Digital archiving of magazines is one of Scan Film or Stores’ services which is growing in popularity. With the digital age in full swing, magazine and book publishers are finding that digital back copies can be a great alternative to traditional paper based storage and can present new opportunities to break into sales of archive copies via bespoke apps.

The sheer volume of physical storage space needed and associated costs, plus the requirement to be able to easily access individual issues means that a well executed digital archiving strategy can result in considerable savings in both time and costs.

So when we were approached by online publisher Soccer Attic to help them scan their large back catalogue of football magazines we were up for the challenge – and what a challenge it was! When it comes to vintage magazines the pressure is really on to create great digital replicas without affecting the integrity of the original.

So the “match” was set…. and it was time for Scan Film or Store to take on a formidable opponent, the mountain of vintage soccer magazines held by Soccer Attic.

First a look at each “participant”:

Read more…

Picture this office… Wonderful views across the ocean, not a paperclip, stapler or Tippex stain in sight. Just a stylish laptop that’s a joy to touch. No filing cabinets so the office is spacious and open with a cool breeze and cherubs singing to you as you work. OK, so the cherubs are unlikely but the rest has often been held up as the nirvana of the ‘Paperless’ office.

Ever since the early seventies businesses have been dreaming of having a slick and efficient paperless office. But very few of us have seen this wonderful transformation take place. For many of us mountains of paper and rows of filing cabinets are still the reality.

Although paper won’t be disappearing from our working lives anytime soon, we can get rid of it as quickly as possible. This gives us the room we need to make our working spaces more comfortable, efficient and spacious. This simply requires a business to have a structured approach to scanning documents and storing paper somewhere it doesn’t clog up the office.

Not only does the removal and scanning of documents mean you have more space to utilise but it also means you are not tied to the physical office itself. You can electronically access the scanned documents on your laptop or smartphone from anywhere in the world. Also if the paper is stored in a box somewhere you should be able to have someone find it, scan it and email it to you within an hour or two. Which means you could be ‘in the office’ while on the beach, in the garden or wherever you wish.

This wonderful world of the paperless office is possible now with help from the experts at Scan Film or Store. So if you want more space, greater efficiency and would rather not be in the office at all then let us know. Of course you may like all that paper and filing cabinets…

Firstly an apology to all (6?) of my blog audience. I have been bad at keeping this blog up to date over the last two months but I have a pretty good excuse…

In mid February we moved into our new offices and warehouse in Bridgwater – not bad considering we should have been in before Christmas! Bad weather combined with complex site conditions to delay our move but the Harris & Harris Construction team triumphed in the end and we are now settled in. We are so proud of our pristine scanning facility, immaculate offices and most importantly a multi-storey document storage area with space for up to 15,000 boxes of stored documents in a secure and fully managed environment. Need document storage? We can help…

During the move we were approached by our main competitor, Line Scan in Yeovil, to see if we would buy them out. Wow!! What an opportunity… and much too good to miss but what to do?

After all we were still trying to settle into the new Bridgwater site, find the kettle etc. We HAD to go for it though – Line Scan complements our existing service offering as it specialises in microfilm, microfiche and aperture card conversions to digital and also high volume large format scanning up to A0 size so it fits very neatly into our portfolio of services.

The deal is now done and we are very proud to have retained the staff and the premises and will continue to trade as two separate companies until the end of the year at least.Customer response to the acquisition has been very positive and we are keen to emphasise that it is very much ‘business as usual’. Many thanks to the the excellent, professional and inspired help from Grant McCall of AMD Solicitors and Duane Shield at Perpetual Tax & Business Advisers who both played critical roles in the purchase – thanks guys.

So, 2013 is already proving to be an exciting year for us – the ‘hatching’ of new premises, the ‘matching’ of SFS with Line Scan (a marriage made in heaven?) and the ‘despatching’ of our Houndstone Business Park warehouses which we outgrew in the last three years.

Recession? What recession? People say to me that John & I must be either very brave or very stupid but you have to take chances and grab life with both hands sometimes…

Anyway let us know if we can help you with your document storage or scanning needs — quote this blog and we will even give you a discount!

As the country freezes it’s bits off some areas are really struggling to get their staff to work because of major disruptions to the transport systems due to snow and ice – well the Midlands and North anyway. Here in the South West we may not have snow but the bitter winds are not exactly conducive to venturing outside!

Many staff can now work from home, particularly if their role is in administration or sales and if they have a good Internet connection and access to a PC or laptop to ‘link’ with their office systems. Depending on who you listen to there are arguments for and against working from home — the lady boss of Yahoo was vociferous in the press recently ‘against’ the idea for instance — and it can be a very productive way of fulfilling your role without the hassle of commuting to the office and all that entails.

And it all works well… until you need that document from the archive to complete your report or presentation. Now, if you were actually in the office you would be able to get up from your desk and walk through to the archive, retrieve what you need (presuming that you can actually find it in the ‘sophisticated’ indexing system that Julie implemented, who left the company 3 years ago without telling anyone how it works) then scan it and use it to make your point.

Why not let us store your archive documents in our brand new document storage facility in Bridgwater where all the boxes are barcoded and we can retrieve a box of documents, a file from a box or a document from a file on demand — and often within hours of your request. We can then either send back the original hard copy to you or scan and email what you need directly to your PC (at home if it’s still snowing).

Managed document storage starts from as loittle as 60 pence per box per month and we currently have several offers for storing over 250 boxes. We are an ISO 9001 certified company with security vetted staff and our new site has robust intruder and fire alarm systems which are monitored round the clock.We can even take your archive files off the shelves and put them in boxes for you — we offer a complete service. Click here for a testimonial from one of our largest customers storage testimonial.

So, we may not be able to organise your archive before the snow melts this year but talk to us now so that you can work from home, in the warm, when the snow and ice comes next winter! For a free, no obligation, quotation call 0800 008 7229 today.

No one likes to get wet and they say it may get wetter. Even ducks don’t like rain for weeks on end. Paper records especially don’t like getting wet, it will ruin them for good.

If your valuable paper records got ruined would it affect the future of your business?

The benefits of protecting your business from floods are numerous, including…

• Reduce financial losses
• Reduce exposure to civil or criminal liability
• Ensure compliance with regulations (e.g Occupiers liability Act 1986)
• Enhance your reputation with customers

Flooding is the most likely natural disaster to hit businesses in the UK. So here’s some advice on how to mitigate the risk;

• Have a flood plan – read this document from the environment agency to help, click here
• Keep a list of vital contact numbers; e.g insurance providers, builders, electricians, IT support
• Sign up for flood warnings via email and text – register by calling 0845 988 1188
• Back up your digital data off site – talk to your IT person, or look at ‘cloud’ storage
• Make sure your valuable paper records are backed up – either electronically or physically in a protected environment

The last point is where we can help. We can make sure your vital paper records are scanned and stored electronically for easy retrieval. Or we can store them for you in our brand new fully protected storage facilitywhere we can offer a fully managed document storage and retrieval system.

Please make sure you have your business protected, follow the steps above and you’ll be able to sleep soundly through the worst of storms.