, a much greater asset than simply an electronic filing system.

OITUK continue to work closely with NHS users to develop and provide integrated solutions, using EDM as the underlying technology and the basis for a number of applications within NHS sites.

Systems Integration r^ .

a O ptical image

A

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documents;

documents; c. Auto-import and indexing of electronic documents created in third-party systems - completed/signed documents;

Integrated Electronic Patient Record.

The approach is based on the use of "neutral tables." Following scanning and indexing in EDM, document records are placed in a neutral table that can be accessed from the client's desktop systems.

CASE STUDIES

containing many different document types and formats:

e. Third-party systems will benefit from Hierarchical Storage Management provided by EDM - this will provide (practically) unlimited storage capacity for document retrieval within third-party systems; f. Information/data updates between the

in PAS can be used to pre-fetch documents from EDM so that they are available online to clinicians. This can be

systems provides the basis for robust, twoway integration, as a first step towards

disparate departments and allow users to access it from one application. The patient record is no longer just the digitised paper file, but a complex compound folder

d. Image retrieval - directly via the EDM viewer or via results lists generated within third-party systems;

two systems, in real time, to maximise data integrity, using (for example) HL7; g. Pre-fetching - scheduled visits registered

The open architecture employed within OITUK solutions and a number of third-party

A key benefit of integrated EDM systems is to pull together patient information from

extended to relaying requests for document scanning if the required documents have not been imaged;

Patient information need not be limited to digitised documents, but a combination of patient data from one or more third-party data sources and digital documents. The OITUK Customised Patient Record simulates the physical Casenote using colour-coded tabs to make it easier to navigate through the compound folders:

h. Security - adherence to the security rules in the two systems, to protect data; i. Distribution of digitised records subject to rules within third-party systems; j. Potential integration with systems that generate lab results, for direct access to electronic data.

*

As examples, we have integrated with

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25

Giving NHS Records Management the profile it deserves Nowhere does Records M anagem ent have

enlisted the assistance o f Document

such a high profile as it does in the

Management Specialists Cave Tab pic.

"Early in 1999 - after several months

N ational Health Service. W ith the prospect of ever increasing litigation, and •

software packages is quick and easy.

A lan Bampton continues: "Filetracker and Alchem y packages have proved to be

o f planning with Cave Tab - two new 'live'

robust and reliable. W hilst barcoding is

executives being held personally

record libraries and an archive store were

considered by some to be 'old technology'

responsible for shortcomings, locating the

established. Files were housed in colour

it has been proven to w ork - and w ork

correct patient record w ithin an

coded folders and barcoded to facilitate

efficiently.

acceptable time frame is not only a

tracking using Cave Tab File Tracking

measure o f good service, but also an

Software.

"W e are now planning to increase our capabilities even further, with a target of

The implementation of these filing and

operational requirement.

delivering any requested record to its

A highly pro-active approach to this

tracking systems - and the use o f Cave

situation is evident in the Cam bridge and

Tab storage equipment for archiving -

fact, we are achieving a service much in

Ely areas where the A nglia Support

significantly improved the Records

excess o f this with most records being

Partnership is providing a comprehensive

Management service being provided.

available fo r use w ithin 4 8 hours.

destination w ithin five w orking days. In

Records Management service to around

In 200 0 , the system was expanded to

ten organisations including Primary Care

cover more users in the South o f the area

systems recommended and supplied by

Trusts, Social Services Departments and

resulting in the establishment of a further

Cave Tab has enabled us to vastly

also to NHS Direct.

two 'live 1 libraries with an additional

improve the service to medical and

3 0 0 ,0 0 0 records to track.

support staff and to achieve space and

Records Management for the A nglia Support Partnership is under the direction

"In summary, implementation o f the

The capability o f the system was

cost savings by moving record storage o ff

of A lan Bampton w ho is based at its

subsequently extended to handle a

main operational sites."

headquarters in Huntingdon. M r Bampton

further 1 3 0 ,0 0 0 records in the North of

takes up the story: "Some six o r seven

the area and at this point Cave Tab

years ago, external auditors were critical

introduced Alchem y document

o f the clinical records management in the

management software. Alchem y is Open

Contact: Anita Chapman, Cave Tab pic, 1 Sovereign Court, Round Spinney, Northampton NN3 8RH Tel: 01604 798 555 Fax: 01604 798 524 www.cavetab.co.uk

area and the service organisation o f the

Database Compatible which means that

day - Lifespan Healthcare NHS Trust -

development and integration with other

I s n ’ t it

t i me

you

found

out

about

OIT UK’s Total Solution ClOGO for Document Management?

