ScanFactory: Services for Scanning of Documents and Archives

ScanFactory provides a total solution for your archive. We offer a wide range of services to organizations that wish to outsource all or part of their archiving activities to an experienced partner. This includes scanning services, long term storage, certified destruction and printing services. All our services are delivered by qualified, security-cleared personnel and draw on over 30 years of experience in scanning, indexing and archiving massive volumes of documents. To date, ScanFactory processed over 350.000.000 documents for its clients across regions, industries and market segments.

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Our Equipment & Capacity

We have a scanning capacity of 250.000 sheets per day. Depending on project volume and schedule, ScanFactory personnel are assigned a daily production quota, which they are required to fulfill. We use only the highest-quality scanning equipment that is available on the market. This includes, among others: best-of-breed production document scanners which can scan up to 170 pages per minute or over 60.000 pages per day each; state-of-the-art microfiche, microfilm and X-ray scanners; book scanners, photo scanners, large format scanners, high-speed production-scale printers, and more.

Our Personnel

Core ScanFactory personnel comprises only full-time employees that are on iGuana payroll (most of them, for many years). The ScanFactory project team consists of highly qualified, security-cleared personnel with decades of combined experience in managing, implementing and delivering scanning projects.  It includes individuals representing key functional areas and divisions, including ScanFactory Operations, Privacy & Prevention, Quality Management, Project Management, Transportation & Logistics.

ScanFactory Resource Planning

ScanFactory Resource Planning (SRP) is iGuana’s proprietary technology that controls, streamlines and automates all ScanFactory operations, from A to Z. It was developed entirely in-house by our expert personnel. Its main purpose is to reduce human intervention to an absolute minimum and remove the risk of human error. This highly sophisticated, one-of-a-kind technology offers complete traceability and provides full real-time reporting functionality.

Customer Portal

The Customer Portal allows you to search for and consult the status of every file / document processed by ScanFactory at any point in time (e.g. In Transport, In Preparation, in Scanning, etc.). The Portal also makes it possible to make requests for urgent scanning (delivered within 1 hour maximum) or urgent physical delivery of a particular file or document, and view full history of such requests. All information and metadata about customer files and documents, including their exact physical location, are stored in the SRP database and can be retrieved on-demand.

Our Scanning Process

All stages of the scanning process are controlled entirely by the SRP, including quality control, human resource allocation and specialized equipment. It is a clear and fully transparent step-by-step process:

We pick up files from you and prepare them for transport to our facilities. Our personnel arrive at your site, register every single file/document in SRP, put files in specially designed archive boxes, assign a unique barcode to each box, and stack them on sealed europallets. The moment a file is registered, iGuana and your staff can trace the exact physical location of each box and the processing stage of each individual file in real time via the SRP.

Sealed europallets containing your documents are transported in a sealed vehicle to the iGuana facility. All transports are dedicated, meaning that no items other than your archive boxes are transported at any one time to guarantee full confidentiality and security.

When registered files/documents arrive at iGuana and the integrity of all seals is confirmed, we scan barcodes on every single box and assign each box a unique location in our warehouse. This information is automatically stored in our SRP system.

Document preparation occurs along strict guidelines that are defined for each client project individually. SRP assigns individual boxes to specific ScanFactory Operators for preparation. Each operator has a unique ID and all his/her activities are logged. File folders, staples and paper clips are removed; non-scannable items are labelled as returns; if necessary, file / document separation pages and/or toggle pages are inserted to give special instructions to the scanner; etc.

All documents are scanned according to specific scanner settings pre-defined in the SRP system for each client project. Scanning is controlled entirely by the SRP system and the risk of human error is essentially reduced to zero. Image quality is guaranteed by sophisticated scanner hardware and technology (see Quality Control). All images and their metadata are stored directly in the SRP database. These image and metadata are processed by the SRP Quality Control & Image Enhancement Algorithms and give iGuana unlimited flexibility in choosing image export formats (e.g. JPEG, TIFF, PDF, etc.) and metadata formats for delivery to the client.

The SRP platform automatically classifies and recognizes the incoming document stream. It identifies all content types (e.g. form, contract, invoice) and leverages 4 classification technologies: image-based, text-based, separation page-based and rule-based. It also identifies, sorts and separates documents with multiple pages and uses various recognition technologies, such as OCR, ICR, OMR and barcode recognition. Data are either automatically extracted or manually indexed using double-keying methods. Automated and manual verification checks are performed to ensure data accuracy.

Our SRP system has built-in quality control features, as do all scanners used at ScanFactory. Examples of quality control features include: Perfect Page Technology, Blank Page Removal, Double Feed Detection, Dual Stream Scanning, Intelligent Quality Control, iThresholding, Auto-deskew, and Image Enhancement that utilizes a 16-core server dedicated exclusively to post-scan image processing. Our Quality Supervisor is automatically notified by the SRP of any quality issues.

