Imaging
About Imaging
What is document imaging?
It provides the capability to capture, store, manage, retrieve, and route documentation in a secure electronic manner. With document imaging paper documents, photos, graphics can be scanned and saved as images, organized into folders, linked to business applications, and retrieved by the users.
Why should I convert documents into electronic images?
Ease of search and retrieval.
World Wide Web access of scanned images.
Replace microfilming.
Ability to share documents.
Space and money saved in storage needs.
Preserve document integrity.
Is anyone using imaging on campus?
Numerous departments* of the University of Florida are already scanning, storing and retrieving documents. Other offices will be using this system in the future.
How does it work?
The system used by the offices mentioned above is based on a Kofax/IBM solution. Kofax's Ascent Capture is a software package that integrates high-performance batch scanning, imaging processing, OCR, and indexing into a single application. Ascent Capture solution provides document capture, data capture and Internet-based distributed capture. IBM's Content Manager coupled with IBM Enterprise Information Portal is an object management system in which objects are pieces of business information such as scanned images that are cataloged into the Content Manager library server, providing a repository of indexes for easy search and retrieval.
How about security of documents?
Access control and security are implemented by granting privileges to user groups. Functions such as printing, viewing, annotation can be specified to particular user groups. Users can be limited to specific documents or fields inside a document.
Is it possible to customize the user interface to accommodate the needs of my office?
The Content Manager client provides a prepackaged end-user interface for access to images and other objects. Users can be provided with varying custom interfaces to address their unique requirements. Also if users have internal I.T. systems writing index information to a DB2 database, the Imaging system can be customized to use this stored information to populate fields during the imaging index process. This will provide speed, ease, and data integrity of fields used to retrieve images.
Getting Started
What are the requirements for the system?
The first steps in getting started is to define your document imaging needs. Organizations need to define how the documents may be utilized after they have been organized. There are several questions to assist decision makers in determining these factors:
- How many different types of document will be processed?
- What is the estimated volumes: monthly, annual and daily peak*?
- What type of validation is necessary during data entry?
- What fields in the documents will be captured for later retrieval?
- Will there be any backfile conversion?
- What type of customization is necessary?
- How are the files currently maintained?
- What types of information from the documents would be relevant for retrieval purposes?
- Are there documents of greater importance which should be processed more quickly?
- How often will the information be accessed?
- How many people will be accessing the information?
*maximum number of pages processed in a day
Note: Please print and review the Imaging Guide PDF document for detailed information on implementing Imaging.
Software Requirements
The software packages used for Imaging are the following:
Kofax Ascent Capture v.7.x
IBM Content Manager Client for Windows v.8x (Optional)
After discussions with UF Imaging Project Coordinators listed under heading Contacts, to purchase the above items, please contact the following vendors:
Purchase information for Kofax Ascent Capture:
Nancy Ingle
Advanced Data Systems
www.adv-data.net
Office: (904) 721-3134, x102
email: ningle@adv-data.net
Purchase information for IBM Content Manager Client for Windows (Optional):
Bill Hager
IBM Certified Specialist
e-TechServices.com
IBM Premier Business Partner
Mobile: 352.256.1542
hager@e-techservices.com
Hardware Requirements
Offices will have to provide for a scanner, scanning workstation(s), viewing workstation(s), an Imaging Server, and CM end-user licenses.
For a detailed description of Scanner types please view http://www.kofax.com/configurator/index.asp. For scanning/viewing workstations and server configurations, please visit the Kofax web site at http://www.kofax.com/support/ascent/capture/7/docs/AC-ACIS_7_5_Installation.pdf and navigate to the chapter Ascent Capture Operating Requirements.
Architecture
The scanning/indexing of documents is done at the department/office level using Kofax Ascent Capture while storage is provided by IBM's Content Manager Object and Library servers housed at CNS.
Documents
- Imaging Guide (pdf)
Contacts
Eric Carey
Computing and Networking Services
Tel: (352) 392-2061 ext. 116
careye@ufl.edu
Barb Sedesse
Computing and Networking Services
Tel: (352) 392-2061 ext. 110
sedesse@ufl.edu