D o c F i n i t y

Optical Image Technology UK provides:

AX. Migration to web-based and portal based business

A^ Improvement and enhancement to current business streams A

Scalability to address corporate/enterprise needs

A\ The product suite to meet all aspects of enterprise COLD/ERM, document imaging,workflow, Internet access, hierarchical storage management (HSM), print/fax server and enhanced data mining

Av Assured service levels

User benefits include dramatic cost savings, increased productivity, disaster recovery, increased audit and control, reduced paper handling and process efficiencies.

b e y o n d th e

Content P o rta l^ Imaging! * EDM HSM Workflow i XML F o r m s ^ ^ C O L D / F ic h e ^ ^ H i

O I T U K LTD Member of the Genus Group

A^i. Operational efficiency Standardisation

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Hammond Close • Nuneaton • Warwickshire • CV11 6RV • U.K. Telephone (024) 7625 4940 • Facsimile (024) 7638 2319 E-mail sales@oituk.com • Web-Site www.oituk.com

CASE STUDIES

New standards set in clinical trial data capture Electronic data capture specialist DRS

the processing o f data, the resolution of

The ICR package supplied by DRS is an

has been w orking with one o f the worlds

any data queries, the completion time of

advanced automated data capture

leading women's health diagnostic

the medical studies and, ultimately, the

solution designed to electronically capture

companies, Unipath to streamline and set

timeline o f future product releases.

new standards in the data capture of

"It is vital to be able to turnaround

many styles o f inform ation, from machine o r hand print through to tick-boxes, signatures and barcodes. It uses Intelligent

external clinical trial data. Using

clinical trial data quickly and effectively

advanced data capture technology, study

whilst m aintaining 100% accuracy. The

Character Recognition software to extract,

sites from across Europe and the US

DRS solution w ill allow us to manage data

verify, process and record large volumes

simply fax their results to Unipath and the

coming in from multiple studies running

o f inform ation quickly, accurately and

data is autom atically imaged, captured

simultaneously, both more easily and

securely.

and validated (aw aiting operator verifi­

almost instantaneously." Commented Dr

cation) before being exported to a

Simon A laluf, Clinical Evaluations

as one o f the w orld's leading women's

database for analysis.

M anager, Unipath Ltd. "W e envisage that

health diagnostic companies. Developing

the DRS system w ill continue as an

innovative leading edge products, Unipath

technology to collect data for over six

integral part o f the data collection

invests heavily in extensive consumer

years and the ICR (Intelligent Character

mechanism fo r our clinical studies."

Unipath has been using DRS

Recognition) solution provides a unique

The solution provides Unipath w ith a

Formed in 1984 Unipath is recognised

research and technical development and, as a result, it continues to set new

and cost-effective solution that it could rely

cost-effective mechanism to increase the

benchmarks

on to collect the clinical trial data quickly.

speed at w hich the data is transferred and

w ithin the industry. Its simple, reliable tests

Before moving to an automated solution

captured, reducing the need fo r manual

have enabled healthcare professionals

the vast geographical spread o f the trials

data entry. The package supplied by DRS

around the w orld to improve the quality of

resulted in the data being batched

also includes all software integration,

patient care with rapid and accurate

together and sent weekly, which w ould not

training, hardw are support and TELEform

diagnosis.

only delay analysis but it w ould also affect

software.

S u p e r C a r r e l M ic r o f il m R e a d e r

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£1 million contract to help access the UK's most fragile Local Newspapers The

NEWS ect

Kodak supplying 314 readers and 156 reader-scanners...

The award of a £1 million contract to Kodak by the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project will assist those like Bill Oddie, Sue Johnston, Jeremy Clarkson, and Ian Hislop who spent 2004 researching their family trees on the BBC TV's programme "W ho Do You Think You Are?" Since 2000 the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project has been preserving over 1,300 local newspaper titles that are in serious danger of destruction because of their fragile condition.

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is a unique partnership between the Heritage Lottery Fund, the regional newspaper industry of the UK, and libraries across all parts of the UK to save the text of the country's most fragile and rare local newspapers.

