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Fragile documents are often assumed to be unsuitable for high-speed document scanners. While this may be true for many conventional sheet-fed scanners, SCAMAX scanners are designed differently.
With features including belt transport technology, silicone rollers, adjustable input pressure and Slow Down Mode down to just 20 pages per minute, SCAMAX scanners can safely process many delicate, thin, aged and fragile documents while maintaining the productivity advantages of a professional document scanner.
Why Document Transport Matters
When scanning fragile material, image quality is only part of the consideration. How the document is fed and transported through the scanner is equally important.
SCAMAX incorporates several technologies designed to provide greater control:
- Belt transport technology supports and controls the document as it moves through the scanning path, reducing unnecessary movement and stress.
- Silicone rollers provide excellent grip and reliable document transport without relying on excessive pressure.
- Adjustable input pressure allows operators to reduce feeding pressure when processing delicate or lightweight documents.
- Slow Down Mode can reduce the scanner speed to just 20 ppm, providing additional control for fragile, damaged or difficult originals.
Importantly, these features can be used together. An operator can reduce both input pressure and transport speed when scanning delicate documents, then immediately return the SCAMAX to full production speed for standard material.
Fragile Doesn’t Automatically Mean Overhead Scanning
There is an important distinction between a fragile document that can still be safely transported and an original that is too brittle or valuable to pass through any document scanner.
Extremely brittle documents, rare manuscripts, bound books and severely damaged originals are better suited to an overhead scanner such as the Zeutschel OSC or OSQ range. These systems capture the document from above, allowing the original to remain stationary during scanning.
However, automatically sending every document considered “fragile” to an overhead scanner can significantly reduce the productivity of a digitisation project.
SCAMAX Can Transform Project Productivity
This is particularly important for service bureaus, BPOs and digitisation centres processing large archival and records projects.
Overhead scanning is inherently more manual. Documents generally need to be individually positioned, captured and removed by an operator. When hundreds of thousands of pages are involved, the labour requirement can be significant.
Where fragile documents can be safely transported, processing them through a SCAMAX can be considerably faster.
Even operating in Slow Down Mode at 20 ppm provides the benefits of automated feeding and transport. Standard documents within the same project can then be processed at full production speed.
For commercial digitisation operations, this can result in:
- Significantly higher pages processed per operator
- Lower labour cost per image
- Faster project completion
- Greater scanning capacity
- Considerably improved project profit margins
The difference can be substantial on large projects where labour represents one of the largest costs.
Choosing Between SCAMAX and Zeutschel
The condition of the original should ultimately determine the scanning technology.
If a fragile document can be safely transported, SCAMAX provides a combination of controlled document handling and high productivity.
If the document is too brittle, valuable, bound or damaged to be transported, a Zeutschel OSC or OSQ overhead scanner provides the appropriate alternative.
For organisations undertaking large digitisation projects, having access to both technologies allows each document to be scanned using the most appropriate method without unnecessarily sacrificing productivity.
The Right Scanner Makes the Difference
So, can fragile documents be scanned on a document scanner?
With the right scanner, absolutely.
SCAMAX combines belt transport, silicone rollers, adjustable input pressure and Slow Down Mode down to 20 ppm to provide greater control when processing delicate material.
For digitisation providers, the ability to safely process suitable fragile documents through a SCAMAX rather than manually scanning every page on an overhead system can dramatically increase throughput and significantly improve project profitability.
And for originals that simply shouldn’t be mechanically transported, Zeutschel OSC and OSQ overhead scanners provide the ideal alternative.
The question shouldn’t simply be “Is this document fragile?”
It should be:
“What is the safest and most productive way to scan it?”
Contact InoTec to discuss your fragile document digitisation project or arrange a SCAMAX demonstration using your own documents.
