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10–4 Implement Document Imaging
tines taking place), and being available to anyone with the correct kind of access.
These are formidable advantages and have caused many larger corporations to
adopt this approach as the best way to avoid the majority of their filing problems.
To implement a document-imaging system, one must first obtain a document
scanner with a sufficiently high throughput speed and resolution to allow scan-
ning a multitude of documents, as well as scanning with a sufficient degree of
clarity to obtain a quality digital image. This scanner must be linked to a high-
capacity storage device, usually one using multiple compact discs that is called a
‘‘CD jukebox” and a file server containing the index file that tracks the location
of all digital documents stored in the jukebox. A number of terminals are also
necessary to link to this system, so that users may access digitized documents
from as many company locations as necessary. A graphical view of this layout is
shown in Exhibit 10.2.
There are some problems with digital document storage that make it useful
in only selected cases. One is cost—the entire system, especially the storage
device, can easily bring the total cost into the six-digit range, with high-end sys-
tems for large corporations exceeding a million dollars. Also, there is a consider-
able workload required to set up the system, for a large portion of a company’s
existing documents must be scanned into the system, as do new documents that
are generated every day. There is also an issue with legality, for it may be neces-
sary to continue to retain some paper documents, given the murky nature of the
law regarding the acceptability of digitized documents in a legal action. In addi-
tion, if a document is not properly indexed when it is first scanned into the system
(i.e., given an access code that allows a user to more easily find it), it is possible

Exhibit 10.2 Overview of the Document-Imaging Process