CT &T Family of Title Insurers:
ScreenScan Complements Imaging System

The largest title organization in the U. S., Chicago Title and Trust Co., is preparing to roll out its premier document imaging solution nationwide this year. Thousands of end-users will ultimately be networked with the customized system developed in-house specifically for land records, according to Kevin Roesler, Systems Officer, Imaging Development. As a result of the new imaging system's overall efficiency and speed, Roesler said the production of title policies is expected co more than double.

Real estate records will be scanned and made available on Jukeboxes via the networked system. 'On demand' conversions of microfilmed records will be accomplished with the ScreenScan System which uses a converter screen attached to a reader /printer to scan and digitize microfilm images. The information is then imported into the network to requesters. "ScreenScan is the most recent addition to out pilot program. It provided a key component to complete the hierarchy of our document storage," said Roesler.

Problem

Slow Retrieval: Direct operations and agents throughout the country use real estate records from county courthouses to research and write title policies. The majority of these records is on microfilm or paper when received. In its pilot imaging project, the company had begun scanning records and importing them into optical platter jukeboxes for retrieval by operators. But converting microfilm images remained a problem because of the expense involved, and the huge effort required to manage an outsourced conversion effort. Documents that weren't converted still had to be printed, creating a longer turn around time. "If it was a rush, operators would fax it, but often the fax quality was not good." In addition, documents printed from low contrast film were sometimes difficult to read. The company needed a way to make them legible.

Specialized Software: The imaging team was looking for a way to produce digital images from microfilm without performing a massive backfile conversion. "We looked at stand-alone hybrid systems, but we were unable to integrate them with our system. We have internally developed software that we designed specifically for land records. This ties in with our existing title plant and title production systems. Microfilm replacement is at the lower level of the hierarchy, and workflow and networking between all offices is at the upper level," explained Roesler. "But we were having trouble finding conversion equipment that could plug into it.

Solution

Open Architecture: When Roesler saw the ScreenScan System at the AIIM show in San Francisco, he immediately scheduled an on-site demonstration ScreenScan representatives Tim Ginster and Bob Grisdale brought a unit to Roesler's Chicago office for a full evaluation. The news was good. "We were able to run it with our existing scanner software because of the industry standard driver systems ScreenScan uses," said Roesler. "The architecture was so open that the same set of software we developed for the KODAK IMAGELINK 990 was able to support ScreenScan. With minimal effort, we were able to customize our scanning software to become an on-demand scan station."

Low Cost: The overall cost of the ScreenScan unit is much lower than that of stand-alone systems since it is being used with existing reader/printer equipment, according to Roesler. "Our goal is to reduce maintenance costs on our reader/printers by eliminating printing and using ScreenScan to transport images directly into the system.

Fast Response: Users of the ScreenScan System in the pilot project are title examiners who request documents from the microfilm deed vault. The staff in the deed vault receive requests from the examiners over the imaging system network and scan documents on demand. It now takes approximately 15 minutes to complete this cycle; retrieve documents scored on microfilm, scan them with ScreenScan, and transport the images back to the requester (compared to the previous turnaround time of a day and a half.) More scan stations will be added to handle the extra load as more users are brought online, according to Roesler.

Proven Reliability: The pilot station currently scans about 300 to 400 pages per day. "ScreenScan has been very reliable, very powerful, and its ability to enhance images on low contrast film is a big plus," said Roesler.

"The feedback we've had has been very positive from the users-it's easy to use and install, and they like the quality of the equipment. ScreenScan has also provided excellent support."

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