The Green Sheet 033

ia a n 1 4 /0 -0 0 4 /

June 2 0 0 5

News

Features

Products

Case Studies

ISSUE 33

People

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green

contents advertisers’ index Agfa

................................................................................. 9

Altek S yste m s................................................................31 Anacomp ....................................................................... 31 Canon

............................................................................ 23

Fujitsu E urope................................................................32 Genus G ro u p ...................................................... 12.17.24 Image R e trie va l............................................................. 27 In d u s ...............................................................................18 Mercury V isuals............................................................. 31 MicroVue ....................................................................... 25 MSTC.............................................................................. 31

product news

1 9 -2 5

case studies - health

2 6 -2 8

nextScan

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

O IT U K ............................................................................ 20 Solar ............................................................................... 15

people on the move

29

world news

30

Western M icrographics................................................. 31 Wicks & W ils o n ................................................................ 7

THE GREEN SH EET TEAM

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A IIM Show does a 'Brother act7 Micrographics has a minor role within the AIIM Expo which is, itself, now part of a bigger play.

by Mitch Badler, US correspondent for The Green Sheet

AIIM ONDEMANDS CONFERENCES & EXPOSITION Intelligent Information for the Real Time Enterprise

Philadelphia, in the original Greek, means brotherly love. Consequently, the United States first capital, and still one of its largest cities, is commonly known as the city of brotherly love. For this year's AIIM conference and exposition, held M ay 17-19 in the city's convention centre, brotherly love meant AIIM shared the spotlight with the On Demand printing show. The result was AIIM On Demand, a somewhat initially confusing but then quickly understood exhibition title for 2-shows-in-l that occupied four halls in the convention centre.

There were more listed exhibitors at the AIIM portion (221 v. 133) but at times there appeared to be perhaps more visitors to the On Demand section. Official attendance figures will be released shortly but early guestimates by visitors and exhibitors were in the mid 20,000s range. The combined show is put on by a subsidiary of Advanstar Technology Group, a show management company, which acquired title to the AIIM expo four years ago. Advanstar keeps revenues from the exhibition and pays a royalty to AIIM, which produces the conference portion.

The Conference Over the three days there were 78 AIIM conference sessions, broken into six subject tracks. The "Storage, Preservation and Security" track was the one most appropriate to users of film-based imaging.

W illiam Saffady, professor of computer science and records management, Long Island University, led off the track by discussing "A Mixed Media Approach to the Information Life Cycle". He explained microfilm's advantages within the cycle, This was the closest to a "microfilm session" at the conference although the technology did get passing mentions in some other presen­ tations.

Formal conference sessions were augmented by five pre-conference workshops, five keynote talks (before morning and afternoon sessions) and 10 "Technology Basics" sessions. None of these related to film.

The Expo W hile the AIIM show still probably

In addition the RASN members receive

remains as impressive a "micrographics

end user clients get special desktop software (Kodak Digital Reference Archive Creator)

show" as now exists, it is, nevertheless, an overwhelmingly software and digital systems show, dedicated to "Enterprise Content Management". Exhibitors whose offerings related to film-based imaging numbered about one dozen, a count so similar to last year that it seems to represent a new plateau. Again, Eastman Kodak was the only one of the three old time "giants" still exhibiting at AIIM although micrographics was a minor part of their display. Canon and Minolta, as they did in 2004, skipped the AIIM portion of the dual AIIM On Demand exposition and displayed in the On Demand segment only.

support and monitoring from Kodak. The

that helps users identify digital documents they want written to film. This software, created by Kodak, is only available through RASN members.

Clients use the software to transmit selected documents, originally created digitally or scanned, to the RASN member service bureaux which do the film writing and return film to the client. Kodak said that to date more than 20 service bureaux have signed up as members of the RASN programme.

Service companies were again generally conspicuous by their absence, although a few were present to "show the flag" and perhaps reach newcomers unaware of their services. Among these were SOURCECORP, which is the US distributor for Agfa film; Scanning America, a national conversion firm; Continental Graphics, a subsidiary of Boeing Corp., that primarily does digital conversions, but which also has film conversion capabilities; Conversion Technologies and Image Conversions and Management, both also service houses that can handle film-based conversions, although it is not their major service.

ACS, Anacomp, Lason and ImageMax, the major national film conversion service houses, had individual representatives roaming the exhibit hall but did not exhibit.

Despite the paucity of film-based exhibitors, among those present there were a surprising number of new products and services What was New Eastman Kodak announced a new filmrelated service rather than a hardware

The programme seems a good deal for Kodak since it can expand the market for work from users that don't have the work volume and need to acquire their own Digital Archive Writers for an in house operation, but would prefer to use an outsource provider. Kodak noted double­ digital growth in sales for archival media even before announcing the new service.

product. Its Reference Archive Services Network (RASN) is a service that utilises a group of outsourcing partners to provide digital-to-film writing services to end user

This was an indicator that the market was

clients.

RASN members use Kodak Digital

desktop scanners, the (55 and i65. Both offer 600 dpi bitonal and colour

Archive Writers and specially-designed archival media (microfilm). If needed, they can send staff to Kodak to receive training.

performance, increased speed, and "afford­ ability". The i55 is a simplex model with speeds up to 30 ppm while the i65 is a

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growing, and expanded service made sense.

In hardware terms, Kodak's AIIM show introductions were the launch of two new

A IIM R E V IE W

4

duplex model capable of processing 60 images per minute by capturing both sides

of the model 300 Eclipse production level rollfilm scanner. It scans 16 and 35mm

options, grid locations or frame edge detection. Anew unique feature, Full Fiche

of a document simultaneously at 200 dpi.

rollfilm at 300 pages per minute and also creates bitonal and grayscale images

Imaging, will capture a single image up to 105mm in size, as well as full display of the

simultaneously without reduction of output speed. Designed to run 24 hour per day,

scanning activity as it occurs.

Use of an innovative system of fiche

The new units replace the i50 and i60 scanners that were introduced in 2001.

Visit www.kodak.com/go The Crowley Company used AIIM to promote three new products. Its Mekel Technology division is offering a new rollfilm scanner, the Mekel Mach IV. The new unit

the Eclipse 300 boasts 20 second high speed rewind, auto focus and fast straight line film loading. Its 10 bit antiblooming

! carriers is said to eliminate handling and static problems. The carriers can be loaded

j off line and then stacked into the ScanStation which will scan and eject them automatically. During operation the scanner

CCD array is said to protect against over­

can scan and process 300 images per minute at 200 dpi and do 600 images per minute with dual output using 1000' rolls of

exposure. The Eclipse uses nextScan's Fusion software that minimises operator set up time and reduces the need for rescans.

film. Film format selection is electronically controlled for precise positioning of the CCD

Also on display was the company's Mercury scanner, a lower cost and lower

batch scanners or manual scanners. They use Wicks and Wilson's SMARTSCAN

camera, lenses and high speed rewind. The Mach IV offers 10 bit image processing with no gamma correction required at 5x former

output level unit. The compact scanner also scans 16 and 35mm film and delivers

image processing technology as well as the company's SCANFICHE software.

images at 150 pages per minute creating bitonal and grayscale images simultaneously without reducing output speed. The unit

SMARTSCAN's key features include dual file output, grayscale contrast and brightness, grayscale gamma correction, bitonal duplex

comes standard with Fusion software that provides it with adaptive speed control, 10 bit gamma correction and advanced auto

thresholding, automated grayscale template settings, and bitonal area-based dynamic

processing speeds. Resolution is said to be 100-500 dpi and "true optical dpi" by use of a full 81 92 pixel CCD array camera.

Crowley also announced and showed a prototype of the MCL 500 (MiniColor LabMaster) hybrid film processor being produced by Crowley's HF Processor Division. The unit processes colour and B&W film in i 6mm, 35mm and 105mm.

B&W processing is conventional negative type; colour is PS process for llfochrome.

B&W output is 1-10 feet per minute while colour is 2 feet per minute. Standard features include micro-processor temperature controllers and digital speed readout, titanium and stainless steel tank construction, and 1,200' take-up reels for B&W and colour. It also uses a daylight film magazine.

Finally, Crowley showed a non-operating

The company also discussed Project Apex Software which will be its first purely software product, expected to be commer­ cially available by August. It includes builtin quality assurance, lossless image capture and enterprise expandable architecture. It will be usable with nextScan's Eclipse line processing technology is used in their roll Q A spectrum - i.e. scan an entire film rather j film scanner range with SCANFILM than individual images. The images can be } software. On show was the RS300 offering 100-600 dpi resolution with a scanning called out, joined together and manipulated

J

in production and is back ordered because of Zeutschel's low production rate. Unlike competitive Archive Writers the OP 500 uses standard B&W or colour microfilm. It takes input from all standard file formats (TIFF, JPEG, JP2, PDF, others) and offers maximum

Wicks and Wilson, the only company that manufactures a complete product line for scanning aperture cards, microfiche and roll film, showed its new line of Microfiche

81 MegaPixel optical resolution Visit www.crowleymicrographics.com

The FS 150 offers 100-400 dpi resolution

ScanStations, models FS 150 and FS 300, said to be the fastest fiche film scanners.

j speed of 325 frames per minute, offering I simultaneous greyscale and bitonal output.

Several new features were on show geared towards improved productivity.

V isitwww.wwl.co.uk S-T imaging had the first general showing (it was previously debuted at the last American Library Association meeting) | of new features for the S-T 200 Digital

| Microfilm Viewer-Scanner. These features and scans (depending on the fiche size and : expand S-T 200's capabilities to include reduction) from 35 to 70 frames per minute. microfiche and aperture cards, as well as The FS 300 offers 100-600 dpi resolution at 16mm, 35mm and rollfilm. The new 70-135 frames per minute. Both accept | microfiche and opaque card attachmentstandard 148mm x 105mm fiche and (MOCA) makes the S-T 200 suitable for jackets. Input can be sheet film, jackets or business applications, such as reading AB Dick fiche, silver or diazo negative or insurance records stored on fiche, as well as

J J J

by the LDS Church, one of the largest users of microfilm in the US. The Eclipse 500 has a built-in PC controller, unlike nextScan's

positive, as well as COM-generated film.

Standard file formats are TIFF, CALS, JPEG and BMP. PDF is available as an option.

Operating features include 256 level

300 model where the PC is external nextScan also showed the latest version

optional grayscale output files, automatic deskew and centring, extensive file naming

A IIM R E V IE W

In addition, all SMARTSCAN image

and greatly speed up the scanning operation by introducing a system to cover the whole

to create an end product at a far faster rate than conventional image scanning Visit www.nextscan.com.

500, a unit that is touted to scan at 500 images per minute, doing both bitonal and grayscale from 16mm a n d /o r 35mm film.

Beta testing of the unit, running at 17 hours a day and seven days a week is being done

thresholding.

thresholding among other features. Mercury is said to have been the first rollfilm scanner to use USB connectivity.

model of the Zeutschel Archive W riter OP 500 for which Crowley is the North American distributor. It says the OP 500 is

nextScan showed a prototype of a new production level rollfilm scanner, the Eclipse

can be loaded and unloaded.

Both models can be employed as true

j its original usage in libraries. In addition a : new 48X zoom lens was introduced for the unit. It improves zooming and doubles the range from 24X to 48X to assist in easy reading of even small text.

The S-T 200, as originally introduced, is

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5

a low-cost, demand-based digitising scanner for rollfilm that allows operators to scan, fax, e-mail or print a microfilm image. The unit was designed as an all-digital solution for viewing and scanning tasks to eliminate the need for lenses, mirrors and glass platens found in traditional reader/printer/scanner

capture workflow.

The system allows users to select from

J

multiple image outputs including colour, grayscale and bitonal or a combination of

j all three. RSOD allows the scan or QC operator to rescan images away from the

| scanner in one point-and-click step. Instead of stopping the scanner to manually readjust systems. The S-T 200's design uses standard thresholdiing or physically rescanning PC USB and monitor connections and also eliminates SCSI connections and proprietary j documents in post-processing, RSOD automatically flags images that fall outside

video compression so there is no need for a proprietary PC. It operates under ambient

of an acceptable range of quality and "rescans" are done without the scanner,

light conditions.

utilising the original uncompressed image The S-T's digital camera gives a direct with one click of the mouse. video feed of the image to a monitor with a j refresh rate of 20 frames per second. Users The new system is sold like the company's Agfa-labelled microfilm equipment lines: have a manual or motorised film transport.

The S-T 200 operates under ScanWrite 3.0 directly in Germany and through resellers in other countries. The distributor in the US software.

