From Paperfull to Paperless
 By: Erika Fellars

Corporations Make the Switch from Paper to Digital Documents

Paper documents still make up the vast majority of document types used in business communication and decision-making. While it is true that paper is not being used as often in the non-commerce world, the actual volume of paper used in the corporate environment continues to grow. Technology has shifted the creation of documents to a variety of electronic types and email has become the fastest growing method of business communication.

In order for businesses to gain control of paper documents, it becomes necessary to turn to technology in order to streamline the process.  Technology solutions abound and document imaging is an answer that can provide support for document conversion from paperless to digital.

The typical process that a paper document goes through to become digital is quite simple.  The image is first captured through a scanner.  Options such as OCR are available, which creates an editable text file of the image.   The document is then secured into a digital file output (i.e., PDF, tiff file, etc), where it is catalogued and indexed.  From there, you can choose to further organize your records with options such as adding a Table of Contents or a title, just to mention a few.  From there, your documents are archived onto a CD-Rom or DVD. 

There is an option to choose an automated delivery process which enables the customer to receive document completion notifications and digital submissions through a delivery portal.

SBSI’s retrieval and conversion process is seamless and transparent because we integrate advanced communications and digital imaging processes with technology-based applications to provide the ultimate solution for secure, timely, and reliable data transfer.

This practice has long been in place with law firms.  Major universities have jumped on the bandwagon as well, realizing the value in online registration as well as electronic filing of student records.  SBSI currently supports several San Diego based companies in their goal of becoming paperless offices.