THE NEWSLETTER OF IMAGE PROCESSING SYSTEMS - ISSUE 1 OCTOBER 30, 2003
IPS Cuts Costs and Speeds Turnaround for Advertising Agency
IPS has sharply boosted productivity in the management of accounts payable for one of the world's leading ad agencies. Based in New York City, the agency receives a huge number of bills, called "affidavits," from TV and radio stations across the country, representing media buys made on behalf of clients with broadcast networks, station groups and individual stations. In addition to the accounting data, the agency needs immediate access to the affidavits as backup for the schedules it manages.
Outsourcing its imaging, indexing and data entry to IPS has allowed the agency to dramatically increase productivity. Outsourcing the imaging process will achieve payback in a single year, with dramatic savings beginning the second year. At the same time, IPS has reduced turnaround from as much as 10 days to only 48 hours, and improved accuracy using page-for-page quality control checks and double-keying of all data. The agency also enjoys faster access to the images via IPS's ImageServ online document repository.
Years ago, agency executives thought that imaging meant buying their own system. And that's what they did. When the operating system was no longer supported, however, they were stuck with the technology. By outsourcing with IPS instead, they are getting the state of the art, saving money and time, and preserving their flexibility.
New at IPS
New Data Center. In early July, IPS completed a new data center to support scanning and indexing operations at its Secaucus, New Jersey Imaging Center. "Merging three separate spaces into two, we've built a new center with the latest in backup systems and redundant access to utilities," says Operations and Technology Director Frank Calautti. "We've also upgraded our physical security to ensure complete protection of client data." The Secaucus data center supports scanning and indexing operations at the IPS Imaging Center.
Introducing Image Mailbox. IPS is introducing a new service called Image Mailbox. This unique service captures incoming documents at the point of entry - the mailroom - and converts them into digital images for 100% paperless processing within the organization. Eliminating physical distribution inside the organization reduces labor costs, speeds handling, and increases productivity. Image Mailbox may be implemented onsite, with IPS integrating a managed imaging center into your mail room operations; or offsite, with IPS establishing a post office box at our Imaging Center. To discuss the benefits of Image Mailbox for your organization, contact IPS President Gregory Bartels.
Imaging Technology That Works
Re-scans are the Achilles Heel of digital imaging. In the typical process, an imaging operator runs documents through the scanner, concentrating on achieving a high throughput. After the scanning is done comes a quality-control check. Were all the documents scanned? Are the images readable? For every missing or substandard image, the original document must be retrieved and re-scanned.
New software from Kofax Image Products, now offered with Bell and Howell scanners, is making quality control less of a chore while producing a better product. Called VirtualReScan, it is software that monitors each digital image as it is being rendered by the scanner. It automatically corrects brightness and contrast, straightens crooked documents and crops them on-the-fly. If VirtualReScan detects an error it can't correct - such as a paper jam or folded corner - it will not write the image to disk but instead prompt the operator to rescan it immediately.
IPS is implementing VirtualReScan to improve the quality of images. But we remain committed to conducting a page-for-page visual check of the images we produce and comparing them to the originals. Spot checks are the usual approach to quality control, but That's not good enough for us, because we don't believe it's good enough for our clients.
Imaging Terms You Should Know
ASP: Stands for "application service provider." ASPs deliver and manage applications and computer services from remote data centers to multiple users via the Internet or a private network. Obtaining these applications from an outside supplier can be a cost-effective solution to the demands of systems ownership: up-front capital expenses, implementation challenges, and a continuing need for maintenance, upgrades and customization. Commercial ASPs offer leasing arrangements to customers, whereas non-profit or government organizations may provide these services with no fee. An ASP may be a commercial entity or a not-for-profit or government organization supporting end users.
PDF: Stands for "portable document format." A document converted to PDF file format can be delivered with complete visual fidelity to a wide variety of devices and platforms and can be printed, received as an email attachment, downloaded from a server or even viewed on a mobile device. It has become a worldwide standard for reliable electronic document distribution and storage. PDF is a technology of Adobe Systems.
The Digital Document is brought to you by Image Processing Systems, provider of document scanning, indexing, conversion and archiving services to businesses, institutions, and government nationwide.