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S-T Imaging's development partner for the S-T 200 was and is ProQuest/UMI, which

j

will be J&K. Contact andrea@kabscan.com

gives away the system to libraries that renew their microfilm publication subscriptions. S-T

OEM, operated out of the Crowley booth to introduce VersalMAGE-Gold, new Windows-based, document scanning, image retrieval and distribution software. It uses a TWAIN scanner interface for colour, grayscale and B&W paper scanning. It offers high speed batch scanning capability with OCR or bar code zone fields and also easy, push button "novice scanning".

Created image file folders may contain various image file types generated by digital copiers and cameras. These may be distributed or exported in TIFF, PDF and JPEG formats. VersalMAGE-Gold may be expanded to VersalMAGE-GOLD/Plus for the ISIS scanner interface and automated microfilm retrieval and scanning capability.

Contact barryw@crowleymicrograpbics.com

AIIM Addenda Two of the annual honours presented by AIIM at an awards ceremony involved film-

Imaging is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Digital Check Corp.

Visit www.stimaging.com Microform America, the US arm of the German firm Microform GmbH that

based imaging. The Thomas C. Bagg Standards Award was presented to Lester Kruger, now retired from 3M Company for

manufactures and distributes Agfa's ADMIS microfilm equipment line, partnered with

his work on standards over the years. Russ Burkel, General Manager, Analogue Imaging, was honoured with the FblA

J&K Imaging to introduce a new technologybased scanning system, ReScan on Demand (RSOD). The latter is a new feature in J&K's latest release of its Information Capture

VersalMAGE, long-time supplier of recognition software to the microfilm industry, both under its own name and

Suite, DpuScan. W ith RSOD, Microform hopes to revolutionise the scanning capture

Indus exhibited its standard microfilm readers as well as scanners but there were no new additions to its line. The company also offered information about the

process by making an original uncompressed colour image of each scanned document available throughout the

ScreenScan film scanner line for which it is the US distributor.

Visit www.indususa.com

Award for his work for the film-based imaging cause on behalf of the association and industry with government agencies.

The 2006 AIIM conference and expo will return to Philadelphia on May 16-18, again at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

Buyers' Guide published The Guide also contains a listing of 16 micrographic product types with notations

The Film-based Imaging Association, which sang its swan song at the AIIM Expo (see following story), went out in grand style with the introduction of the third and best edition of its Buyer's Guide to film-

of companies that manufacture or distribute these types of products. This list is supplemented by an alphabetic list of

based imaging products and services. It is the most extensive in-print compendium of

micrographic products by company with 48 companies represented.

"where to go" for these items in the US.

Other lists of value are one of current FblA members who offer consulting services

The 32-page 6"x9" pamphlet includes an alphabetic listing of 68 companies with

and another of service providers. Both lists give addresses, individual contacts, phone

addresses, phone and fax numbers, e-mail and web sites. For easy reference the alphabetic listing also includes companies that have been acquired, or whose product;

The Green Sheet's Mitch Badler examines the new

are now being sold by other organizations.

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FblA Buyers' Guide

and e-mail numbers, and web sites.

Information in the lists is augmented by details in advertisements, a first (and, alas, last) taken by nine firms.

A IIM R E V IE W

6 In this section o f the magazine we will be reporting on the various developments within the trade, such as acquisitions, mergers, partnerships and, as the first article demonstrates, news from Trade Associations.

Exit FblA, Enter DMSPC Times change and so do Associations. solutions showcase for senior executives of

The end of the Film-based Imaging Association (FblA) and the birth of the

Guide.

For the remainder of this year, FblA will

firms providing document management

Document Management Service Providers Council (DMSPC) were simultaneously

continue a semi-existence, exhibiting and participating under the AIIM banner at the

services. These include service bureaux, VARs, VADs, ASPs, and consultants. The

announced at the AIIM conference. In recent years, the decade-old FblA, dedicated to advancing knowledge of and promoting

Society of American Archivists' conference in New Orleans in August and at the ARMA International conference and exposition in Chicago in October.

30th and final SCEF annual event, to be held November 10-12 in San Antonio, Texas, will become the first Document Management Service Providers Executive

W ith stagnant membership, a shrinking film-based imaging industry, and a

Forum.

film-based imaging applications, has functioned as a small independent association under the AIIM umbrella with a modest subsidy from AIIM, augmenting what FblA raises in dues.

FblA was officially folded into AIIM as of May 31 st and merged with the Service Company Executives Forum (SCEF) to create DMSPC. AIIM, through DMSPC, will absorb the revenues in FblA's accounts (a declining figure) but will assume all FblA obligations and deliver all previously-promised benefits and products, such as the FblA Buyers'

declining pool of industry executives willing and able to provide leadership for FblA, the group's demise appeared to be only a

AIIM's hope is that the enlarged and broader-based organisation w ill attract more trade members who cover "the full spectrum of document solutions", of which

matter of time. AIIM's willingness to re­ absorb FblA, which originally sprang from

film-based imaging will be one. These members will receive discounts as exhibitors,

an AIIM industry-specific group, appears to be the most viable survival route for the

free listings in AIIM directories, free copies of AIIM-sponsored surveys and studies, free

group.

SCEF's major activity has been its annual two-day conference and technology

distribution of press releases, and discounts for each executive attending the annual Forum as well as other member benefits.

Double Nomination For Document SOS Disaster recovery pioneers, Document SOS, have been nominated for, not only one, but TWO awards at the annual Corporate Insurance and Risk (CIR) awards held at Grosvenor House in London, on 12 May 2005. Nominated for the categories of Insurance Service Provider of the Year and Most Effective Recovery of the Year, Document SOS restores the business files and paperwork damaged in fires and floods

Carlisle Police Station, which had been 6 foot underwater. The Document SOS Team logged and packed the 600 crates of documentation in 3 days and removed it to their Operations Base to restore. The police advised which files they needed immediately and these were fast-tracked and returned within a few days - dried and decontam­

Kingdom and Managing Director Georgine Thorburn says "It is most rewarding that we are to be double whammy finalists and be acknowledged for our role in restoring paperwork for business continuity amongst such industry giants. The CIR awards are the highest accolade one can achieve in this field."

inated.

It is possible to restore 100% of water

Document SOS has also been short-listed against 3 large IT recovery companies in the

so that a business can keep in business after an incident. This is the hands-on side of

damage and up to 95% of fire damage to books and documents so that companies can

business continuity.

use key information in folders and files for meetings and deadlines. In the case of the

annual Business Continuity Awards, held by Continuity Insurance and Risk magazine (CIR) on 20th May.

Following the massive flooding in Cumbria on the 9th January this year, Document SOS was called in to restore the waterlogged and sewage contaminated paper data from the

TRADE NEW S

Carlisle Police they had documentation without which, villains would still be at large.

One of the areas that the Business Continuity Service Provider of the year award is judged on is customer endorsement. Document SOS was endorsed

On the morning of the flood a criminal who had been on the run for 4 years

by their restoration and reinstatement of mould damaged documents for a hospital in

handed himself in. His paperwork was amongst that damaged by the surge of sewage water but was fully restored by

Hampshire. The mould was neutralised and the Document SOS unique Fast Track service provided patient records around the clock

Document SOS so the police could continue prosecution.

was no interruption to the clinic.

Corporate Industry and Risk are the most prestigious awards in this field in the United

Visit www.documentsos.com

when they were needed, consequently there

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All signs point to Wicks and Wilson Whether you need to scan aperture cards microfiche or roll film, Wicks and Wilson have it all mapped out for you.

Select your route and let the experts in imaging technology at Wicks and Wilson point you in the right direction for all your scanning needs.

If it's unrivalled image quality you want or function-packed software with exceptional scanning speeds to maximise your productivity, all at prices you can afford, then go no further Wicks and Wilson can deliver the complete solution.

RS300 Roll Film Scanstation • Up to 325 frames per minute • Simultaneous greyscale and bitonal output • High productivity, 24-7

FS300 Microfiche Scanstation • Up to 135 frames per minute • Unique full fiche imaging • High productivity, 24-7

Wicks and Wilson Limited, Morse Road, Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 6PQ, United Kingdom Telephone: + 4 4 (0)1256 842211 Fax: + 4 4 (0)1256 840997 Email: sales@wwl.co.uk W eb:w w w .wwl.co.uk

Could your business be the target of a Data Protection scam?

Many small and medium-sized businesses have recently fallen foul of notification

Data Protection Pocket Guide:

are seeking to produce in our own revised

Essential Facts at Your Fingertips

guidance".

'seams'. You may well have received a threatening letter about your business's legal

www.bsi-global.com/DPpocketguide The Guide is co-authored by Nicola

Anybody who runs their own business in the UK will need to comply with the Data

obligations. These prevalent scams usually state that you must 'notify' the Information

McKilligan and Naomi Powell and was written as a stand-alone guide to Data

Protection Act 1998. Specific guidance is provided for accountants, solicitors, medical

Commissioner about the way your business

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officers, independent financial advisors, credit brokers and others operating in high-

compliance departments, and offers the guidance needed to understand and comply with the Data Protection Act 1998 and other

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The book will:

processes its data. Typically you may be asked to complete and sign a form that will then be published on a public register.

But, if you are a small or medium-sized business you may well be exempt from the

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requirement to notify and able to put these scamming letters through the shredder. It is

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typical for 'scammers' to charge over a hundred pounds for their 'service' of simply forwarding a notification form to the

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Commissioner. However, you will still have to comply with the requirements of the Data Protection Act 1998 and other privacy

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make compliance with the law easier

their customer, client or contact information

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legislation in respect of any personal information you are processing.

So how can you be sure you are meeting your legal requirements without an expensive cost to your business? BSI Business Information has published a book to help small businesses get to grips with the Data Protection Act.

Explains what to do and provides examples of how to do it

Authors (left to right) N icola M cKilligan and N aom i Powell a t BSI's first ever book launch.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) reviewed the Guide favourably and commented: "This is a very good piece of work. It is comprehensive and reads easily.

The clear non-technical style reflects what we

Gives specific guidance for accountants, solicitors, medical professionals, independent financial advisors, credit brokers and others operating in high-risk

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ISBN 0 580 4 4 4 3 7 6 BSI Order Ref BIP 0050 Price £ 3 0 + P&P (P&P free for BSI members) Download the Data Protection Pocket Guide brochure www.bsi-global.com /DPbrochure

THE LITTLE COMPANY THAT DOES Access Innovations supporting Security Efforts, National Libraries and Government Agencies Access Innovations, small but highly regarded specialists in developing

allows users to update and replicate the indexing of databases quickly as new data is added. Other indexing systems require

and maintaining

time-consuming programming, tuning and retuning of database indexes as new terms and technologies are added to the content pool.

databases of research and intelligence, is currently supporting a number of U.S. federal agencies and libraries in a host of security and regulatory pursuits.

The company's line of GSA Schedulelisted Data Harmony software products (www.dataharmony.com) is used by information managers and their organi­ sations to categorise, filter, and organise content added to databases. The software creates taxonomies and thesauri that structure data, enabling client organisations to maximise the value of their electronically stored information assets, such as publicly available and internal research, analysis, current news and other knowledge resources.

The Data Harmony software features a "business rules" approach to building indexes, which is advantageous because it

TRADE NEW S

"Government knowledge managers do not have the luxury of time when it comes to maintaining their database indexing," said M arjorie M.K. Hlava, Access Innovation's chairman and president. "They need highly accurate results from searching their new and archived research repositories

be to track a newly uncovered terrorist cell or to monitor industry conditions for regulatory decision-making, access to a fully indexed and well-structured database of information is critical."

Among the federal government departments and agencies which now have Data Harmony and other Access Innovations software installed are the Defense Technical Information Center, the National Security Agency, the National Transportation Library, the National

immediately after new terms are added.

Agricultural Library, the National Institute for Environmental Health Services, the Naval Postgraduate School's Homeland

"O ur software can get a new term ready to automatically index and added to a filter

Security Curriculum & Virtual Library Project and the Government Accounting Office.

in less than two minutes. And that means

The Data Harmony software line is

researchers can find even the most up-todate, relevant information consistently."

available through Access Innovation's General Services Administration Schedule GS-35F-0820N for government procurement.

Added Hlava, "We've developed long­ standing relationships with many government agencies because our software is a powerful way to keep on top of rapidly changing information pipelines. Whether it

For more information, please visit www.accessinn.com/gsa/index.html.

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Agfa UK and SunRise confirm reseller agreement SunRise Imaging, Inc., the pioneer in highperformance microfilm scanners, is delighted to confirm the appointment of Agfa-UK as an Authorised SunRise Reseller. The agreement allows Agfa to sell SunRise products throughout the UK and the Republic of Ireland with the option of extending this activity throughout the rest of Europe.

Agfa, through their Document Solutions Division operating in the micrographics sector for over 40 years, are suppliers of document scanning and records management solutions.

