Large format document scanning case study

Large format technical drawing scanning project

The Design Department of a specialist aviation solutions company holds a large quantity of third party supplier technical drawings which are frequently accessed by engineering staff.

As a result these critical drawings were becoming damaged by constant use and so the decision was made to convert them electronically to PDF images and index them by drawing number so that they could be imported into the company database. This enables engineers working wherever they are in the world, to access these drawings at any time of the day or night thus reducing aircraft downtime.

Scan Film or Store removed over 15,000 drawings from hanging cabinets and from folded plans in boxes and carefully packed them into specialist carrying crates to avoid damage. The plans varied in size from A4 to A0+  and some of the A0+ drawings were over 6 metres long and twice as wide as standard A0 – not a problem to us though! The drawings were unfolded, carefully repaired where possible and flattened out prior to scanning. The drawings were then scanned through Canon Oce and KIP scanners and the images enhanced where necessary to optimise the final image.

Once scanned each drawing was indexed with the drawing number and the database of indexed PDF images was built up.Finally after stringent quality checking the scanned images and the originals (refolded where necessary) were returned to Cobham Aviation and placed back on the shelves or into the hanging cabinets.

A senior spokesman for the company said;

“When placing this order we looked for a company who could provide us with a full service – taking the drawings out of our cabinets and off our shelves, scanning and indexing them to a high quality and then put them back onto the shelves and into the cabinets. We often had to call back drawings during the scanning process and Scan Film or Store provided us with scanned copies very quickly to minimise the cost of our aircraft being on the ground. We were very pleased with the professional and cost effective service we received from Scan Film or Store and would highly recommend them to any company that is looking for a similar service”

See our large format scanner in operation here.

Do you need this type of service? Call us today on 01278 450500 or free on 0800 008 7229 or contact us here.