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is preserving and improving access to local newspaper titles in urgent peril from deterio­ ration in every part of the UK, from County Down to Cardiff, from Glasgow to Cornwall, and from Cumbria to Kent, extending from 1780 to 1950. This massive task of preser­ vation has involved the microfilming of over 40,000 volumes of local newspapers preserving 21 million pages of text. The microfilm of the newspapers is supplied to public libraries and archives in the local areas served by the newspaper title.

The award of a £1 million contract to Kodak is for the supply of microfilm reading equipment to allow library users to read and printout copies from the microfilm produced

by NEWSPLAN 2000.

From the early 1830s onwards

newspapers become fragile because elements in the paper on which they are printed react with the atmosphere causing acidification. This process is accelerated when combined with heavy usage. Left in this condition, newspapers will disintegrate and perish. To arrest this decline, the NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is preserving local newspapers on archival-quality microfilm, the internationally accepted preservation standard, which has a life of at least 500 years.

The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project has also improved access for the public to local newspapers across the whole of the UK by making the microfilmed text available in local libraries in the areas served by each newspaper, and by supplying libraries with microfilm readers and reader-printers to improve access both for existing users and for new users.

Dr Ann Matheson, Chairman of The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project, warmly

manufacturer, Kodak is delighted to have been chosen as the equipment supplier for such a prestigious project," said Frank Drummond, National Sales Manager "It underlines the continuing importance of microfilm as the document preservation medium of choice."

BACKGROUND The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project The NEWSPLAN 2000 Project is a preservation and access initiative to preserve local newspaper titles from all parts of the UK by microfilming them to archival-quality preservation standards. Microfilming to this standard also provides a foundation for subsequent digitisation of the text.

The NEWSPLAN Programme The NEWSPLAN Programme was established in the mid-1980s as a UK-wide

welcomed the award to Kodak: "This is a

regional initiative, supported by the British Library, to examine the condition of local newspapers across the UK. Each Region of England, along with Northern Ireland,

marvellous day for local newspapers. Now, with the assistance of the Heritage Lottery

Scotland and Wales, has its own NEWSPLAN Committee, comprising

Fund and the UK newspaper industry, and the efforts of libraries across the UK, we are confident that a priceless part of our history

librarians, users and representatives of the newspaper industry. Reports for each Region

is being saved and can be accessed for the use and enjoyment of all our citizens."

Kodak's Document Imaging division will be supplying 314 microfilm readers and 156 reader-scanners to over 150 locations in the UK between now and the end of March 2005. "W ith a heritage of over 75 years as the World's leading microfilm

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of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales have been published over the decade from the mid-1 980s to the mid-1 990s.

The Heritage Lottery Fund The Heritage Lottery Fund provides financial support for the protection and enhancement of our heritage, of local, regional or national importance, for the benefit of communities throughout the UK.

NEW SPLA N

EXPANDS The unique underground records management company, DeepStore has recruited two new members of staff to its growing team.

Sam Chesnais joins as Regional Sales Manager with responsibility for London and

Manager.

University's Bodleian Library, hospitals,

In addition DeepStore has made two key promotions. Kevin Matthams will take on the

police forces and private businesses.

position of Regional Sales Manager for the North West while Christine Falder becomes

the South East. Previously an Account Manager at Iron Mountain, Sam has seven

Public Sector Business Development Manager. Both were key members of the DeepStore team that in 2003 successfully

years experience in the records management industry.

won The National Archives BS5454 storage contract which saw the transfer of 130,000

James Noblett has been appointed as Operations and Services Manager for

assets from Kew to DeepStore.

DeepStore and is responsible for all aspects of the operation to ensure that DeepStore's

DeepStore is an underground storage and document management facility located 500 ft below the Cheshire countryside in the

customers receive the highest possible level of service. James joins from Christian

void space of Winsford Rock Salt Mine. It is the only facility of its kind in the UK. Clients

Salvesen Logistics where he was Operations

include The National Archives, Oxford

Pictured from left to rig h t are:- Kevin Matthams, Sam Chesnais, Christine N alder and James N oblett

For further information about DeepStore please visit www.deepstore.com

Jeff Turner leaves industry.

Microfilm industry veteran Jeff Turner, who represented Intellicoat in western half of the

United States, has left the duplicating film firm and is believed to have taken a

position outside the imaging industry. He is succeed by Dave Teller.