They have an enviable reputation as a customer service provider offering support services for a wide range of both hardware and software products, to customers throughout the UK. Agfa will bring added value to this sector through provision of SunRise accredited engineers, an extensive spare parts holding, short-term rental packages and financial solutions designed to make the acquisition of SunRise products affordable and accessible to a wide range of users.

Despite the agreement having been made in October 2004 it was decided to make the announcement to coincide with the launch, at AIIM 2005, of the new SunRise S3000 RapidScan modular high production film scanner for microfilm, microfiche and aperture cards, yet another landmark product from a long line of superior production scanners.

Over the years SunRise has been an innovator in the development of highperformance, high-speed scanners, the launch of the S3000 RapidScan again positions SunRise at the leading edge of microfilm scanner technology Steven Godfrey, VP Worldwide Sales Sunrise Imaging Inc, said. "SunRise Scanners will further enhance the Agfa product portfolio by providing customers with the means to deliver solutions which meet operational and compliance requirements. SunRise Imaging represents the most cost effective scanning solution for film and fiche. The 3 in 1 concept allows companies to convert film, fiche, and aperture cards at a fraction of the cost when

i compared to purchasing dedicated scanners ] from other vendors.

"The knowledge and experience possessed

by Agfa in the field of microfilm conversion will provide SunRise with an excellent channel in | the UK and Eire. We have already worked | together on a number of important projects which have proved to be extremely successful."

Barry Minty, Head of Division, Agfa Document Solutions, commented "Agfa have been suppliers of both conventional microfilm and Computer Output Microfilm (COM) systems for many years, we have a wealth of experience in dealing with this storage medium. Our current focus on digital document solutions is significantly enhanced by the addition of SunRise products; we are delighted to be associated with this dynamic, market leading organisation. There is a great demand from users of microfilm systems to help migrate their information systems from legacy formats to the digital environment."

Contact: Barry Minty on 0208 231 4126 or visit www.agfa.com/mds

Agfa take over Film Scan's SunRise business activities Film Scan Technologies Limited has announced the sale of the operational activities of their SunRise microfilm scanner business, including sales and maintenance services to Agfa UK Limited, which was effective on 1st May 2005.

Terry Shepherd Managing Director of Film

Scan said " For personal reasons I decided to divest of the SunRise microfilm operations we had built up over the past 5 years.

I investigated the possibilities and options open to me, after meeting with the management team at Agfa UK I was convinced that they would be the best organi­

A G FA ^ A ccredited SunRise Resellers For all y o u r Sales, Rental, Service R equirem ents fo r SunRise Scanners

sation to pass the responsibilities of supporting our loyal customer base. Agfa's corporate profile and business reputation is second to none and they showed right from our first meeting that they intended to build on the foundations of Film Scan and would guarantee a high level of support for our customers."

New The SunRise8 3000 RapidScan"

SunRise Microfilm Scanners Unique 3 in 1 M odular Design • 16mm / 35mm RollFilm • M icrofiche / Jackets • Aperture Cards The new S3000 RapidScan -

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I/ SunRise

Contact:- A g fa UK Ltd • 27 Great West Road • B ren tfo rd • M id d lesex • TW8 9AX Tel: 0044 (0) 208 231 4126 Fax: 0044 (0) 208 231 4956 Email:- ba rry.m in ty@ a g fa .co m Web: w w w .agfa.com /m ds

DocuWare becomes an A IIM Advisory Trade Mem ber "We are proud to be an AIIM Advisory Trade Member. Interacting with other ECM

DocuWare will contribute to the longterm I direction and growth of the Enterprise Content Management (ECM) industry and

industry leaders puts us in a unique position to glean valuable information regarding

the AIIM Association as a member of the

market trends and needs, whilst at the same

AIIM Advisory Trade Board.

The advisory board is comprised of industry leaders that meet to discuss and

j time allowing us to contribute to the success

j

of the industry by providing a forum where we can share our experiences regarding Integrated Document Management solutions

promote current and future ECM technologies, applications and partnerships that bring end-users dependable, profitable

for the mid-size market," said Schloemer.

John Mancini, President of AIIM, stated

solutions designed to capture, manage, store and deliver content and documents related

| that with DocuWare's worldwide installed

to business processes.

The board offers valuable input to the AIIM organisation as to how to help grow

j

the market via networking, education and

"AIIM is particularly pleased to have j DocuWare as an Advisory Trade Member.

the mid-size market.

industry advocacy.

As an Advisory Trade Board Member, DocuWare will participate in executive summits with other industry leaders to create programmes and standards that encourage the implementation of ECM technologies.

DocuWare is part of a growing number of companies involved in raising the visibility of AIIM as the leading ECM organisation.

base they bring significant experience and knowledge to the Advisory Board regarding

j

"Education is one of the keys to growth in our industry. W ith thousands of DocuWare installations around the world, we can contribute significant knowledge and experience to this topic," said Greg Schloemer, President of DocuWare Corporation.

We believe a great deal of knowledge can be gained from this relationship," said Mancini.

Contact: DocuWare AG , Therese-GiehsePlatz 2, D -8 2 1 10 Germering, Germany \ Tel: +49 (0 )8 9 /8 9 44 33-54 â– Fax: + 4 9 (0 )8 9 /8 4 1 99 66

IBML named finalist for Industry ACE A w ard Imaging Business Machines (IBML) has been selected as a finalist in the High-Volume Scanning Hardware Vendors category for this year's Industry ACE Awards for the ECM (Enterprise Content Management) industry, presented by ECM Connection (www.ECMconnection.com).

ECM Connection is an online publication and sourcing site for end users and integrators in the ECM industry. According to ECM Connection Chief Editor Brian Sherman, "The Industry ACE Awards recognise vendor commitment to helping users and integrators make informed

decisions about deploying ECM

Education refers to outstanding outreach

technologies."

The finalists for the Industry ACE designation have demonstrated noteworthy

programmes and services (e.g., end user training, technical support, consulting

achievement that meets all of the following awards criteria: Appeal, Content, and Education.

Appeal refers to the vendor's innovative, feature-rich product line.

Content reflects valuable information resources offered on the vendor's Web site and in its marketing collateral (e.g., product brochures, white papers, and case studies).

services, partner programmes, road shows, and user conferences).

IBML was chosen as one of the four finalists in the High-Volume Scanning Hardware Vendors category. One winner will be selected for this category.

ECM Connection was to recognise the finalists and announce the award-winning Industry ACE vendors at AIIM Expo in Philadelphia, May 17-19, 2005. ECM Connection is a sponsor of the AIIM Expo.

Kodak posts loss, announces CEO change Eastman Kodak posted a first-quarter loss of $US 142 million, compared to a profit of $US 21 million a year earlier. However, when a one-time charge related to cost reductions was excluded, Kodak made a minor profit. More significant was a 3% decline in sales to $US 2.83 billion. As a result, Standard & Poor's Rating Services lowered the company's credit rating.

Analysts who follow the company's progress attributed the decline to continuing

TRADE NEW S

reductions in sales and profits from conven­ tional film-based photography, which have

as chairman at the end of the year. He will

not been fully covered by Kodak's growing digital technology business. Kodak expects

current number two executive, Antonio Perez, who joined the company in 2003.

Perez had been at Hewlett-Packard where he oversaw its $US 16 billion-a-year digital

digital technology to become its biggest source of revenues for the first time this year and, despite the weak IQ , it forecasts a sizable profit for the full year in 2005.

Early in M ay Kodak announced its current CEO, Daniel Carp, will step down from that position on June 1 and will retire

be replaced in both positions by Kodak's

imaging and electronic publishing business.

Kodak previously announced it is eliminating 12,000 to 15,000 jobs worldwide by 2007. This will trim its workforce to around 50,000.

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OpenAccounts signs strategic alliance with Version One In a new, strategic collaboration, two

The first product of this collaborative

award-winning software organisations have

relationship is an enhanced version of the OpenAccounts Openlmage module for

joined forces to deliver additional powerful business benefits for their accounting clients.

OpenAccounts, already acknowledged as a major player for providing core, best of

scanning and retrieving purchase invoices.

This new software allows OpenAccounts

breed accounting solutions, is partnering with leading document management and

print, fax, e-mail and annotate invoices and other related documents from within the

imaging software specialist, Version One, to

OpenAccounts Enterprise Accounting system and the company's pioneering Extended Finance offering and eBIS workflow system.

integrated 'paperless office' technologies.

Dave Cook, Managing Director of

Version One, comments: "DbArchive is an enterpriseclass clientserver document management

OpenAccounts has been at the forefront of the development of eProcurement and

OpenAccounts, comments: "O ur Openlmage

system and the software is now available on all server

XML messaging, so it was important that the new document repository should store

module has already been very successful, but many of

more scalable document management

electronic delivery."

Tony Bray, Sales & Marketing Director of

users to easily and quickly retrieve, view,

provide a range of dynamic, seamlessly

our customers are now looking for a

I customers enhance their printed output, j allowing them to make far greater use of

electronic documents as well as scanned paperwork.

The DbArchive technology also enhances the scanning capabilities available to OpenAccounts users. Version One's I scanning software incorporates class-leading

j

J j

solution to handle a much broader range

image enhancement technology, which produces clearer images, which take far less

platforms supported by OpenAccounts and Progress.

The integration we have developed with OpenAccounts is two-way; as well as providing greater access to documents within the accounting system, data from

storage capacity. Barcode reading is enhanced and a powerful OCR capability is

OpenAccounts is used within DbArchive to automate indexing and provide a far more powerful document search capability outside

also available.

of the ledgers.

of documents right across their businesses.

O ur 'best of breed' philosophy focuses on

"Version One has considerable I experience in the document management

integration with 'best of breed' third party applications, and award-winning DbArchive from Version One gives us a far more functional and robust platform on which to

j j

build."

| looking at how Version One's output j management technologies can help our

arena," continues Cook. "We believe this relationship will add further value to our products and will have significant business benefits for our customers. We are also

"We are delighted to be working with such an enthusiastic and dynamic company at such an exciting time in its development. | The OpenAccounts product is highly regarded and we are pleased to be part of the success story."

Visit www.versionone.co.uk or www.openaccounts.com

Upcoming conferences and shows ARMA in Chicago.

NIRMA in Orlando.

experience between NIRMA and the IAEA,

ARMA International will celebrate 50 years of focusing on the business and technology of managing records and information at its

The Nuclear Information and Records

the Agency's Waste Technology Section will be presenting a workshop at this year's annual Procedure and Information Management Conference. As part of this

Management Association (NIRMA) is

2005 conference and exposition in Chicago.

Educational sessions will be held Sept. 1821 and the concurrent trade exposition of

scheduled for Aug. 28-31 in Orlando, Florida. In conjunction with NIRMA's regular conference and exposition the association is partnering with others to

approximately 200 exhibitors will be Sept, 18-20. There also will be detailed pre­

produce the Scientech Procedure Conference August 30-Sept. 2. Together the two

conference seminars on electronic records management, healthcare, legal and fundamentals of RM Sept., 16-17. The Hyatt Regency Chicago is the conference headquarters hotel. The expo will be held in Halls A & B of the Navy Pier Festival Hall.

For detailed information see ARMA's web site at www.arma.org/conference/expo

conferences will discuss best practices as well as technological advances in records management and document control in a highly regulated environment.

A cooperative agreement between NIRMA and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been finalised. As a first step in promoting the sharing of expertise and

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programme, a workshop on record keeping systems for waste inventory will be held as a separate track at the conference and will feature speakers from Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, UK and the USA. Others participating but not formally presenting are from Argentina, Mexico, Netherlands, Japan, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia and South Africa.

For detailed information see the NIRMA web site www.nirma.org.

TRADE NEW S

12

DRS steps up commitment to w orldw ide sales PhotoScribe Imaging Mark Reader, data

Following the UK launch of the PS900

CD800 Optical Mark Reader and the CEEC will now be able to process increasing

PS900 is a highly sophisticated data capture scanner that can help organisations,

capture specialist DRS has been embarking on a tour of its worldwide

volumes of examination papers much quicker and more effectively than ever

government departments and agencies process, record and image data quickly,

before. Another two more sales have been distributors to open up International and European channel opportunities. The team at j confirmed in Taiwan, one in Mexico as well as 21 in China.

DRS have been visiting a number of

accurately and securely. O ur global network of distributors is a vital element of the DRS sales strategy and we are keen to strengthen

countries including China, Taiwan, Vietnam,

relationships and continue to build

Mexico and Norway to promote the sophis­ ticated capabilities of the PS900 scanner,

knowledge in international markets.'

The recently launched PhotoScribe PS900 scanner represents the latest generation of

and the success of this campaign has generated a great deal of interest.

data capture technology suitable for a wide range of complex and high volume data

Harmonation, DRS1education specialist

capture exercises and it is already making waves in the worldwide marketplace with projects including student registration,

distributor based in Taipei, Taiwan has already secured two PS900s into the College Entrance Examination Committee (CEEC) to process approximately 800,000 forms for the Taiwan University Entrance Examination.