Delivery of images and metadata is accomplished either via a Direct File Transfer method (VPN) or External Storage Device method (e.g. encrypted Hard Disk). You decide which option suits you best. Delivery is a fully automated process governed entirely by the SRP. Scanned images are automatically exported from SRP without any human intervention whatsoever. Since all images and metadata are stored directly in SRP, you have unlimited flexibility in choosing your preferred format (e.g. JPEG, TIFF, PDF, PDF/A, etc. for images; CSV, XML, etc. for metadata).

Quality Control

A set of clearly defined procedures governs every single step of our scanning operations, from Pick-up to Metadata & Image Delivery. Every action taken in relation to individual boxes or files / documents is tracked in the SRP system in real time. Owing to unique file and box numbers, barcodes, image quality control, reporting and other process automation tools embedded in SRP, iGuana is in full control over the quality of the scanning process at all times. We also have an internal Quality Supervisor on staff and our employees are trained to apply ISO 9001 Quality Management principles in all their work.

Blank pages are scanned together with all other pages. Based on an algorithm containing paper document size and file size, SRP performs an automatic check to identify blank pages. These pages are removed from view but are not deleted (for legal compliance reasons).

SRP utilizes a 16-core server dedicated exclusively to post-scan image processing. It performs a variety of algorithmic image enhancement functions, such as Brightness & Contrast Enhancement, Sharpness Control, Black Hole Removal, etc. Other complex SRP algorithms analyze every single image, flag images that are suspected to have a quality issue and automatically alert our Quality Supervisor to take action.

Perfect Page technology is a specialized image enhancement software which is integrated into every scanner used at ScanFactory. Automated image enhancement ensures optimal image quality. This is in addition to the SRP image enhancement software.

Double-feed Detection is a sophisticated ultrasonic wave technology that is used to detect when two or more documents are double-fed into the document scanner, at which point the scanner automatically pauses to allow for the documents to be re-inserted correctly.

Dual Stream Scanning ensures that all documents are scanned both, in black-and-white and colour. Black-and-white images are stored in raw TIFF format (best available format for black-and-white images). Colour images are stored in raw JPEG format (best available format for colour images). Every scanned page, therefore, generates 4 images, which is absolutely imperative to prevent data loss and guarantee legibility.

Intelligent Quality Control feature integrated into every scanner used at ScanFactory automatically flags questionable images and optimizes them for quality without the need to re-scan the documents.

iThresholding is a technology integrated into every scanner used at ScanFactory that automatically adjusts brightness and contrast for scanned documents and optimizes them for best possible quality at full processing speed.

Auto-deskew is an automatic straightening / correction of images that were fed into the scanner at an angle causing the resulting images to appear slanted. Auto-deskew straightens and corrects those images.

Certified Destruction

All physical files are kept in quarantine (sealed storage) for a standard period of 1 month from the day scanned documents and metadata are delivered to you. This gives you the opportunity to perform your own quality control. Upon expiration of the quarantine period and your express approval, all quarantined documents are subjected to secure confidential destruction using Security Level P3, DIN 66399 standard. Once physical documents are destroyed, all scanned images and metadata are erased from our SRP system. You receive a confidential destruction certificate.

Long Term Storage

Our long term storage services include: Full Archive Inventory, Transportation and Storage, Urgent Requests Processing and Retention Planning. Before we transport your archive to our off-site storage facility, we perform a full inventory using our SRP system. The archive is then transported in sealed europallets in specially designed archive boxes. Should you require a specific document or file, you can search for it via our Customer Portal and request it to be urgently scanned or physically delivered. We will also design an individual retention plan for each type of file or document and inform you exactly which files/documents can be securely destroyed.

Printing

We offer printing services for customers who need assistance in printing, re-printing and folding large format documents (such as maps, blueprints, engineering or technical drawings, architectural renderings, etc.), documents that have been damaged or contaminated, or simply a large volume of documents that cannot be printed using regular office printers. Our production-scale printers are designed specifically for such high-volume, high-speed and high-quality printing.

Privacy & Security

iGuana takes matters of privacy, security and data protection very seriously. We have an in-house Data Protection Officer (DPO) on staff who is responsible for ensuring compliance with internal privacy & security policies and implementing procedures in line with GDPR and with the ISO 27001 standard for information security.

  • In-house DPO on staff
  • Strict access controls; 24/7 monitoring
  • Ban on Wi-Fi & mobile phones
  • Background checks & confidentiality agreements
  • Secure transportation & sealed storage
  • Secure image & metadata delivery
  • Confidential certified destruction

ScanFactory Video

Quick Facts

Here are a few impressive facts about ScanFactory.

  • 30+ years in production-scale scanning
  • 350.000.000+ documents processed to date
  • 250.000 sheets/day scanning capacity
  • Safe & secure facility in Belgium
  • State-of-the-art scanners & printers
  • ScanFactory Resource Planning (SRP) system

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