Re: Need recommendations / advice on document imaging products

Hello Dan, 

I read your entire post before responding :-)

Our Image Server/400 document management software will definitely meet 
your requirements and it's very affordable. 

You can scan and capture documents with/without using OCR.  It's up to 
you. 

You can integrate to your iSeries apps with API calls or screen scraping 
via our 5250 Integrator.

You can capture and store spool files as well as Quadrant Faxes and 
Formtastic documents.

You can capture signatures, photos, email and other PC docs in their 
native formats via our batch import interface or via your own code by 
using our iSeries API's. 

Docs can be stored on the iSeries in the IFS, on a Windows/Unix server or 
on optical disk. 

Workflow capability is also included in the base product should this 
become a requirement. 

You can also install the demo version FREE for initial testing to make 
sure it does what we say it does. Image Server/400 can be up and running 
in 30 minutes. 

Please forward your contact info and I can call you next week for a 
discussion to provide more details or give me a call so we can talk. 

Regards,
Richard Schoen
RJS Software Systems Inc. 
"Your Complete iSeries and PC Solution Provider"
Email: richard@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Web Site: http://www.rjssoftware.com
Tel: (952) 898-3038
Fax: (952) 898-1781
Toll Free: (888) RJSSOFT

message: 3
date: Fri, 24 Sep 2004 10:14:46 -0400
from: "Dan Bale" <dbale@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
subject: Need recommendations / advice on document imaging products

Esteemed listers,

I am looking for recommendations / advice on document imaging products.  I
have searched the archives and see some (well, a lot of) references, but 
was
hoping to narrow down choices based on our requirements and environment.

(Vendors, please review entire post before responding; if your product 
can't
fit the bill as described below, please save your time and mine.)

Currently, we have whole walls in a few of our offices that are straight
rows of 4-up file cabinets.  We need to scan and key these images so that 
a
Client Access user can click on a job number on a green screen and,
automagically, scanned documents pertaining to that job number pop up in a
Windows window.  PREFERABLY, no changes to the green-screen apps are
necessary to accomplish this.  (We saw an OnBase demo yesterday that did
this - cool.)  Of course, there's probably a price to pay for that ease of
implementation...

We do not need/want OCR, except perhaps in the very beginning when we mass
scan every piece of paper in the filing cabinets.  Some of the paper that
will be scanned is stuff that we generated, has a consistent format, i.e.
the customer number is always printed at a certain x,y coordinate, and it
would be nice to be able to lift that customer number when the poor user 
who
has to key all of the scanned docs so s/he doesn't have to type something
that is easily scannable via OCR.  After the initial load, the on-going
volume would be low enough that we wouldn't need this kind of help.

In relation to that, and another reason why we won't need OCR, is that,
going forward, when we create certain documents on the AS/400, they will
need to be automatically archived (but not as space-wasting graphic 
images).
In addition, when a document is printed on a pre-printed form (i.e., a
warranty certificate), we need to be able to view that document later
on-screen, with the pre-printed form overlay appearing with the text.
Obviously, we can create the "keys" when the document is created so that a
user doesn't need to do this part manually.  (Don't know if that's a 
given.)

Finally, photos and signatures will be sent to the AS/400 via a mobile
device application that accepts digital photos and signatures (via stylus 
on
a digitized screen).  Where these will be stored is up in the air at this
point (IFS? PC server?).  But, when printing/faxing forms associated with
those graphics, the signatures and photos need to print in designated 
spots
on the forms.

I mentioned the OnBase demo we saw yesterday, and it appears to be an
impressive product, but it is WAY overboard for what we want to do.  We do
not want workflow, we do not want fancy client-based querying.  I seem to
recall that it has 47(!) modules to pick and choose from, so that may make
it easier to pay for only what we need.

BTW, we are using Quadrant's FastFax and Formtastic products, so there may
be an easy (and less expensive?) tie-in to those products for what we are
trying to achieve.

Sorry for the long wind and tia,
db