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What to Look for When Comparing Document Scanning Companies
Choosing a document scanning company isn’t just about finding the lowest quote. It’s about understanding exactly what is—and isn’t—included, how your information will be handled, and whether the final invoice will match the original proposal.
Here are some of the most important things we encourage every organization to consider before choosing a scanning provider.
Audit Tracking
One of the most important questions to ask is whether the pricing is auditable.
One of the biggest issues we’ve seen over the years is organizations receiving a quote, only to discover additional charges later that are difficult to verify or audit.
Many scanning companies price by page. They’ll estimate 2,000–2,700 pages per box and build a quote around that estimate. In some pricing models, billing is ultimately based on images rather than physical sheets of paper. If that distinction isn’t clearly explained, it can significantly affect the final invoice.
For example, a standard 10” x 12” x 15” file box can contain approximately 2,500–2,700 sheets of paper. If those documents are double-sided, they become 5,000–5,400 scanned images. That’s why it’s important to understand exactly what is being counted before the project begins.
At Liberty Scanning, our pricing is true per-box pricing. As long as the contents are standard business documents (half-sheet through 11” x 17”), everything is included in our flat rate.
Our pricing includes:
- Double-sided documents
- Color or black & white scanning
- Document preparation
- Removing staples, paper clips, binder clips, and other scanning obstructions
- Moving sticky notes (we never throw them away)
The only items that may incur additional charges are photographs, receipts (small paper), and documents larger than 11” x 17”. Even then, every one of those items is tracked and documented, so you’ll know exactly what was encountered and why.
File Box Scanning Pricing
Over the last several years, we’ve seen more providers begin offering per-box pricing, which is great for customers. However, it’s still important to understand exactly what’s included in that price.
For example, some providers may return an entire box as a single PDF file. While this may work for some projects, those files can quickly become difficult to manage. A single box can contain more than 5,000 images, resulting in PDFs that may be 1–3 GB depending on the contents.
We’ve had customers request one PDF per box, only to later ask us to separate them into multiple files because they were much easier to navigate and use.
240 DPI vs. 300 DPI
For large-format documents, our standard is 300 DPI to meet digital archiving standards.
For standard business documents, we’ve found 240 DPI provides the best balance between image quality, storage size, and long-term usability. It provides excellent information recall while producing smaller files that open faster and place less demand on your computer systems.
If you’d prefer 300 DPI, we do offer that upgrade on a per-box basis. Click on this link to view sample scans at both 240 DPI and 300 DPI so you can compare the difference yourself.
SAMPLE SCANNING
It’s also worth remembering that DPI is only one part of image quality. The scanning equipment, document preparation, operator experience, and quality control procedures all play an equally important role.
Photographs are scanned at 400 DPI.
Indexing
Some companies bill indexing by the hour, while others include it in their pricing. Whichever approach is used, it’s worth understanding how indexing costs will be measured throughout the project.
We prefer to keep the process simple by including indexing in our flat-rate pricing whenever possible.
Chain of Custody
Your records deserve a documented chain of custody from pickup through final delivery.
We’ve developed strict procedures so that at any point during your project, we can tell you exactly where a specific box is within our workflow.
Document Preparation
Document preparation is included in our per-box pricing.
As we often tell customers. “you don’t want to count staples—and neither do we.”
Preparation includes removing staples, paper clips, binder clips, reviewing every page, removing blank pages, correcting text orientation, and preparing documents for the best possible scan.
If a provider bills preparation by the hour, it’s worth asking how those hours are tracked and how you’ll be able to verify them.
No Outsource Policy
At Liberty Scanning, we believe customers should have complete confidence that their information remains under our control.
Every part of your scanning project is completed by Liberty employees.
Shredding
If your project includes document destruction, it’s worth asking whether the company performs shredding itself or partners with another provider.
Liberty is NAID AAA Certified for Mobile Shredding, allowing documents to move directly from our scanning operation into our own secure shred truck once destruction is authorized.
Cloud Storage
Our cloud platform and servers are owned and operated by Liberty, giving us complete control over where your information is stored and how it is protected.
Simply put:
We never outsource anything—to anyone—for any reason.
Liberty Cloud Live Access
For a one-time flat fee of $20 for the entire project, Liberty Cloud Lite allows customers to begin accessing and downloading documents immediately.
As each box is completed, it’s uploaded to your secure portal, allowing you to begin using your information while the remainder of the project is still in production.
As we like to say:
“Your information is your information—we won’t hold it hostage.”
Billing
For larger local projects, we don’t require a deposit.
Instead, customers are invoiced monthly based only on the work completed. This provides complete visibility into project progress while spreading the cost over the life of the project.
Ethics Matter
We’re honored to have recently been nominated by one of our clients for a Better Business Bureau Ethics Award.
We believe transparency, security, and accountability should be at the center of every information management project.
Final Thoughts
When comparing scanning companies, don’t focus only on the initial quote. Ask how pricing is calculated, what is included, how your information will be protected, whether costs are auditable, and what you’ll receive when the project is complete.
At Liberty Scanning, we’ve partnered with hundreds of organizations throughout Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and across the country.
Our goal has always been simple:
Information Management… Simplified.