The challenge remained how to get masses of document images stored on fiche into the company's new Novell LAN imaging system, Strategic Mortgage Systems (SMS), There were two options; use a service bureau or purchase a hybrid system to perform the conversion to electronic images in-house. Owens preferred the latter method but felt the start-up cost was prohibitive. "I had talked to a number of vendors about stand-alone hybrid systems, but concluded that I couldn't afford to purchase one after investing in the imaging system," said Owens, "I had budgeted $100,000 for the project and the imaging system cost $80,000. I stopped looking at hybrid because I saw nothing close to my price range until I heard about ScreenScan."

Owens was able to purchase ScreenScan for a fraction of the cost of' a stand-alone system because its design enabled him to use it with existing equipment to create a high quality digital workstation. ScreenScan Systems simply replaced the micrographic viewing screen on a reader/printer with an attachable scanning screen-part of a high resolution scanning and image enhancement module. By connecting the system to one of the office's 30 personal computers, Owens could scan fiche images right off the screen, electronically enhance them, and then import them into his imaging network. He soon discovered that ScreenScan had cut his conversion costs in half.

Equally important to Owens was the quality ScreenScan afforded. "Its image enhancement features yield excellent images from fiche, even when the filmed image is inferior," he observed. A definite advantage over the quality he had received from a service bureau. To a business that serves its clients by researching and supplying accurate recorded information, the legibility of document images is paramount.

Problem

Fiche records for the main office in Madison County are created in two ways. Approximately 600 images per day are filmed with a rotary camera which the title company operates on-site at the county courthouse. Others are filmed by the county. "Sometimes the fiche images we receive are borderline legible, " said Owens. "The clarity tends to vary from jacket to jacket." Since the vital information contained in these records is the life-blood of his business, Owens needed to find the best way possible to make the information readable and easily accessible to his staff.

Under the old system, staff members had to locate fiche in filing cabinets to view on reader printers located on the second floor of the two-story office. With retrievals averaging 100 per day, hours could be spent just locating information., recalls Owens. He decided to implement the SMS imaging system for the Madison County office, and its two branch offices in Johnson and Hancock counties. In Madison County, 30 PCs are connected to the system, enabling various staff members to view the same imaged document on-line simultaneously after locating the information in a computer index.

First, however, Owens had to find a cost-effective method of converting the fiche to digital form. Initially, he hired an outside service bureau to perform the conversion. However, since batches of fiche were scanned automatically, adjustments necessary to improve the poor quality of some of the filmed images were not performed. This translated to illegible electronic images in some cases.

Solution

Despite the higher cost and uneven quality of third party conversion, Owens felt he had no choice but to contract out the work. All of the stand-alone hybrid systems he had considered were well over the $20,000 he had left to spend after making the major investment in SMS. When he discovered ScreenScan, he was surprised to learn that he could set up a high quality digital workstation using an existing computer for under $11,000. This included purchase of the retrofit scanning screen, an image enhancement module, a used Minolta reader/printer (to replace an archaic, high-maintenance model) and ScreenScan's window-based software.

"We prefer ScreenScan to third party imaging because we can pull up images and do final adjustments for excellent image quality, and it's less expensive," noted Owens. Quality improved for two reasons. The specially designed screen automatically enhances all images when scanned. Additionally, ScreenScan's software allows the operator to make adjustments to improve individual images on an as-needed basis. Using a full-time operator on the ScreenScan system, Owens is quickly approaching his goal of converting the last five year's worth of records, while keeping up with current records. Approximately three years of records have been converted so far, freeing up office space formerly occupied by filing cabinets. "ScreenScan has definitely given us the biggest bang for our buck. Now we're looking to purchase two more systems for the branch offices so they can perform their own conversion onsite:' said Owens.

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