IBML names Ashley Keil business development m anager for the UK Imaging Business Machines, LLC (IBML) has named Ashley Keil to the position of business development manager for the United Kingdom. Ashley comes to IBML with over 14 years of IT sales and business development experience in Europe.

"Ashley's track record and ability to build a business around a market opportunity has impressed us at IBML and we are eager to have him do the same for IBML in the EMEA market. O ur goals are aggressive for the UK and EMEA in general and we are making the necessary investments to ensure our

success. The first step of this plan was the establishment of

Before joining IBML Keil spent 15 years with the Bell & Howell Corporation where he

IBML's office in Konstanz, Germany which

acquired experience in their Micromedia and Scanner Division. His most recent responsibility 30was EMEA business

houses customer

manager for the scanner division. Keil has

services, help desk, documen­

also helped develop business for software companies and acted as a consultant to the document management services sector.

tation, training and recognition technology development," said Robert Sbrissa, Vice President for W orldwide Sales and Marketing.

Keil has a computer science degree from Oxpens Oxford UK. He is an avid windsurfer and skier and resides in Midhurst, England with his wife and son.

N ew U.S. Archivist named Dr. Allen Weinstein, a professor of history, was sworn in on February 16 as the ninth Archivist of the United States. As Archivist he will oversee the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the independent federal agency charged with preserving and making available the permanently valuable records of the federal government.

PEOPLE

Weinstein replaces John Carlin who

tration wanted to replace Carlin.

served since 1995 and was originally nominated by former President Bill Clinton.

According to ARMA International, archival groups said they were not consulted

The US Archivist's term in office is unlimited and Carlin had indicated he intended to

about the nomination, as has been the custom previously. Several archival groups, including the Society of American Archivists,

serve until July 2005. However it appears the Bush administration wanted him to leave since late 2003. To date, no explanatiorf has been given as to why the Bush adminis­

questioned Weinstein's qualifications to be US Archivist, as well as whether his nomination was politically motivated.

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29

nextScan fortifies Executive M anagem ent Team nextScan recently announced the addition of Shashi Rattan as General Manager. Mr. Rattan brings with him over 20 years experience in all facets of high technology executive management, including Engineering, Operations, Sales and Marketing. Mr. Rattan will lead nextScan forward in its product development efforts and further market penetration initiatives for 2005 and beyond.

Said Kurt Breish, Founder and CIO of nextScan, "Shashi brings with him a deep knowledge of the film scanning industry that is directly relevant to the work we are doing

at nextScan today. Coming from such a rounded background, he is a perfect fit to lead the nextScan team and I trust his vast

Engineering, Mr. Rattan was instrumental in the creation of a suite of image processing

experience is going to take nextScan to the next level of success. I am excited to know

hardware and image enhancement applications that enabled film scanners to run at far faster speeds than if solely run by

that his expertise behind the quality that nextScan delivers will ensure this standard

the processing capabilities of the average PC at the time. As the first International

of quality never falters."

Previously a co-founder of Sunrise Imaging, Mr. Rattan served in various roles

Sales Manager, Mr. Rattan's efforts increased overall revenue by 35%. Prior to

during his 15 years with the company.

These included Director of Engineering and Manufacturing and International Sales and

this, all revenue was generated in the US only. Mr. Rattan holds a BSc in Electrical Engineering and a Masters in Computer Aided Design of Engineering Systems from

Marketing Manager. As Director of

London University, UK.

Kopald joins Advanced Business Technologies Ken Kopald, well known in the imaging and micrographics industries and former chairman of the Film-based Imaging Association, has joined Advanced Business

Technologies (ABT) where he assumes the responsibility for sales and marketing. ABT offers its software solution WebXpress, an

inter/intra/extranet application. It has been implemented by major firms like Martin Marietta, Verizon Wireless and Radio Flier

ASP document and content management repository service.

to manage and provide global access to millions of critical imaging documents.

Unlike existing server-based enterprise solutions, WebXpress is a browser based

WebXpress is sold through resellers and VARs.

SERVICES F or All your GAF/A arque/X idex 1635 N eeds, S ales, S ervice, Spares, R epairs and R ebuilds.

