On average, a document costs $0.08 to $0.13 to scan, making the cost of scanning a standard bankers box of documents about $250. However, the cost of scanning documents all depends on how many documents you have, the type and size of the documents you want to scan, and even more so by the level of effort it takes to prepare your files for scanning. Here are some other factors that may alter the cost of document scanning.
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Factors that can affect the cost of a document scanning project include:
- Size of documents
Standard high-speed document scanners work with the typical 11×17” pieces of paper. Smaller documents like aperture cards, or large format documents like architectural drawings, blueprints, or maps, require different scanners and can increase the cost of your scanning project.
- Single-sided vs. double-sided documents
If your documents are double sided, this will create two images once put through the scanner. That means that even though it is one piece of paper, the cost will be equivalent to two images.
- Condition & complexity of documents
Documents need to be prepared to be put through high-speed scanners. This includes removing staples, paperclips, and other fasteners, removing pages from bindings, and ironing out folded corners and wrinkled pages. If your documents require more preparation, this can increase the cost to scan them. One way to save costs for your document scanning project is by pre-prepping your documents. Here is a guide on how to prepare your documents for your next scanning project. Are your documents water damaged? That requires specific document recovery services.
- Re-preparation of documents
If you require your documents to be reassembled to their original state after scanning, this may require an added charge.
- Data extraction
Using OCR, AI and manual extraction, documents and their data can be more easily searched. It can also help to classify and organize information within your system. Prices can change due to how many indexing fields are needed and their complexity based on your unique requirements. While most customers only require a handful of fields, some customers have more complicated documents and require more data extraction.
- Turnaround time
How quickly do you need them scanned? Tomorrow? That can increase the cost. Typical turnaround timeline is 3-4 months for 1 million pages of documents
- Transportation
How are your documents getting to the scanning facility? Are you shipping them yourself or do you require pickup? Some document scanning companies even offer to pack and transport your documents for you for an added cost.
- Delivery
How you want your digital images and data delivered can also affect the cost of your document scanning project. Options for delivery usually include an encrypted thumb drive, uploaded to our cloud-based system, SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) to a portal, or uploaded directly to your system. The complexity of delivery can increase or decrease the document scanning cost.
Some document scanning companies include all of these factors into the cost per image estimations, while others don’t. It can be difficult to navigate, so it is important to find a trusted and secure document scanning provider. There are many factors that can affect the cost of your scanning project so it’s worth your time to review your documents alongside this list to get an accurate estimation of your document scanning project. Recordsforce offers a free scanning quote estimator or you can book a meeting directly to speak with an expert about your document scanning project