What you can reasonable expect to spend on a document imaging solution or service depends on the needs of your business. Your needs will determine what type of system or service is required and then costs can be assessed. All the following rates are for informational purposes only.

Small imaging system - A small system is capable of scanning about 500 images per day. It will come with small Fujitsu or canon scanner, batch scanning and retrieval software, OCR capabilities, Indexing capabilities, and a computer. 1 day of training via a Webex session and full year of telephone support.

A small imaging system can be up and running in less than 1 week. This system is ideal for a small office. The actual cost of such a system is under $5,000.00. A dedicated employee is probably not necessary to run this type of system.

Midrange imaging system - A medium duty system is capable of scanning about 3000 images per day. It will come with departmental type scanner like a Fujitsu 5650C, document scanning and retrieval software, OCR capabilities, Indexing capabilities, and two computers. One computer would be used for scanning and the other for indexing and retrieval. 1 day of training via a Webex session and full year of telephone support is included.

A midrange imaging system can be up and running in less than 1 week. This system is ideal for a medium size office. The actual cost of such a system is under $15,000.00. A dedicated employee should be considered when implementing this type of system.

Large imaging system - This system is capable of scanning about 10,000 images per day. It will come with production level scanner like a Bell and Howell Spectrum series scanner and a second small scanner for rescans. Batch scanning and retrieval software, OCR capabilities, 2-3 station Indexing capabilities, and five to six computers. This system includes at least 2 days of on-site training and full year of telephone support.

With our training this type of system can be implemented in about two weeks. This system is ideal for a large company generating approximately 75,000 images per month. The actual cost of such a system is under $40,000 to $55,000.

You will need four to six dedicated employees to implement this system as well as a technical person to oversee the whole process. This system is not for the faint of heart, be prepared to designate real resources to your new imaging system.

Spanish Armada system This type of system consist of many small and departmental scanners all scanning to a central location. There are no dedicated scan operators or document prep people. All documents are indexed by a centralized data entry staff.

This is great system for a large medical office where paper is scanned as it is generated. Documents may be scanned at the reception area or in a physician’s office. Virtually everyone in your organization should be trained in data capture and document scanning to use this system effectively.

This system would typically cost from $20,000 to $50,000. This system requires a three to five days of on-site training. On-site technical support is highly recommended.