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IF WHAT YOU REQUIRE IS NOT LISTED PLEASE CONTACT US FOR AVAILABILITY PLUS E x t e n s iv e s t o c k s o f n e w a n d s e c o n d h a n d sp a r e p a r t s W e o f f e r a f u l l w o r k sh o p r e p a ir s e r v ic e f o r C a n o n F il e + F il e m a st e r c a m e r a h e a d s C ontact

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UPTON SERVICES (Micrographics) Ltd 14 MARINE DRIVE • OGMORE BY SEA • VALE OF GLAMORGAN • CF32 OPJ • UNITED KINGDOM TEL: +44 (0)1656-881071 Web Addresses:

FAX: +44 (0)1656-881072

w w w . u p t o n s e r y i c e s . c o i n w ww.visitekusa.com Email: saIes@uptonservices.com

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PEOPLE

fro m a ro u n d th e W orld DocuWare keeps growing Larger solutions add to turnover Integrated Document Management (IDM) specialist DocuWare

been amplified since the beginning of this year.

22% growth in Germany

year includes the Bahamas Court of Appeal (Bahamas), Cherry (Germany), Illinois

has been able to

W ith 3.2 million, the overall turnover exceeded results from the first half year 2003 by 4%, after adjusting for currency

Senate (U.S.), Kapsch (Austria), Stanniol (Austria), Suzuki Motors (Spain), Unilever (U.S.) and Volkswagen de Mexico (Mexico).

fluctuations this number is 7.3%. The German territory saw a turnover of 1.7

DocuWare 4.6a, an enhanced version of the current programme with extended

million, an increase of 22%, while the U.S. market could enhance this by 3.4% with a

records management functionalities, will be distributed in the third quarter of 2004.

turnover of 1.5 million. In global terms, the software company generated a project

And, furthermore, the IDM pioneer is already propelling the development of the next DocuWare generation.

increase business in the second quarter, based on a trend towards larger installations. Turnover in Germany increased by 22% for the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2003.

DocuWare Group has been on the road to success for five years now. Backed by an enormous market potential - a represen­ tative industry survey in 2003 showed that 13% of German enterprises are planning to introduce a document management system

turnover of approximately

15 million.

A total of 337 new customers were

to prepare their companies for the future.

acquired (previous year: 365) during the first half of the year. The growth in turnover combined with the decrease in new instal­

IDM specialist DocuWare has fortified its investment in Research & Development, and

lations by 8% reflects a trend towards largescale installations. The list of well-known

the Sales and Marketing departments have

companies that decided in favour of a

DocuWare solution in the first half of the

Contact: DocuWare A G , Christine Schroeter, Therese-Giehse-Platz 2, 82110 Germering, Germany Tel: +49 (0189-89 44 33-54 Fax: +49 (0)89-841 99 66 Email: christine. schroeter@docuware. com

TiS wraps up successful 2 0 0 5 Spanish Conference 200 customers, partners and prospects attended the event.

Top Image Systems (TiS) has announced the successful wrap-up of its 2005 International Conference held in Barcelona, Spain, for the company's customers and strategic business partners.

The highlight of the conference was the launch of eFLOW Version 3.0, the latest version of TiS's leading software, eFLOW Unified Content Platform. eFLOW, an originally designed platform, streamlines the entire flow of any document type, in any format and from any source, and integrates it into any enterprise system (SAP, Oracle, etc.) to provide customers with a single endto-end solution.

TiS has also introduced Smart, the newest module for unstructured documents and for Mailroom Classification. Smart is able to sort the incoming information,

W O R L D NEW S

classify all documents, automatically recognise and extract the data from

In the conference, TIS customers and partners had the opportunity to share

documents, apply the organisation's business rules, validate the data, and

knowledge and experience in implementing TIS' robust solution, eFLOW Unified Content

seamlessly deliver these data to back-end enterprise systems.

Platform, in various applications, including mailroom and automated accounts payable processes, from capture to approval.

The 2005 International Conference drew almost 200 participants from various business segments. The guests came from over 20 countries around the world,

at TIS, said: "It was a great pleasure to meet our worldwide customers and

Dr. Ido Schechter, Chief Executive Officer

including USA, Canada, France, Germany, South Africa, India, UK, Singapore,

partners. We had planned a very compre­ hensive, informative, and enjoyable

Thailand, Australia, Brazil, Venezuela, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Czech Republic,

experience for our guests. We all enjoyed the sessions presented by customers and

Japan, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Belgium, Hungary, Ireland, Slovenia, Switzerland and Croatia.

partners from Accenture, Recall, Xerox, AGFA, Atos Origin, HMSL and other

Also attending the conference were several market specialists, who provided ,

prestigious corporations, who shared their experiences with implementation of eFLOW in diverse applications. We received

substantial information about the market, future developments, and areas of focus.

particular satisfaction from our guests' positive feedback to eFLOW Version 3.0.