The PS900s will replace their existing

"We are firmly committed to long term growth of our worldwide markets," said

examination processing and electronic marking as well as complex election and

Simon Day, Commercial Director, DRS. "The

census work.

Captaris acquires IMR Captaris, Inc., a leading provider of Business Information Delivery solutions,

integrations with document archiving or records management products when implementing Business Information Delivery

document delivery, Teamplate business process workflow and Interchange information automation products. W ith a

announced towards the end of 2004 that it had signed a definitive agreement to acquire Information Management Research (IMR)

solutions. Captaris can now offer an even more compelling and expanded value

combined base of almost 100,000 system

Inc., a major software vendor in the archiving and records management market.

proposition to our customers," states David Anastasi, President and Chief Executive

offerings can now be jointly deployed and

IMR's Alchemy product line helps organi­ sations capture, archive and retrieve business information. The combination of IMR and Captaris will enable the company

Officer of Captaris, Inc. "This is a contin­ uation of our acquisition strategy to add complementary technologies to our product portfolio and large customer installed base."

to provide complete solutions for Business Information Delivery.

Captaris will purchase IMR for $26.5m in

Steven Grandchamp, President and CEO of IMR, adds, "After our OEM agreement with Captaris earlier this year, we quickly

cash consideration, subject to a net working capital adjustment at closing. The transaction is expected to close in October, subject to

realised how well our products work together in solving customer problems around information lifecycle management,

customary closing conditions.

"Many of our customers require

from capturing, processing and archiving, to delivering information in multiple ways.

Joining forces with

Brand new formatted Web Site from The Microfilm Shop

www.microfilm.com including a

new comprehensive equipment section TRADE NEW S

Captaris will allow us to provide better scale and resources to our customers and business."

IMR is one of the industry-leading Integrated Document Archive and Retrieval Systems (IDARS) vendors. The company's Microsoft-based solutions complement other Captaris solutions including the RightFax enterprise fax and e-

shipments worldwide, Captaris and IMR integrated reaching even more impressive returns on investments for its customers within their existing IT infrastructure and platforms.

Toby Bell, Research Director of Gartner states, "O ur clients want to connect people, processes, applications and content to save money and create customer value. This connection is consistent with a trend we've been seeing - we call it 'content process fusion'. Decision-makers in enterprises should look for key pairing of prominent vendors in enterprise content management, business process automation and business information delivery."

"The majority of unstructured information in an organisation is 'fixed' content - that is, content in its final form," explains Richard Medina, principal analyst at technology consulting and research firm Doculabs. ' "Organisations are under tremendous pressure to manage this content effectively, not only to improve operational efficiency and productivity while reducing costs, but also for compliance and risk reduction purposes. W ith the acquisition of the Alchemy fixed content management suite, Captaris now has all the pieces in place to solve this problem for their customers."

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Experience Time bomb - the clock is ticking How important are the leaders of a company to its financial performance?

According to industry analysts Plimsoll Publishing Ltd, we are about to find out, as one in five o f UK Microfilm Services & Equipment company directors will be aged over 6 0 by the end of 2005. As these industry stalwarts near the end o f their career, who will follow in their footsteps?

Plimsoll's latest study is an analysis of the | Recently appointed These directors have it all to prove but face varying challenges. O f the 54 directors

UK's top 156 companies and the 308 company directors that are responsible for them.

David Pattison, Senior Analyst at Plimsoll, comments, "The reason for most concern is i that of the 145 directors that have been in office for over 8 years, 32 per cent will be aged 60 or more by the end of 2005. Is the

that have been appointed in the last 2 years, 21 are working at companies that are under severe financial pressure. They need to act quickly to get these companies on a firm footing. On the other hand, 10 of these

directors have fallen on their feet and are industry facing an experience 'timebomb' as | working at financially strong companies. these veterans near retirement age?"

Other sections of Plimsoll's analysis look The full 352 paged analysis of the UK Microfilm Services & Equipment industry includes an examination of the age and time in office of directors at the top 156 companies. It assesses how their decisions have influenced the financial performance of the companies for which they are accountable.

Directors are named in the analysis under various sections including: Marathon runners These 183 directors have perhaps had the most influence over the financial performance of the companies they run.

Each has been in office over 5 years, making their track record clearly visible.

21% of the companies run by these directors are placed in a high financial risk category in the analysis.

blood? The following director statistics should prove interesting to those considering a career in the UK Microfilm Services & Equipment industry. ★ ★

The average salary is £83,204 The average salary increased by 36% last year

★

Top earners can expect an annual salary of £128,000

★ This compares with a UK average for top earners of £162,000

at the influence of a director's appointment on the performance of a company over the

★

last five years, naming those directors who since appointment have either:

★

1. Turned a failing company into a

The 352 paged Plimsoll Microfilm Services & Equipment analysis is available

successful one 2. Increased the company's market share 3. Improved the profitability of the company A separate section covers directors working beyond retirement. There is no evidence to suggest that age is a barrier to success in the UK Microfilm Services & Equipment industry. O f the 23 directors working beyond retirement, 57% are running companies rated as financially strong.

W ith the industry set to lose so many experienced directors, can it attract new

The average time in office is just over 8 years This compares to the UK average time in office of 8 years

in paper format (£305) or electronic format (£499 plus VAT). This special edition includes a comprehensive analysis of directors in the industry and the impact their appointments has had on the companies they control.

Order by calling 01642 626400 or visiting www.plimsoll.co.uk. Readers of this publication will receive a 5% discount.

Contact: David Pattison, Plimsoll Publishing Ltd, Email:m.aston@plimsoll.co.uk Tel: 01642 626400 Fax: 01642 626410

Version One seeks to expand PR Team Hot on the heels of their industry briefing and new OCR technology product launch at

the rise in demand for our entire software portfolio. W e're urgently looking for

the House of Commons, document management software company, Version

someone exceptional to join our PR team to help cope with all the opportunities

One is looking to expand its PR team to keep abreast of opportunities with both enduser clients and software resellers.

available to us."

Version One has recently formed strategic alliances with a number of new resellers, who will be offering document management

M any of the UK's major software authors and resellers attended Version One's recent Briefing, hosted by Sir Nicholas Winterton,

and imaging technologies seamlessly integrated into their own Accounting and

MP, which highlighted the major trends within the financial software market.

ERP software solutions.

Version One Ltd, a rapidly growing

Industry luminaries such as Dennis Keeling, Chief Executive of BASDA, and Mark Thompson, Managing Director of

company established in 1989, is the author of a range of document management and

CedarOpenAccounts, highlighted the key issues shaping our industry in 2005 and the opportunities for business growth with the latest document management, imaging and OCR technologies.

imaging software solutions.

Catherine Murphy, Marketing Manager for Cheshire-based Version One, explained, "W e're overwhelmed by the positive response to our latest product launch and

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Contact: Catherine Murphy, Version One Ltd on +44 (0)1625 856500 o r 07771 746056 Email: catherine.murphy@versionone.co.uk o r visit http://www.versionone.co.uk

TRADE NEW S

On the right page?

A new report from mail and messaging specialist Pitney Bowes reveals an alarming shortfall in effective document management strategies amongst European corporates and public sector organisations.

David Jefferies, Marketing Director, Pitney Bowes, assesses the dangers apparent in overlooking this increasingly influential business function. longer a simple matter of 'archive and retrieve'. Nowadays, document management is a matter of monitoring, Document management used to be regarded simply as the process of archiving

managing and controlling the whole lifecycle of each document, embedded within the business processes which that document

be treated in a truly personalised and relevant fashion.

Better personalisation and targeting reduces the cost of customer communi­ cations. Customer service is improved when an agent can call up the right documents, in

helps to support. During the lifecycle of a typical document, it will pass between several people, usually vendor, channel and customer, it is the ability to keep track of

exactly the form that the caller has received

where documents and their role in certain business processes became more intelligent, carrying appended information along with them, as well as being subject to business

documents and their associated information (content/customer/channel/product/etc) that

detail, in order to accelerate successful activities, or correct underperforming ones.

So effective document management plays a critical role in the return on investment that

rules that did not allow documents to proceed from one stage to another unless

More specifically, there are two main reasons why business managers are preoccupied with content and document

companies can obtain from their CRM and

management. First is the millions that have been poured into CRM and other marketing analysis systems without, in the majority of

Compliance

paper-based documents in a way that could be reasonably easily retrieved when required. In the 1990s, document management elevated itself into 'workflow',

they had been properly completed or verified. This phase of development marked the first stages of 'media-agnosticism' for the document, where paper and electronic versions of documents had to be managed within a single computing application.

Latterly, document management has

enables an organisation to manage customer communications effectively.

cases, achieving the desired return on investment. The overall business objective that modern document management

them, and thereby satisfy enquiries faster.

And results from individual marketing initiatives can be measured quickly and in

marketing systems.

Regulatory compliance, especially with corporate governance and financial reporting strictures, also rests heavily on effective document management. For instance, the two most compelling aspects of the Sarbanes Oxley Act are its requirements

become part of a bigger idea, labelled "Enterprise Content Management", or ECM,

by Gartner. The research group says,

supports is none other than that of Communications Management, especially Customer Communications Management.

"Content technologies, such as integrated document and Web content management, have coalesced into ECM product suites.

Content is just as important as channel when managing customer relationships through targeted communications.

And it is precisely the business process of Enterprise Content Management - making

compliance imposed on corporates recently,

sure the right people have the right information at the right time, controlling that access and then ensuring the right actions

notably in the form of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, its forthcoming EU equivalent, and the recent changes to International Financial

are taken - that is occupying the thoughts of senior business managers today."

Reporting Standards (IFRS).

numbers do not add up, and act quickly if problems appear. In order to demonstrate such a 'control', then those Directors also

Marketing and the Intelligent Document

have to be able to access data and documents to an exceedingly granular level.

In the world of marketing and CRM, documents have become much more intelligent, whether it is a mailing piece, a

W ith these key drivers in mind, Pitney Bowes recently conducted research amongst Europe's top 10,000 companies, as well as

data capture form, an email bulletin, a fulfilment letter or a customer service reply.

Intelligence on the customer is carried on the

a further sample of larger public sector organisations, in order to compare and contrast effective document management

document, in the form of barcodes, Unique

standards between countries and between broad industry segments.

In fact, document management technology will become as pervasive in the next decade as email became in the 1990s, according to Gartner. The analyst states that "document management will reach massmarket status in the next few years, as pressure continues to mount on organi­ sations to store documents in a secure, central repository, and to comply with everstricter regulations."

Redefining the Document Lifecycle So, in today's business and public sector environment, document management is no

FEATURE

Second is the major burden of regulatory

Reference Numbers, indicia or other machine-readable forms, so that the process of dealing with customers and prospects can be tracked and measured at every stage.

The value to be gained from such document management advances is that customers can

that directors have established a provable "financial control" over the company (Section 404) and that any financial anomalies arising will be escalated for formal resolution within 48 hours (Section 409). In short, directors have to have a transparent and comprehensive view of the company's finances, be warned if the

Research Results The proportion of organisations with an effective document management strategy was found to be greatest in the UK (39%)

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15

increasingly coming under similar pressures

and France (38.3%). Italy (36.7%), Germany (36.4%) and Netherlands (35.9%)

listed in Europe and the US), organisations face escalating fees unless they can

to those felt by commercial companies.

made up the middle ranks, whilst Scandinavia (34.2%) came surprisingly

automate much of the audit process, and that means efficiently finding, retrieving and

One good example is actual, or impending, Freedom of Information

lowest of the countries researched.

cross-checking documents and other content.

Overall, the average result is more interesting than country differences, namely

Europe is soon to have its own SarbanesOxley equivalent, and so this issue is relevant to every European company, and

legislation. Most of Europe has implemented freedom of information

that only one third to two fifths of larger European companies have an effective 'document management strategy in place.

Given the earlier arguments that document management has now become fundamental to both marketing ROI and regulatory compliance, these research findings would seem to suggest that European companies are storing up serious problems for themselves.

Inefficient marketing and CRM activity costs real money. Only by tracking and measuring customer response to different offers and products, can customer value be built. In more volatile industries, customers who are not treated in a relevant and personalised way will tend to defect to a competitor. All of which is increasingly important given other Pitney Bowes research findings that indicate the resources devoted to existing customer development will supersede those spent on customer

not just those with a US listing. In any case, there is a raft of other regulatory requirements in Europe, all of which are reliant on high standards of document management.

Looking at the split in document management standards by industry, the picture clearly has two extremities.

