Mike, I currently have about 90,000 documents stored in my database. I actually store the files in the database, and then off load the blobs from the master database to secondary databases. You have to consider the #4 file size. I like storing the files in the database because I would rather manage a few database than thousands of files. I also know that once a file is in the database it is not going to be deleted moved or lost, and I can use R:bases built in security to control access to it.
I like the idea of using PDF files, but I have not done it or reasearched it. I scan to jpg files. Usually in big scanning operations most of the work is in getting the documents ready to scan, removing staples, sorting, etc. Every application is different. I have never been faced w/ having to scan a ton of pages at one time. I use inexpensive HP scanners that have document feeders on them. I use the HP software that comes w/ the scanner. This software scans each page to it's own jpg file. I then have a program that runs in R:base and goes out and loads the files into the database one file at a time. There are a lot of ways to do this. I think every application needs to be evaluated on it's own, but it is not difficult. All of the tools are available and inexpensive. Scanning and storing paper files electronically makse so much sense, if for no other reason of being able to back them up. If you want to talk about this more, send me a private e-mail at [EMAIL PROTECTED] Troy Sosamon ===== Original Message from [EMAIL PROTECTED] at 11/06/02 12:31 pm >Salutations: > >Our department is considering creating an electronic database of thousands >of documents. These are currently paper documents that we would need to >scan into files. I would like some suggestions on how to proceed. For >instance, what is the recommended file format to use for a scanned document: >JPEG, TIFF, BMP? I am guessing JPEG because of size considerations. What's >the best equipment and software for a large job like this? > >The basics: An individual creates a pack of paper documents of customer >specification records (CSR). This pack consists of faxed and printed >documents such as e-mails, printed reports from our business system and >purchase orders from customers. A pack can consist of anywhere from 4 to 20 >pages or more. OCR is not a requirement or necessity. We envision being >able to search for images of documents based on a CSR number and date range. >Would it be better to have each scanned page as an individual file with a >key for easy location and retrieveal or can we create one large document >with all the pages for a given CSR/date included? > >We are currently using R:Base for Windows 6.5++. From what I understand, it >is better to create a record in a database with a field that points to a >file on disk. When a record is read from the database R:Base can go out and >display the file on the screen. R:Base 7.0 would probably be the best tool >for the job but we're not quite there yet. > >Is there any equipment that would make the process of scanning thousands of >documents faster or easier? What's the best scanning software for >accomplishing this task? > >All recommendations and comments are greatly appreciated. > >Thanks > >Mike Ramsour > >Voice: 740-829-4340 >================================================ >TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: >Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l >================================================ >TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] >In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l >================================================ >TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: >http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/ ================================================ TO SEE MESSAGE POSTING GUIDELINES: Send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: INTRO rbase-l ================================================ TO UNSUBSCRIBE: send a plain text email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the message body, put just two words: UNSUBSCRIBE rbase-l ================================================ TO SEARCH ARCHIVES: http://www.mail-archive.com/rbase-l%40sonetmail.com/
