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Scanning transformed

Editorial Type: Case Study     Date: 09-2014    Views: 4079   







DM specialist Crimson has refreshed its scanning estate with Kodak Alaris hardware and software

To augment its traditional bureau back scanning services to offer SLA-based BPO solutions to customers, Crimson, a document management organisation headquartered in the north west of England, has invested in Kodak Alaris' latest production scanners and software. Crimson can now offer transactional scanning services to customers where turnaround time and accuracy is critical. This includes processing invoices, building planning applications, 'day forward' scanning and digitisation of proof of delivery documentation.

Crimson bought Kodak Alaris' flagship production scanner - the i5800 - plus dual stacker accessory, along with Capture Pro Network Edition imaging software for its main scanning centre in Leigh, Lancashire. It has also bought two Kodak i3400 scanners and connected A3 flatbeds for use on onsite scanning projects. In addition, Crimson has upgraded its production and DR servers and installed a 10-gigabit Ethernet network to improve data throughput between the i5800 and its associated servers.

Alastair Galbraith, Crimson's managing director, says, ""The investment in the top of the range Kodak i5800 is allowing us to not only capture images at 300 dpi without any system slow down - key for SLA work we're bidding for where quality counts - but we're changing how we organise and run our bureau from a personnel perspective to improve efficiency and service capability.""

Scanner speed used to be a constraining factor in the business. This has been solved by the Kodak i5800. Galbraith explains, ""The transformation has been stunning such that we've extended our opening times and implemented a shift system which means 10,000 extra scans per day - that's a 20% uplift on mixed document types compared to what we were doing before.""

Crimson benchmarked the Kodak scanners and software against solutions from two other scanner vendors but ultimately chose Kodak Alaris given that it has used its products for the past 15 years and felt the migration path for staff was that much easier.

BENEFITS STACK UP
The purchase of the dual stacker offers a key benefit. It allows Crimson to sort and reuse patch code separator sheets which saves money and is environmentally friendly. The business used to purchase 25,000 sheets every other month and therefore estimates a ROI on the stacker accessory within 12 months.

DOING MORE WITH LESS
Historically Crimson had around 10 Kodak scanners of different ages and performance classes, some of which were approaching end of life. This created operational inefficiencies as there were different imaging software and application configurations per PC and each scanner type worked slightly differently. This meant that staff training was an issue if operators had to change from one scanner to another depending on customer workload demands.

Galbraith says, ""If someone was ill or on holiday, it would be tough to keep all 10 scanners working. The Kodak i5800 has allowed us to consolidate our equipment and given us the resilience we need as a service provider as well.""

Staff resourcing has changed as a result. Previously the challenge was always finding skilled operators to manage the machines. However, as the i5800 can cope which such a large workload, Crimson is no longer dependent on them - the effort is made on employing 'preparation' staff to feed the machine and then do quality assurance.

In addition, using Kodak Capture Pro Network Edition has standardised capture software within the firm. With no click charges, and a simple licence process allowing load balancing between scanners or locations depending on client workload demands, Capture Pro Network Edition comes with helpful features like comprehensive indexing and auto import to speed up document processing.
More info: www.kodakalaris.com/go/dinews

""The investment in the top of the range Kodak i5800 is allowing us to not only capture images at 300 dpi without any system slow down - key for SLA work we're bidding for where quality counts - but we're changing how we organise and run our bureau from a personnel perspective to improve efficiency and service capability.""

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