On the one hand, Financial Services (43.9%) stands out as the clear leader. This is no doubt the result of increasing legislation designed to make the selling of financial products fully transparent. In the UK, for instance, October 2004 saw M-Day, which marked the advent of very particular requirements to deliver fully informative documents to the prospective customer by strict deadlines throughout the mortgage arrangement process. Document management capabilities were critical for

legislation. Legislation became active in the UK in January 2005, and Germany is in the process of being the final Western European state to fall into line. Most freedom of information legislation requires that enquiries are satisfactorily answered within a certain time-frame, and that the documen­ tation requested is supplied to the enquirer.

The role of effective document management is evident in this situation. Yet public sector organisations are evidently not up to the mark, with the inevitable consequence that document management inefficiencies are drawing more than they should on the public purse.

Conclusion Effective document management strategy and infrastructure is fundamental to two key business tasks: communicating effectively with customers to produce enduring commercial growth; and complying with the increasing tide of regulatory standards that are sweeping over organisations across the

acquisition by the end of 2005. In other words, firms are increasingly cementing

compliance in this example, to the extent that some mortgage providers actually had to stop writing business until they were

customer loyalty, so the universe of prospective customer may well diminish

satisfied their systems were fully and robustly compliant.

sharply over the next few years. All the more reason to look after the customers you have, and for that an effective document

Telecoms & Utilities (39.3%), Service Industries (38.3%) and Manufacturing Industry (37.2%), form the middle-rankers in document management standards.

this rapidly rectified over the coming decade, whether through in-house systems improvements, or through outsourced service

However, the clear laggard in our study was the Public Sector. This is of great concern, as public sector organisations are

provision. As one major analyst has said, "...document management will be to this decade what email was to the last. "

management strategy is essential.

Inability to meet regulatory standards is an even more serious issue. Again referring to Sarbanes-Oxley (pertinent to companies

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Western world. It should therefore be of concern that our research shows just under two thirds of larger European companies do not have an effective document management strategy in place. We should expect to see

FEATURE

KOFAX CONFEREI

Kofax, along with its parent company, the DICOM Group, has recently been named the globa dealers and integrators, sponsored by many of the leading players in the content managemt Interwoven, Kodak, Plasmon and Qstar,

,

Our man in Majorca Gerald Baker, attendee

Kofax announced improvements to its established product line and stressed the importance of recent acquisitions by Kofax and DICOM. These include Mohomine for categorisation and classification; Neurascript for data capture and TopCall for control over the input and output of other types of documents.

Improvements to Ascent Capture Kofax Ascent Capture 7.0 now offers an open architecture, high-availability capabilities for mission-critical applications, and distributed capture, which in turn

Kofax's VirtualReScan (VRS) technology, which has become the de facto industry

information management and extends the company's Ascent Capture architecture to

standard for scanning productivity by automatically straightening, cropping and optimising the readability of scanned

any knowledge worker in an organisation.

Designed for individual business users in a

documents in real time. As images pass through a scanner, VRS performs a multi­ point inspection of each document, instantly checking and adjusting for alignment (skew), brightness, contrast and image clarity. Any inconsistencies are immediately corrected by VRS.

business process automation, so

manage enterprise-scale IT infrastructures," said Anthony Macciola, vice president of development and marketing.

Version 7.0 supports fail-over technology that ensures document processing continues without administrator intervention should a hardware, file system or database failure occur, or if the power to a server is interrupted. The fail-over is transparent to the user, who can continue to process documents without interruption. Network load balancing through the Ascent Capture Internet Server (ACIS) also increases performance, scalability and reliability.

To accelerate the capture process, a "VRS QC Later" feature compartmentalises poorquality images for quality control or re-scan, rather than halting the scanning process each time one appears. Users can process the flagged "exceptions" at a later time, thereby increasing the overall throughput of the system. The threshold for quality can be adjusted to address low-grade documents.

The "VRS QC Later" feature employs

FEATURE

scan, store, search and retrieve their documents, such as invoices, legal or

enables users to switch between ad hoc personal capture and business processdriven transactional capture whereby

Ascent Capture

needs of IT profes­ sionals who

share documents with a central processing site or store them locally.

W ith Capio, users can quickly and easily

distributed capture function that delivers documents into the Ascent platform at a central site from anywhere in the world via the Internet or a network connection. It

and becoming an integral facet of,

dynamic capture

distributed capture solution that enables users to scan and index their work, then

medical records, receipts, and other paper items. Capio 1.5 adds a front-end

enables outsourcing and workload balancing. "Information capture is converging with,

7.0 with capabilities to meet the demanding,

department of a larger organisation or remote locations, it provides a secure,

was designed

M ichael Ziegler, Kofax EMEA M anaging Director, welcomed the guests with the opening presentation

documents are scanned using desktop scanners or MFPs. Business rules are then applied to direct where each one goes in a business workflow.

Through an open, non-proprietary architecture, Ascent Capture 7.0 offers improved integration of third-party custom applications or modules, enabling developers to create applications using industry standards, such as XML, COM, and Web Services API, then quality-control their work with the Ascent Capture platform.

Two features in Ascent Capture 7.0 increase the productivity and flexibility of an organisation's business processes. An ACIS batch-routing feature can send batches to any Ascent Capture site at any point in the workflow to enable remote validation, workload balancing and, if necessary, re-scanning. Organisations can gain

In addition to Capio's enterprise-oriented front-end distributed capture capabilities, the product also solves the paper-capture needs

significant flexibility by outsourcing their scanning and indexing needs to take

of small, home-based and personal businesses. Because these may not have

advantage of the world labour market.

High-availability operations and audit trails

access to IT resources to install, train or support a document-capture product, Capio was designed for an easy, "out-of-the-box"

enable remote sites to continue running, even if the main (central) capture site goes down.

installation.

VRS 4.0

New Version of Capio Capio 1.5 now offers professionalstrength document capture for desktop

Kofax also announced a new version of VirtualReScan (VRS) technology. VRS 4.0

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NCE IN MAJORCA

I market leader for document capture software, Their 9th annual conference, Transform '05, for ant and information capture markets, including Bowe Bell+Howell, Canon, EMC, Fujitsu, IBM, was held in Majorca from April 13- 15. d the event and sent us the following report:-

makes scanning more efficient and enhances the quality of scanned images by expanding

knowledge workers spend on rescanning and improves their productivity.

VRS 4.0 significantly speeds document

the existing capabilities of VRS. W ith colour

I

individual colour elements on other documents.

The conference was

preparation, which otherwise could take twice as much time as the scanning process

very well attended with over 300 DICOM/Kofax

itself. Prior versions enabled users to avoid sorting documents by quality or size, VRS

partners gracing the opening session, and

4.0 eliminates additional time-consuming manual tasks, such as sorting documents to face in the same direction, or inserting

"...over 3 0 0 visitors attended the opening session"

separator sheets to differentiate black-andwhite and colour documents. It taps into the

their guests, treating them to many local

frequently under-utilised colour capabilities of nearly all scanners by offering intelligent colour detection and colour saturation

delicacies during the breaks.

processing and capabilities that significantly reduce document preparation by automat­

features. VRS 4.0 automatically processes mixed black-and-white and colour

ically handling blank or rotated pages, as

documents in a batch; for example, it can recognise that a document captured on

well as white-or black-background scanners, VRS 4.0 greatly accelerates the processing of documents, cuts the amount of time that

Kofax certainly knew how to look after

Contact: Kofax Image Products, Kings House Greystoke Business Centre, Portishead, Bristol BS20 6PY UK. Tel: (0)8700 668315 o r visit www.kofax.com

colour paper should be captured as a blackand-white image, while still capturing Incorporating:THE

MICROFILM

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G E N U S

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P R O V ID IN G A C C E S S T O Y O U R IN F O R M A T IO N

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G E N U S provides solutions

G

and systems to capture, store, access and archive your corporate inform ation. j

Building on 30 years experience in the docum ent m anagem ent industry.

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Long term instant access, not short term disaster

CV11 6RY UNITED KINGDOM T (024) 7625 4955 F (024) 7638 2319 E info@ genusit.com

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www.genusit.com FEATURE

LLM C-Digital scanning system shows good e a rly results Cost savings are added bonus to image quality and easy access Two years ago (April 2003) The Green Sheet described LLMC-digital, a new initiative from the Law Library Microform Consortium (LLMC) to create a digital library that over time would convert LLMC's entire microfilmed backfile of about 45 million page images. This would mean instant on­ line availability for subscribing law libraries around the world. A t the same time archival

as intended. They're also providing the added bonus of producing better images than were possible with LLMC's earlier generation of scanners. LLMC also notes "the new images are better than anything we can derive from our microfiche."

The design of the new scanners is helping establish new LLMC standards for image quality. W ith the new units the light source

have gone through the floor.

"O ur practical response to these developments will be threefold" says Jerry DuPont, LLMC executive director. "One, we will attempt to limit digitising from our existing fiche to those cases where we had little or no hope of obtaining original hardcopy for scanning purposes. Two, all

and the image capture mechanism (the

future purchases of scanners aimed at bound books will be in the new technology.

"eye") are within an inch or so of the target material as opposed to first generation scanners which, like flatbed planetary

Finally, to maximise the return on the new high speed Staude unit, we will make a major effort to obtain as high a proportion

Early this year, Hawaii-based LLMC installed four new scanners. The SMA 21

microfilm cameras, had the lights high and off to the sides and the "eye" above the target material by three or four feet. The

of disbindable materials for scanning as possible."

grayscale book scanner is used for scanning bound books and also has an oversize capacity. Another unit, the Staude gray

closeness of eye and lights to source material in the new units eliminates fuzziness caused by intervening air.

Analog/digital strategy for preservation

scale scanner, is a high speed unit designed for scanning loose pages, primarily from

Big CPI savings

microfilm would be retained by writing the digital data to film after scanning.

First results of the LLMC-digital process are in and they look very good. Here's how it's working.

"disbound" books. The scanned publications are indexed and posted on a web file server located at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Both scanner systems seem to be working

In addition to better image quality, LLMC says it has realised major breakthroughs in costs per image (CPI). This results from faster throughput speeds and less post­ processing work needed to clean up and

Super Carrel M icrofilm R eader The most popular lib ra r\ reader for I (m ini and 35nm i M icrofilm !

enhance images. In fact, preliminary returns show CPI coming way down.

W ith the first

LLMC will rely for preservation purposes on a dual medium hybrid strategy. Whilst going digital for easy and fast access, it will also rely on proven technology (microfilm) to "write" the individual data to archival quality silver halide film. Enhanced TIFF images are converted on a Staude digi-fiche unit. The film is processed with an on-board processor to archival standards and verified through methylene blue testing.

Duplicate masters are made with one set stored at LLMC in Hawaii and the second sent to a depository at Harvard University in

generation scanner it was roughly $US 0.07

Cambridge, Massachusetts. A third quality microfiche is made to create fiche dupes for libraries that want microfiche.

per image. W ith the SMA unit it is roughly

Looking for "disbound" discards

$US 0.04 CPI and with the extremely high throughput

"In the past we anticipated that any books disbound for scanning purposes would subsequently be discarded," says

Staude, which is averaging about 4,400 IPH (images per

DuPont. "However, we now believe this material, in effect, sets a standard. The images derived (from such materials) will be

hour), it drops down

observable...and they will be the basis of comparison for those who may offer 'better copies'. In addition...should rescanning be

to about $US 0.01.

These costs compare to $US 0.035 CPI for digitising from fiche.

Even though these are

required (at some future point) it would be a natural (source) target."

LLMC is already having success in

early results, it is clear that the costs for

persuading some libraries to do just that.

For example, Wayne State University Law Library (Michigan) will be using the

scanning bound books are down to roughly

opportunity presented by LLMC-digital to recover the shelf space previously devoted to

the same as it was to

many of its state court reports. The library is

digitise from fiche with better resulting

already shipping its "discards" to LLMC.

images, and the costs for digitising from

appears LLMC-digital is achieving all the benefits it expected and more.

W hile the findings are still interim, it

disbound materials

FEATURE

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PRODUCT NEWS In order for us to keep our readers up to date with the latest product launches and developments along with new services offered we need the manufacturers and suppliers to keep us informed.

Simply email the information to us at tim@green-sheet.net and we will do the rest.

Sunrise announces the N e w High-Speed S 3000 RapidScan Delivering speeds up to 3 5 0 pages per minute SunRise Imaging, Inc. (SRI), the pioneer in high-performance microfilm scanning

of-the-art in imaging hardware components, but has new software architecture to deliver the highest performance-to-cost capability in

handles multiple microfilm formats and allows the customers to switch between

a microfilm scanner. The new design delivers

rollfilm, microfiche or aperture card formats.