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Rates are £ 3 5 ($63) per insertion with a lim it of 25 words. Each additional 25 words or fraction are £ 3 5 ^ ($63). There is an additional £ 1 0 ($18) charge for the use of Box number. For display (boxed) ads add £ 2 0 ($36). To place a classified ad, send copy to Micrographics Marketing Ltd, 65 Winchester Drive, Burbage, Leic LE10 2 BA UK, or fax it to + 4 4 (0) 24 7638 2 3 19 or Email it to tim@green-sheet.net.

DASS LABORATORIES LTD

0121 550 3518 Anacomp CD/DVD & Online Document Solutions Document Scanning and Data Conversion Microfiche/Microfilm Services, Systems and Supplies Print Equipment & Maintenance Tel: + 4 4 (0) 118 93616 00 Email: info@anacomp.co.uk

www.anacomp.co.uk

All types of Hi-speed Microfilm and Document Scanners, Analog & Digital Reader/Printers, Cameras & Processors, Duplicators. Wholesale Prices.

Please call for other requests.

Fax us your list of surplus equipment SPECIAL OFFERS Kodak 923D Scanners (5 off) Excellent condition $5,800 each SunRise & Mekel Film Scanners starting at $8500 complete Kodak Archive Writer WE BUY USED EQUIPMENT Fax: 858 268 0592, Tel: 858 278 5501 (U.S.) WESTERN MICROGRAPHICS SYSTEMS, INC. www.westernmicrographicsimaging.com

METHYLENE BLUE TESTS:

Outsource your Microfilm Scanning and Indexing Your document Scanning and Indexing at: Floro International Corporation 500 Carlos Palanca Street San Miguel, Manila Philippines 1001 Tel no: +63-2-735-0001 Fax no: +63-2-734-9458 Email: floro@floro-intl.com florointl@skyinet.net Website: www.floro-intl.com

TECHNOLOGY TO RUN SERVICE BUREAUS Process automation and workflow development to get your projects running efficiently, with improved quality.

Batch processing and customized programming for the industry. www.pennleimaging.com outsourcing@ pennieimaging.com

Required for all “archival” microfilm.

Meets all ANSI standards.

Special contract rates available.

Managed by Photographic Scientist.

MSTC, Inc. 703-754-3213, E-mail: MSTCl@ aol.com

JOB DESCRIPTION

We are seeking an expert in digitising microforms to lead a well-proven digitising team operating a high quality suite of production microform scanners towards ISO or independent certification for quality.

If you are a natural leader with experience in micrographics, complemented with strong IT and Management skills, and have the ability to extend our international reputation through the development of an International Centre of Excellence for microform digitising then contact: Andy Fenton: andy@micrographics.co.nz or ph:lntl + 6 4 2 168 9396 www.micrograDhics.co.nz

FOR TOP QUALITY REFURBISHED MERCURY VISUALS

Manchester, England Buyers & Sellers of “Second-User” Micrographic & Scanning Equipment Contact us for this months Special Offers!

Phone + 4 4 (0) 161 7 4 9 -8 7 4 9 E-mail: mercvis@lineone.com

Cameras, Duplicators, Reader-Printers and Scanners, please contact ALTEK SYSTEMS, 7 1 3 -9 9 5 -1 1 2 3 or Fax 7 1 3 -9 9 5 -4 9 4 0 E-Mail: jimh@alteksys.com

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• Scan up to 300 pages per minute • Create grayscale and bitonal images at the same time without a reduction of output speed • Auto focus and straight line film loading optimizes scan setup time • Adaptive Speed Control optimizes scan speed Exclusively distributed by Kodak!

DOCUMENT I M A G I N G

Kodak Document Imaging (44) 1442 844791 eamer-di-capture@kodak.com w w w .kodak.com /g o / docim aging Agreement covers Europe, The M id d le East, Africa and G reater Asia region.

Kodak is a trademark

nextscan The Next Generation in Film Scanning Technology 208-514-4000 • www.nextscan.com nextScon, Eclipse. Mercury ond Phoenix ore trodemorks o# nextScon. A l other company ond prodvct names ore trodemorkj or registered trademarks o f their respective holders

mercuiy Coming soon exclusively from Kodak