Taking your files paperless can be a time-intensive process. Utilizing barcode cover sheets can help automate the process.
Anyone who has scanned hundreds of documents knows that the biggest time sink is not feeding the paper into the scanner. The difficulty arises when you have to separate out each document and putting them into the correct folder. Organizing each document, separating it, naming it, and sorting the document into a folder takes a lot of time. One of the best solutions to this problem is straightforward: filing with barcodes via cover sheets.
Cover sheets are easy to use. Simply print them out one time and they can be reused over and over again. When you’re ready to scan a folder, just add the cover sheet to the folder, directly in front of the appropriate section. This method allows for a way to separate documents by collating in advance. Once all the collation is done, the entire folder is fed into the scanner. The software can then pick up which document goes where based upon the cover sheet. An assembly line of scanning and adding cover sheets maximizes labor hours.
So how does software recognize these cover sheets and know where to sort them? The answer is simple, but powerful. Barcodes placed on each cover sheet make it easy for the scanner to read and sort. In addition, bar codes are resilient against the variety of printing problems. If artifacts (little “printer hiccups” such as dots) get printed, the bar code is long enough to avoid problems. The same is not true of QR codes, where one tiny misprint can ruin the entire QR code. This is also an advantage over OCR or “text recognition” methods that have a hard time reading hand-written text and dealing with paper shifts that commonly occur during scanning. Also, bar codes do not need any special, unique printer or scanner. Every printer on the market has no trouble printing out a bar code and your document management system has the tools to read the barcodes.
Not all systems need to incorporate barcode scanners into their workflows, but this is a very powerful tool for making the switch to a paperless filing system. Many companies use barcode recognition methods to convert their existing paper files to electronic format. It cuts out a great many steps and saves staff a ton of time over traditional “scan, name, save” methods.
If you would like to learn more about using barcode recognition, contact us today. DynaFile is a scan-to-cloud filing system that allows for the use of barcode cover sheets. Just one of DynaFile’s scanning automation methods, barcode recognition can be used to take an entire department paperless quickly and easily. From there, DynaFile lets you take all of your pen-and-paper workflows online so you can stay paperless going forward. Contact us for a free demo!