The new system software architecture is

claims to be the global leader in the

instant response to the user without having to rescan. Image processing, filtering and enhancing of the image is fully grayscale

designed for future growth for an easy upgrade path.

SunRise will continue to offer the current

microfilm scanning industry with the largest

supported by the S3000 RapidScan "The new system's 12 bit native mode, high-speed disk/server transfer rate, larger memory

S2500 model at a lower cost. In addition all three modules (Rollfilm, Ultrafiche, and

installed base in the world, has made a

the features that contribute to the performance", according to Deryl Finney, Marketing Director.

products, recently announced the SunRise *3000 RapidScan. SunRise Imaging which

major step in digital microfilm scanning. The new system incorporates not only the state-

(1GB) and a bigger disk drive, are some of

The SunRise 3000 RapidScan continues to have the flexible, modular 3-1 design that

Aperture Card) are interchangeable between the S2500 and the S3000 RapidScan.

For more details on the SunRise 3000 RapidScan email: sales@sunriseimaging.com Tel: 1.714.505.1144 or visit www. sunriseimaging, com

New Oce Security Card Reader supports e-Passports Oce recently demonstrated the latest e-passport required security feature in conjunction with its successful Oce ID-Star CSR (Colour Security Reader) 4054. This 3rd generation card reader, which scans passports, visas and other secure travel documents in colour, includes the latest advancements for verifying the authenticity of documents and detecting forgeries,

worldwide in all major countries within the

straightforward accessing of document data.

next 3-5 years.

The new Oce ID-Star CSR ePassport

These libraries can be integrated in Windows 2000 and Windows XP

Option adds a high speed RFID-reader module. The module is completely integrated with the Oce ID Star 4054 CSR and will be

applications.

As the international bodies responsible for standardisation of electronic ID documents (in particular ICAO) have not yet

sold as an optional upgrade for the standard reader. It is designed to capture all biometrical information stored on a chip in the upcoming new generation of e-Passports

finalised their definitions of standards, it is not now possible to specify the entire

and other travel documents. The RFID module is integrated seamlessly into the ID

performance scope of the reader with the RFID module. The exact scope of functions will be configured according to the relevant

logical invention with the new e-Passport Option, which makes the Oce ID-Star CSR

Star CSR so that reading data from the chip in the ID document under inspection takes

bodies' respective definitions (ICAO / ISO, and others, for instance the EU) and, where

support all new security requirements in the field of biometrics according to the latest ICAO standards and recommendations.

place in parallel with the capture of images from the personal-data page of the ID

needed, also project- and country-specific.

The e-Passport Option is planned to ship

document.

The U.S. government requires some countries to add biometric identification to passports using RFID tags for their citizens to

This means that the document only has to be laid on the reader once for both the

in Q 3 2005.

More than 2,000 Oce ID Star devices are in operation worldwide, deployed for mission critical projects in border control,

including ultraviolet light, infrared, and security laminate reading.

Now Oce introduces it's latest techno­

visit without"d visa. US diplomats and State Department employees are in the process of being issued new US RFID passports. Other citizens will receive them when applying for new passports starting in the spring. The State Department plans to produce more than 1 million e-Passports by the end of

optical and the electronic reading and data Security Card Reader ID-Star CSR with new Security Features and Colour Recognition capture processes to be performed. The RFID read function thus does not impair the reader's ergonomic 'one motion usage' in practice.

The application also helps ascertain that

airports, embassies, consulates and passport authorities. The Oce ID Star is used to help manage country border controls in over 15 countries including: Argentina, Austria, Brunei, Denmark, Estonia, Great Britain, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malta, Romania, Slovenia, the Netherlands, Turkey

2005. By 2006, it expects all new passports to feature the special microchips, according to Angela Aggeler, a spokeswoman for the

the data of both the optical and the RFID readings originate from the same document.

To facilitate integration with the

and Vietnam. It is also used for quality assurance of consulate issued documents in Hungary, Switzerland and the Ukraine.

agency's Bureau of Consular Affairs.

customer's software applications, functions are summarised and made available in libraries. This enables the reader to be

Contact: Oce North America, Inc. 4330 East West Highway, Suite 304 Bethesda, M D 20814 U.S.A. Tel: 301-652-9734

E-Passports and other travel documents containing RFID chips (as defined by the ICAO standard) will become compulsory

addressed easily, as well as providing

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P R O D U C T NEW S

20

Kofax announces new version of VirtualReScan Kofax has announced a new version of its award-winning VirtualReScan (VRS)

capture," said Anthony Macciola, vice president of development and marketing at

technology, the de facto industry standard for image processing. VRS 4.0 makes

Kofax. "W ith more than 50,000 instal­

detection and colour saturation features.

VRS 4.0 quickly and automatically processes

lations and OEM partnerships with all of the major scanner manufacturers, VRS is the de

mixed black-and-white and colour documents in a batch; for example, it can recognise that a document captured on

quality of scanned images by expanding the existing capabilities of VRS to include colour

facto industry standard for image

colour paper should be captured as a black-

processing, and version 4.0 presents a

processing and features that further automate document preparation.

tremendous opportunity for our channel

and-white image, while still capturing individual colour elements on other

partners to significantly reduce operational costs for their clients."

documents. Regardless of the scanner used, Version 4.0 delivers consistent image quality

scanning more efficient and enhances the

VRS improves both image quality and OCR (optical character recognition) accuracy, delivering unmatched image quality and eliminating the need to rescan document images because of its automatic check for and adjustment of alignment

VRS 4.0 significantly speeds document preparation, which otherwise could take twice as much time as the scanning process itself. Prior versions of VRS enabled users to avoid sorting documents by quality or size.

and colour processing that extends the scanner's onboard image and colour management software.

"The demand for capturing colour is

(skew), brightness, contrast and image clarity. W ith colour processing and

Now, VRS 4.0 eliminates additional timeconsuming manual tasks, such as sorting

steadily growing, especially in industries such as insurance, finance, human resources and law enforcement, where records

capabilities that significantly reduce document preparation by automatically

documents to face in the same direction, or inserting separator sheets to differentiate

frequently include colour forms, photos and drivers licenses," said Macciola. "VRS 4.0

handling blank or rotated pages, as well as white-or black-background scanners, VRS

black-and-white and colour documents.

enables businesses to take advantage of the colour capabilities on their scanners and

4.0 greatly accelerates the processing of documents, cuts the amount of time that knowledge workers spend on rescanning and improves their productivity.

"We designed VRS 4.0 to increase the efficiency of scanning, improve workflow and reduce the costs associated with

"Cutting document preparation time is a huge value-add for users, and VSR 4.0

extends the viable use of colour in a

makes the process as easy as removing staples and stacking the documents in the

business process."

scanner," said Macciola.

VRS 4.0 taps into the widely under­

Availability VRS 4.0 is available now.

utilised colour capabilities of nearly all scanners by offering intelligent colour

For additional information on VRS, go to www.kofax.com.

I s n ’ t it t i m e

you f o u n d

out a b o u t

^

»

OIT UK’s Total Solution for Document Management?

Optical Image Technology UK provides: ^ lV Migration to web-based and portal based business A t*.

Improvement and enhancement to current business streams Scalability to address corporate/enterprise needs

JU k

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

A\

Assured service levels

AV Operational efficiency

AV

Standardisation

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 d o t

Content Portal Imaging '

* EDM

HSM Workflow XML Forms COLD/Fiche

A O I T U K

LTD

Member of the Genus Group

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

P R O D U C T NEW S

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21

Laser output from the new Solar CopyMaster Racing on from the success of selling posters and cards generated from items in their collections, museums and archives can

and then, using the vector, the 3D leaf shape was cut out of wood.

Solar Laser Systems

now capitalise on a new lucrative revenue stream.

A new range of laser cutting and engraving systems marketed by Solar Laser Systems allows the collections to be reproduced onto a multitude of materials such as wall and floor tiles, leather, wood and glass.

The example shown was produced from a scan of a leaf. The captured image was

face up. And just like the human eye it automatically focuses on the subject.

Ltd is the distributor in

Inside the CopyMaster is a high specifi­ cation computer with which the user interacts

the UK and Ireland for the renowned range of

via the customary flat screen monitor, keyboard and keypad. In fact the

laser cutting and engraving machines

CopyMaster doubles as a normal computer

manufactured by Universal Laser Systems Inc. of Scottsdale, Arizona.

The Solar CopyMaster, a new overhead

converted to grayscale and a vector file of

A 2 colour copier, is a sophisticated, yet easy to use, companion for the Universal Laser

the outline was created. The texture of the leaf was engraved from the grayscale image

System capturing objects such as models and other artwork the way you look at them;

allowing the user to capture and output to an attached Universal Laser or paper printer, without having to use another computer.

Demonstrations are taking place now at Solar Laser Systems' office in Rochester, Kent.

For details visit: www.solarlasers.co.uk, contact: Brian Cain on (0) 1634 290260 or Email to: brian@solarlasers.co.uk

ACS offers Datasurance to end digital obsolescence Affiliated Computer Services (ACS), Dallas, Texas, has applied for a patent on a binary data archiving technology that it says can end digital obsolescence. Noting that migration policies are complicated and costly semi-solutions and that, in practical terms, digital obsolescence cannot be avoided as long as new hardware is developed that renders older hardware obsolete, ACS proposes a new solution. It says the answer to avoiding format obsolescence is to archive the formatted

data, the creating application, and the operating system it requires to execute.

The ACS solution uses 2-D Barcode and binary data stored on microfilm. This creates a storage method that "can sustain any digital file for hundreds of years". ACS says any digital file, video, audio or document can be encoded, preserved, decoded and restored to its original operational state at a future time. "Any available microfilm scanner that can capture a clear image of the 2-D Barcode symbol on

microfilm can return the image to a digital image in a computer," a company spokesman said.

ACS currently offers a Datasurance Preservation Archive Service for any digital file material that uses 2-D Barcode technology and film (black and white or colour). It says the Datasurance files are 100% verified for accuracy before storage in its Flora, Mississippi archival storage facility.

Visit www.acs-inc.com

Balance for mySAP Business Suite v l . 5 ITESOFT increases functionality of its dedicated supplier invoice processing suite for the ERP solution processing of 100% of external invoice flows (EDI, ADP, EIPP) The Suite package now includes 4 workflows, with additional cost management being added

ITESOFT has announced the release of Balance for mySAP Business Suite v l.5 , which enhances the productivity and efficiency of the invoice checking process within the SAP R/3 environment.

This new version extends the functionality of ITESOFT's SAP-specific invoice processing suite, which was introduced in Autumn 2004. Balance for mySAP Business Suite integrates all types of document processing flows (ADP, EDI, EIPP) into SAP R/3. It brings together all the functional steps involved in invoice checking with the

★

invoice validation workflows. These can be used as the basis for a customised solution for each user company.

★

Automatic matching of MM invoices with order, delivery slip, service entry sheet,etc Management of new functional cases of invoice control: splitting up/grouping

data integration.

New features in Balance for mySAP

together of invoice line items, line-by-line invoicing closure, off-workflow invoice validation and dispute management.

Business Suite v l .5 include: Broadened functional coverage ensures

★

★ ★

supervision and monitoring tools needed for

★

irrespective of location and digital data storage device.

to the quantity discrepancy management, price discrepancy management and FI

any "SAP reference document": purchase ★

invoice from all transactions,

Generic access to the image of the

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Easy access to setting functions.

Option lists available for matching and allocation.

Drag & drop function for invoice data during matching.

★

Automatic hiding of matched line items.

Over the last two years, ITESOFT has been successful with customers using SAP R/3, with more than 20 projects for automatic processing of invoices in the SAP environment including A ir France, Alcan, Belgacom, Fresenius, Marie Groupe UNIQ, Saint-Gobain, Sodexho, and Tereos.

ITESOFT contact: Jonathan Symons, 01252 741500 / www.itesoft-uk.com

P R O D U C T NEW S

22

Canon adds faster, compact scanners to its document scanner portfolio N e w compact colour devices, the DR 2 58 0C and DR 5 0 IOC, offer faster output and increased productivity with a scanning speed o f 2 5 and 5 0 pages per minute respectively and ensure colour accurate reproductions Canon UK has recently announced two new compact additions to its document

or image as possible. Both devices offer 3D colour correction, another new technology,

501OC deliver fast, high quality results and have colour capabilities that offer increased

which increases the colour accuracy of each scanned document by picking-up individual document and pictorial differences or

versatility to users. They scan a wider range of documents, such as thick cardboard and

'quirks' from the original in order to create a sharper, more consistent copy.

scanner portfolio. The DR 2580C and DR

Both scanners are compact in order to

scanning requirements. The DR 2580C is primarily aimed at small corporate

and stop, ScanTo Print, ScanTo PC

a button.

