The network scanner revolution The new model of sharing and distributing information By Hewlett-Packard For decades our model of getting work done has remained unchanged. Since the days of the typewriter and mimeograph, we have shared information in a rigid sequence of creating an original document, making several copies and delivering each copy by hand regardless of the enormous cost and time involved. Affordable network scanners will contribute to a large and profitable shift in the way people work and the resources they use--one that may convert the existing realm of paper documents to the faster, more reliable and vastly less-expensive world of electronic document distribution. Several forces have already encouraged this shift. Groupware, E-mail and powerful high-speed networks have established a virtually instantaneous medium for sharing newly created electronic information. But the overwhelming majority of documents are still paper-based, awaiting a practical "on-ramp" to the networked highway--which is where the network scanner revolution is taking place. One way to realize the potential of this movement is by illustrating the immensity of traditional, paper-based communication. Traditional Document Distribution More than one trillion paper copies were made in 1992, according to BIS Strategic Decisions (Norwell, MA). This translates to an average of 11 copies for each original paper document. BIS estimates the costs of printing and copying documents typically consume between six and 13 percent of a company's revenue. High as this estimate seems, it does not begin to take into account the enormous cost of distribution, which includes the cost of envelopes, postage and the rising premiums of courier services and overnight delivery. Nor does it account for storage costs, such as file folders, filing cabinets and the work hours needed to maintain an elaborate archive system. Affordable network scanners will make a positive change. This system endured for so many years only because there was no other way of sharing written information. Early printers were too slow to compete with the reproduction speeds of high-end photocopiers. Interoffice couriers and overnight delivery systems were already well-entrenched. Workers, too, were wary of early networks that might lose important data files, and tended to indulge in multiple paper copies which lent a reassuring sense of permanence. For years there has been no strong incentive to abandon this older model of print-then-distribute, which consists of printing one original document, copying it several times and sending the couriers on their way. Even tremendous gains in network speed and reliability have had a modest impact on this older mindset of paper-based communication. Bridging Electronic and Paper Information Despite the widespread acceptance of groupware applications and e-mail, the use of paper is still the preferred medium for most types of corporate communication. Recent studies show that more than 95 percent of corporate information is still on paper. One of the key reasons for the persistence of this model is that network users have been limited to exchanging only information that was newly generated in electronic form. The vast reserves of previously published information -- the wealth of the ages -- had to be re-typed into a computer before being shared. Photographs and graphical images had to be redrawn entirely on the computer, and often it seemed easier to cut and paste these images manually and rely again on the photocopier. The HP ScanJet 4Si is designed to bridge the two worlds of electronic and paper media. The industry's first high-speed network scanner priced under $3,000, the ScanJet 4Si simplifies, accelerates and greatly reduces the cost of information distribution. Applied in a networked group, it is currently revolutionizing the way people get work done. The New Model of Document Distribution One of the more appealing benefits of fast, low-cost network scanners will be a new treatment of paper documents as a more powerful mode of sharing information. A key reason for this perception shift is that paper-based communication is steadily rising to unprecedented levels of output quality. With new-generation printers offering fresh output at 18, 20 and 24 pages per minute with more reliability, the option of vivid color and clearly superior print quality for the same approximate cost per page as photocopiers, there is little reason for people to resort to the black snow and sludge common to copier reproductions. Users can be more selctive More important, affordable network scanners allow individuals to be more selective in choosing which documents need to be printed on paper. The potential savings of this new enabling technology are enormous. Rather than relying on the costly, older model of print-then-distribute, network users can distribute, then print -- a new, inverted model that uses the speed and flexibility of electronic distribution while virtually eliminating the excessive waste of copying, sorting and delivering documents by hand. A high-speed scanner can quickly convert nearly all paper-based documents to practical, useful and more manageable electronic form. The ScanJet 4Si automatically feeds 50-page documents at a rate of up to 15 pages per minute. The scanner not only converts text and images with a resolution that can be precisely interpolated and printed to 1,200 dpi, it condenses immense data files to much smaller packets that can be distributed more quickly over a network without any tangible reduction of overall network speed. Early users of the ScanJet 4Si have referred to the scanner as the on-ramp to the network highway. A user can convert a paper document to electronic form and distribute it more quickly and with far less expense than traditional hand delivery. The recipient is then in full command whether to glance over the document, convert it to text format, add or delete information, make notes, redistribute it, save it, or perhaps print selected pages with far superior output quality. This increase in speed and flexibility comes at a sharply reduced cost, and offers greater control over information management. A New Model It has been proven time and again that users will accept new ways to work in theory -- but if the new model isn't easier than the old way of doing things, they fail to put it to practice. For this reason the ScanJet 4Si needed to break new ground in ease of use, as well as work seamlessly with Novell NetWare servers, Microsoft Windows clients and the most popular existing groupware, E-mail, word processing and PC-fax applications. A high-speed scanner can quickly convert nearly all paper-based documents to practical, useful and more manageable electronic form. The ScanJet 4Si itself is completely automated, and allows push-button selection of 20 initial sites on the network, with a potential of up to 60 licensed sites. Once the document has been scanned and delivered, a thumbnail view of the document appears on the receiver's computer display. From there, all functions and commands are icon-driven, including the integrated optical character recognition (OCR) function, the convenient toolbar and the scanned document itself, which can be dragged, dropped and arranged in any manner the user wishes. HP's OpenView and MIB-II and SNMP compliance offers remote device management and control of the ScanJet 4Si. It comes with an Ethernet or Token Ring Network connector for direct connection to the network, which eliminates the awkwardness of a SCSI-to-PC hookup, and, more important, allows every user to access the scanner equally without "borrowing" a fellow worker's personal, dedicated desktop scanner. A Practical Example An international financial management firm in San Francisco, with offices in Hong Kong, London and New York, is currently using a ScanJet 4Si to streamline its document distribution cycle. Each day the San Francisco office receives hundreds of reports by fax from brokers and analysts throughout the world. The ScanJet 4Si is completely automated. Rather than copying each fax several hundred times, sorting them by recipient and absorbing the expense of postage -- a process done by hand in the past -- these faxes are scanned and distributed to each financial analyst in the office, linked to a database for future searches, and distributed via e-mail to the firm's long list of clients and affiliates worldwide. The general manager of the firm believes the ScanJet 4Si has saved the company weeks of unproductive, non-billable time that was once considered an "unavoidable" expense. * For more information, call 408-654-5317. IW Special Supplement, March 1996
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