Both products

workgroups, satellite offices and small businesses and offers a flatbed capability for increased versatility. The DR 501 OC, an A3

come packaged with CapturePerfect "By developing technology that improves

production market.

The DR 501 OC uses new 3 Line Sensor

the accuracy and speed of scanned images, we hope to demonstrate Canon's commitment to providing high quality, high

technology which improves the speed of colour scanning that will enable the same

speed products. W ith more businesses looking to improve document management

output speed as black and white. The sensors also improve image quality because, unlike usual colour scanning technology, they

and storage, as well as send important documents across the internet, these new

images and colours stay sharp and accurate to remain as close to the original document

are also additional functions, such as start

programmed to be enabled at the touch of

save space in the office and are for organi­ sations that have high volume desktop

read each colour simultaneously ensuring

that can be tailored to match individual needs in order to aid easy operation. There

and ScanTo Mailer which can be

plastic cards, due to the introduction of a new 'straight path' option.

scanner, is aimed at larger corporate workgroups, but is also capable of addressing the needs of the low volume

The DR 2580C comes with three job buttons

devices aim to make this process more efficient." commented Glen Mason, Office Solutions marketing manager, Canon UK.

3.0 (an ISIS compatible application software) and Adobe Acrobat 7.0 as standard, both are compatible with a wide range of document management software and bundled with industry standard TWAIN and ISIS drivers.

The DR 2580C and DR 5 0 10C have been available across Europe since May. Please visit www.canon.co.uk to find out more information

A&P introduces larger resolution target/charts Two new photographic resolution targets/charts for larger microfilm cameras are announced by A&P International. Each

x 863.6mm), incorporating AI-A5 sizes.

size accommodates copy boards of Zeutchel and Kodak MRD-2 Cameras respectively, enabling full-document coverage for

incorporating A 2-A 5 sizes.

A&P markets even larger-sized PM-MLA (Metric Large Area) targets in 81 2mm x

microfilm QC verification.

A&P's current PM-MGP (Metric General Purpose) target measures 12 .5 "x l 8"

1219.2 mm (36"x48"), incorporating A0A2 sizes. And PM-LAT (Large Area Target)

PM-MRD2, a slightly smaller extension, measures 22 "x3 1 " (558.8mm x 787.4 mm),

(317.5mm x 445mm). It incorporates A3-A5 sizes and conforms with industry standards.

sized 32"x45." Both versions are compatible with A N S I/A IIM M S-24-1980 (R-1987) and meet U.S. MIL-M-9868D Specs.

(New targets are extensions of this PM-MGP) The PM-ZEU measures 24"x34" (609.6

target exceeds AIIM MS44 standard

P R O D U C T NEW S

The firm's popular PM-189 Scanner

offering and is sold in sizes from 8.5x11 "A to 34"x44"E (including B,C, & D sizes inbetween).

A&P product/codes are under copyright and are proprietary. Thumbnail target replicas and pricing of all Products are shown on our revised web site. A&P immediately will fax or mail requested information worldwide.

Contact: Paul Montgomery, A&P Int., 57 7 Locust Street, Prescott, W l 54021 U.S.A. Tel: 715-262-5788 Fax: 715-262-3823 o r visit http://www.pressenter.com

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you can

Canon The micro offer with a huge reward.

Upgrade any Microfilm Reader to a Canon machine and receive...

ÂŁ300 trade in discount for every Canon MS300 or MS350 purchased*

and ÂŁ600 trade in discount for every Canon MS800 purchased* Please call Canon for help and further information on 01737 229 022 *

Terms and Conditions apply

K L m

24

ABBYY launches FormReader 6.5 Truly unified data capture platform supports wide range of form processing functions

ABBYY Software House, a leading provider of document recognition and linguistic technologies, today announced worldwide availability of ABBYY FormReader 6.5, a feature and functionality enhancement to ABBYY's turnkey form processing solution. The FormReader 6.5

architecture, making it simple to extend the

allows customers to input data from forms

system to support a variety of options, tasks, enterprise configurations, and document

and documents scanned as PDF files. The PDF Saving module allows users to save

types.

original form images back into the PDF image format.

High Production Scanning Via ISIS

ABBYY FormReader is available in three versions:

★

1) FormReader Desktop Edition, basic fixedform processing for small to mid-sized work groups on a desktop computer;

Scanners - also available as a new add­ on module. FormReader now supports input from scanners using the ISIS

2) FormReader Enterprise Edition, a clientserver based product designed for

scanning interface. This makes it possible for FormReader to work seamlessly with

FormReader is capable of processing both

regular or daily high volume processing and advanced features to support

high-speed, high production scanners commonly used by organisations such as

fixed and semi-structured forms in one batch without pre-sorting. All these features, combined with options for distributed

distributed document processing, network administration and roll-out, and license management;

business process outsourcing (BPO) companies.

release adds support for new document input and output formats and new add-on options, functions that enhance the versatility of the software platform. W ith the option of adding FlexiCapture technology,

processing across an enterprise, and customisation through an easily accessible API, make the ABBYY FormReader platform

★

3) FormReader Developer Edition, an API for customisation or integration of

Creation - FormReader's powerful set of options for creating rules used for automatic validation of recognised data,

FormReader into other applications.

one of the most flexible platforms for data capture available in a single, unified environment.

Based on ABBYY's award-winning technology, FormReader offers cutting-edge OCR, ICR, OMR, and OBR technologies to

W ith the introduction of FormReader 6.5, ABBYY offers the following new options for FormReader customers: ★ Multi-page Document Assembly - ABBYY FormReader Desktop Edition is now enriched with multi-page document support, previously available only with

information management systems. An out-of­ box solution, FormReader offers helpful

FormReader Enterprise Edition. ABBYY FormReader will correctly assemble and

tools to make the process of setting up a form processing solution simple, allowing

sort these documents and export them so that multiple pages of data can be easily

companies and integrators to deploy a system without a significant investment in IT resources. Powerful functions for fixed form template design and creation, validation, and verification, give FormReader all of the core functionality required for efficient data capture. In addition, ABBYY FormReader is based on an expandable, modular

is now even easier to customise.

Administrators can now create any rule

New Features in FormReader 6.5

extract key pieces of data from forms for export to a variety of databases and

assigned to a single table string or database record. Document assembly accuracy is checked by using a special ★

Visual Basic Support for Validation Rule

by using the Visual Basic programming language. ★

Semi-structured Document Support Via FlexiCapture Studio 1.5 - FormReader 6.5 now supports semi-structured form and document processing through support for FlexiCapture Studio 1.5, also released today. FlexiCapture Studio is an easy-to-use tool that allows integrators and administrators to create Flexilayouts, intelligent form definitions that allow FormReader to find necessary field data on a document even when the location of the field varies from document to

link field.

PDF Support - available in two new add­

document, or page to page. This add-on module allows FormReader to process

on modules for PDF - PDF Opening and PDF Saving. The PDF Opening module

both fixed forms and semi-structured forms such as invoices, shipping orders,

Automatic preservation of your digital files and all accompanying data for use in the future 100, 50,30, 20,10 or just 5 years from now.

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25

and loan documents in one batch. New features supported through FlexiCapture Studio 1.5 (and thus through FormReader 6.5) include table support, texture filtering, and multiple language selection for pre-recognition.

In addition to the previous enhancements to FormReader's core functionality, the following new features are available via FormReader Enterprise Edition: ★

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Export via OLE DB - provides direct

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document or electronic form - can be

additionally supports processing of invoices,

processed using the FormReader system. eFormDesigner ships with eFormFiller a

financial reports, letters, agreements, and documents with tagged headers and footers,

module that makes filling out forms created with eFormDesigner, comfortable

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and easy.

Partner Programmes

Enhanced Network Configuration Functions - including remote installation

ABBYY FormReader products are sold through select certified VARs, integrators

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and resellers. ABBYY offers a comprehensive training and certification programme for

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eFormDesigner - a new add-on module

a variety of forms and documents such as

for creation and testing of electronic forms. To simplify the initial steps of

applications, tax declarations, question­ naires, etc. FormReader products and technologies are already in use around the

establishing a form processing system, the electronic forms can be created automatically on the base of paper form blanks created in FormDesigner. W ith eFormDesigner, administrators can expand the capabilities of the system so that any form type - scanned paper

world by such organisations as banks, insurance and law companies, marketing and polling agencies, government establishments, and educational institutions.

W ith the addition of FlexiCapture technology, the FormReader platform

partners designed to demonstrate how to take advantage of FormReader's tools for easy system deployment and customisation.

Partners can further enhance their businesses by using ABBYY FlexiCapture Studio to expand FormReader capabilities for their customers.

Pricing and Availability ABBYY FormReader 6.5 is available immediately. For pricing and trial version, please contact ABBYY's local office or nearest ABBYY's partner, for additional product information go to www.ABBYY.com.

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M anual Library Researcher

P R O D U C T NEW S

CASE STUDIES In this issue we are concentrating the case studies on the Financial Sector. As in all forms of commerce the accurate and secure keeping of records is very important, but in the world of finance it is paramount. The repercussions can be formidable if security is breached or records are lost.

r r e e im

1 becomes integral part of i u i Eu r o p e a n c a s h h u b Project

Document capture and processing software company, ITESOFT, is to supply its automatic document management and processing solution, ITESOFT.FreeMind, to BNP Paribas Securities Services to process the large volumes of faxed orders received from its European subsidiaries as part of its EUROPEAN CASH HUB project.

Part of the overall EUROPEAN CASH HUB programme, the FAX project, involves

Risk & Finance said: "ITESOFT's solution meets two of our project's critical requirements: real-time processing and tracking. We receive 250 to 500 faxes daily, concentrated into a short period of time, with 50% of requests reaching us between 11a.m. and 2 p.m. It is vital that every request received during this intensive period

ITESOFT.FreeMind will automatically retrieve all faxes arriving at the central FAXCALL server; recovering the relevant information and transmitting it to BNP PARIBAS Securities Services' specialist dedicated application. Fax images will be systematically archived, ensuring that they are available for consultation following

is processed without delay.

"Processing security is equally critical for

execution of any orders.

processing of all faxed payment orders issued by all BNP Paribas Securities

us as we process transfers daily worth several billion euros. No transaction is allowed to proceed before it has passed a

PARIBAS subsidiary, specialises in the provision of securities services to financial institutions such as investment banks,

Services' clients in Paris, Milan, London, Luxemburg, Frankfurt, M adrid, Zurich and Athens, improving the workflow process and

range of contextual and dynamic checks built into the system, providing us with a guaranteed level of confidentiality, reliability

brokerages, institutional investors and issuers.

Contact: Tom Fox at ITESOFT,

guaranteeing 100% document tracking.

Dominique Sauvage, Head of IT for Cash,

and tracking for all information carried by the system."

T e l:+44 (0)1252 741 500 F a x -.+44(0)122 741 515

centralising the automatic capture and

BNP PARIBAS Securities Services, a BNP

The Alliance Trusts benefit from Scan-on-Demand Alliance Trust Savings (a member of the

continuity during the implementation of the chosen solution.

securely stored and Alliance Trusts' staff will

After looking at several alternative solutions and suppliers, Alliance Trusts

simply request items to be scanned as and when needed via an automated system available on eView+. These images, too, will

compliance purposes, Alliance Trust Savings' paperwork is kept for several years after the completion of business which, in some

decided that Preview Services' eView+ web repository solution was ideally suited to the task. eView+ allowed the application forms

be uploaded onto their eView+ site for easy access any time of the day or night.

"Preview understood what was needed.

cases, has built up for thirty years since the formation of Alliance Trust Savings.

Application forms were stored in a secure vault whilst background documents were

to be digitally scanned and the images uploaded onto a secure, password protected web site with 2 4 /7 viewing access.

They really took the time to explain things to me and offered us a very cost effective

Alliance Trusts group) is not alone in having to manage a large volume of paperwork accumulated over a long period of time. For

housed in 84 filing cabinets outside the vault and this had created a real business bottleneck. Documents needed to be viewed to check signatures, etc. sometimes as many

Speaking of how the project was implemented without interruption to the normal workflow, Jenny said, "We would

solution" - Jenny Thorpe, Alliance Trust Savings If you need to handle a large volume of paperwork for any reason, why not just

email a request for a particular application form and Preview would locate the right file,

scan it? You can save time and money, find information fast, just when you need it and

as sixty times a day. Jenny Thorpe, then on the Alliance Trusts' intensive management training programme, was given the task of

scan the documents and upload them to our secure web repository site within the ten

at the same time free up costly storage space.

hour lead time agreed."

sorting out the storage space issues caused by this paperwork mountain. The objective

The remaining background documents did not need to be scanned immediately but

Contact: Preview Services Limited, 1 Mount Road, Flanwortli, Middlesex TW13 6AR, UK

was to free up the storage space and implement a secure and accessible alternative, whilst allowing normal business

were instead delivered to Preview's Scan-onDemand facility in the north-west of

CASE S T U D IE S

Tel: +44 (0)20 8755 5710 Fax: +44 (0)20 8 755 5715 o r visit www.previewservices.co.uk

England. Here, the documents will remain

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L iN ((

M o b ile System m eans savings in

ST O R A G E P R O D U C T S

B A N K IN G APPLICATION support." She points out that this means a

The space saving benefits of Link 51 's

combination of boxes, individual files and

mobile shelving systems are now being enjoyed by Chase De Vere Financial

ring binders can be readily accommodated.

Pine effect decorative end panels have also been specified throughout the facility to

Solutions pic, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Bank of Ireland. The company's Employment Benefits operation in central

provide an aesthetically pleasing

London uses the Link 51 installation to house

appearance that suits the office environment.

By combining maximum density with ease of operation - a direct benefit of an

an extensive number of client files in a ishelving system which minimises floor space

ergonomically-designed handwheel positioned at the end of each shelving run -

requirements. Because only one access aisle needs to be opened at any given time, allowing the majority of the installation to be

Link 51 's mobile shelving systems have proven themselves in a vast number of locations. W ith each customer able to select

kept effectively in a closed position, maximum file storage density can be achieved. As a result, in a typical instal­ lation, some 50% savings in floor space can be realised.

The Chase De Vere Financial Solutions installation utilises Link 51's Clearstor shelving system. Fully adjustable, the product is ideal for a mobile installation and, because there is minimal width wastage, endorses the space saving benefits. This clear access to the full shelf width is enhanced by a variety of shelf and upright sizes making the Clearstor design ideal for

storage of both bulky and small items. In turn, this flexibility has allowed the Chase De Vere Financial Solutions installation to be configured precisely to match the company's needs, as Flex Services Executive Jacky Flembury explains - "The installation features

the specific shelving system from the company to suit the particular application, there is virtually no installation where these benefits cannot be enjoyed. The Chase De Vere Financial Solutions premises in central London are a prime example.

five back-to-back mobile units, flanked by single depth static shelving at both ends," she says. "Each shelving run provides a

Contact: Link 51, P.O. Box 16, M ill St,

width of three bays with the majority of our files easily stacked without further vertical

Email: enquiries@link51 .co.uk o r visit www.link51.co.uk

Brierley Hill, W. Midlands, DY5 2TB Telephone: +44 (0)1384 472543

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llmage Retrieval, Inc 3 6 2 0 NJosey Lane, Suite 103, Carrollton TX 7 5 0 0 7 USA Tel : +1 9 7 2 4 9 2 0 9 3 0 email : sales@iiri.com Fax : +1 972 4 9 2 5 1 2 4 W eb : www.iiri.com

CASE S T U D IE S

Input A c c e l _ helps NHS Pensions Agency As part of an ongoing systems moderni­ sation programme, planning began in 2002 to introduce electronic document management (EDM) into the NHS Pensions Agency in Fleetwood, Lancashire. The aim was to improve the service to members of the pension scheme by providing the agency's staff with better access to more comprehensive information.

THE CHALLENGE Poor Access to Member Files Initially, the NHS Pension Agency set out to solve several problems.

and introduce solutions for handling both

Additional paperwork generated by

incoming mail and additional paperwork.

Elision was introduced as a specialist in

agency staff (called "scan and leave") is scanned daily on site and the images are

large paper conversion projects.

usually available as part of the member's electronic file within 48 hours. There was a

In order to successfully undertake the large document conversion project, Elision relied upon InputAccel by Captiva Software Corporation.

InputAccel is Captiva's award-winning document capture software that transforms mission-critical data from paper and faxes into business-ready content. InputAccel ensures the integrity of incoming data and converts it into formats usable in back-end systems.

Elision chose InputAccel for its proven ability to convert large volumes of paperbased information and its reputation as a cost-effective way to add high-speed scanning, indexing, optical character recognition (OCR) and forms processing capabilities to information management applications. InputAccel's advanced OCR technology enabled even the files in poor

Its access to information was slow since the file store was located 6 miles away in Poulton. There were occasions when files were not received until 48 hours after an initial request had been submitted. The file store contained approximately 2.2 million files on 7 miles of shelving. Searching for missing files was time-consuming and not always successful with some files deemed to be lost altogether. Incomplete files also posed a significant problem as new documents were not always included before a request was submitted to the store.

Furthermore, many of the files were over 50 years old and in poor condition. W ith the file store edging close to capacity and the lease due to expire, the NHS Pensions Agency had to decide if it wanted to extend the lease, seek different premises or consider alternatives.

THE SOLUTION Document Conversion with InputAccel by Captiva A contract was signed in March 2003 to convert the 2.2 million files to digital images

CASE S T U D IE S

condition to be accurately converted into usable, electronic information.

It was decided that the old computer hall at Hesketh House would be converted to a "scanning factory" by Elision, who fitted

substantial investment in IT systems for the project, including a 10 terabyte "storage area network" (SAN). This system holds multiple copies of the images and a second "warm standby" system has also been created to provide further resilience.

Additionally, a substantial investment was made in Captiva Software's InputAccel software and Kodak high performance scanners (i830s). Both Captiva and Kodak provided Elision with outstanding support in order to ensure the project was a success.

THE RESULTS Greater Access to Information and Improved Customer Satisfaction The project saw the establishment of one of the largest scanning operations in the UK, employing local people and revitalising a building that had fallen into disrepair. The introduction of a paperless process into such a large administration involved significant culture change, but the benefits that have been realised are significant.

new lighting, power, air conditioning and high speed data networking. The scanning of the 2.2 million files commenced in June 2003 and was completed in January 2004.

During this 8 month period, over 68 million pages were converted into digital images with the use of InputAccel. A "fast track" process was in operation throughout this period so that any files requested by agency staff could be delivered electronically within 24 hours.

A t the peak of the project, over 20,000 files per day were being moved between the file store and Hesketh House.

Over 150 local staff members were employed on a 3-shift basis, scanning 500,000 pages per day.

NHS Pension Agency's electronic document management system went live in June 2003. Since then, the 4,000 pieces of mail that the agency receives on a daily basis have been scanned, converted to electronic content with InputAccel and delivered electronically to employee's computers. Images of all urgent documents are delivered by 10 am each day and all

Agency staff is now able to instantly access all the information held on a member without having to w ait for files to be transported from the file store or a colleague to finish with the file. By utilising InputAccel to convert all paper files into electronic content, there are no longer problems with missing files or documents and all documents are available within hours of delivery to the building. The improved access to information enables the agency to provide a better and more responsive service to the members of the pension plan, and save time and resources in the course of doing so.

For more information on InputAccel visit: www. captivasoftware. com

other documents by 1 lam .

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29

Oifa Remploy Offiscope appoints new head of sales Lawrence Hill has joined outsourced office services company Remploy Offiscope as its new head of sales.

During his time at document management company Elision, he was responsible for selling software and bureau services, and most recently, he worked at Diversified Software Systems as country manager for the UK and Scandinavia. He has also served as country manager for business process specialist BWise and as sales director for Pi Computer Systems.

Based at the Remploy Offiscope HQ in Bristol, Lawrence's new role involves overseeing sales at the company's seven key Lawrence Hill, who has a strong record of successful business development and sales team leadership gained over the last 20 years, is responsible for the sales management of the Offiscope services, including contact centres, direct marketing, fulfilment and the business's new main focus, document management.

not only provides a first class service in all its specialist areas, but it also allows businesses to make a real difference to people's lives simply through outsourcing their back office needs.

"Offiscope also has a prestigious client list which includes high profile names like Hewlett Packard, Network Rail, the Department for W ork and Pensions, numerous charities such as Age Concern, National Childbirth Trust and the Christian Blind Mission and many of the country's local authorities."

sites in Aberdeen, Banbury, Halifax, Stockton-on-Tees, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Oldham and Acton which together employ a

For 60 years Remploy has been expanding employment opportunities for

total of 380 people.

disabled people in the UK. Committed to

Lawrence said: "As Offiscope is part of Remploy, the UK's largest employer of people with disabilities, it has a great

promoting the independence of disabled people through their full economic inclusion in the labour market, it currently has more

advantage over many companies in that it

than 12,000 staff.

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30

fro m a ro u n d

W orld

RFID Tags H ow will they affect you and your business?

By Laurie Varendorff ARMA - our man in Australia W hat is an RFID (Radio Frequency Identifier) tag? If you wish to know more details then a visit to

near you in the next short while and maybe within months or several years (or they may

with offerings being made available for the

be here already).

and government organisations. Physical objects, records, archives or books (even people) are ideal for the application of RFID technology.

http://w w w .google.com .au/search?hl=en&q =define%3Arfid&meta may be of value. If that does not whet your appetite maybe a visit to http://www.activewaveinc.com/applications _overview.htm! or http://www.korteks.com /Applications/Appli cations_TOC.htm both of which provide an extensive list of RFID Solutions and Applications may fulfil your needs?

Maybe the following statement from the US Department of Defense will convince you of the potential breadth of applications that they believe that RFID technology will encompass.

"The US Department of Defense (DoD) announced the establishment of a RFID

How will this change affect you?

First the visit to the supermarket will be a totally DIY (do it yourself) application. When this RFID process is in place there will be no more Checkout Operators as you will fill your trolley with products and you will pass a static RFID device which will read all RFID TAGS and give you a total cost for the shopping trolley, for you to accept and pay, or to query the account. A t the same time your shopping trolley will be weighed and

from a secure area (or possibly the building) by an identifiable person? Yes this is achievable here and now!

RFID tags are smarter than barcodes in that they can remember when they were hot or cold and what the temperature was at any time since they were produced. This application is usually in place for perishable

if there is a discrepancy between the two, a

goods or pharmaceuticals but could we not use this technology on rare artefacts or

"The new DoD policy will require suppliers to put passive RFID tags on the

does not have an RFID Tag she upsets the status quo of the weight checking process.

Pretty inclusive and now in place and operational!

RFID tags are coming to a supermarket

their possession when they leave the filing area and identify that person? How would you like to know when files are removed

the goods registered via the RFID process and they you will be allowed to proceed, or

sand, gravel and liquids.

lowest possible piece part/case/pallet packaging by January 2005."

How useful would a system be that lets you know who has a file or group of files in

the contents listed on your charge slip will be calculated against the known weight of

real live human will intervene and address the situation. Maybe you have your grand daughter sitting in the trolley and as she

Policy. All items shall be tagged, except

management of physical files in corporate

What will they think of next?

How can we in the Records Management industry take advantage of this technology?

Well some suppliers have already done so

microfilm or other media held in controlled environments? The potential possibilities are only limited to our imagination of what might be.

Let your mind take a trip and see where RFID and its features can provide you with additional business opportunities and or improvements in efficiency in your organi­ sation.

Zeutschel gains bulk order in Korea The Supreme Court of Justice in Korea uses the Zeutschel Scanner OS Omniscan 10000 TT to digitise land registries.

Nationwide there are altogether 70 devices

registration of properties at the same time.

W ith its efforts to improve the quality of services and to make work more efficient, the Supreme Court of Justice in Korea

to be used to record the 230 millions of documentary evidences. The A 2 high performance colour scanner was convincing

decided to digitise all land registries.

The recording of the documents plays an important role in the whole project. The

in a selection procedure, primarily by its exceptional quality of the scanned images and a simultaneously high processing speed.

Zeutschel high performance scanners master several difficulties. The land registers are available in the A3 large format, where the

Background of the digitising project: with the development of the national economy

left and right pages produce one document as it is with a book. Additionally there is the

and of the property market there was an increasing demand for a better process of

different quality of the land registers, which sometimes are extremely fragile. And finally

W O R L D NEW S

the documents must be scanned in colour, because many of the entries and information are underlaid with color.

Thanks to the Zeutschel book seesaw, the precision optics and an innovative light and colour scan system the careful and highquality digitising of the land registers is successful, and all with a remarkable speed for colour scanners of approximately 2 seconds per A 2 copy.

Zeutschel GmbH has already carried out similar projects successfully in a number of libraries, archives and other government utilities worldwide.

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Rates are £ 3 5 ($ 6 3 ) per insertion with a limit of 25 words. Each additional 25 words or fraction are £ 3 5 3 ($ 6 3 ). There is an additional £ 1 0 ($ 1 8 ) charge for the use of Box number. For display (boxed) ads add £ 2 0 ($ 3 6 ). To place a classified ad, send copy to Micrographics Marketing Ltd, 65 Winchester Drive, Burbage, Leic LE10 2BA UK, or fax it to + 4 4 (0) 24 7638 2319 or Email it to tim@green-sheet.net.

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