As businesses across Ireland continue to modernise their operations, document digitisation has become a key part of improving efficiency, compliance, and long-term sustainability. One common decision organisations face is whether to digitise their paper records in-house (on-site scanning) or outsource the task to a professional scanning provider (off-site scanning).

Datascan Document Services has supported hundreds of companies in transitioning from paper-heavy systems to fully digital archives. While some businesses—particularly small or medium-sized enterprises—may consider scanning their documents internally to reduce costs, the reality is that on-site DIY scanning often results in inefficiencies, errors, and wasted time.

Understanding On-Site Scanning (DIY)

On-site scanning, in this context, refers to businesses attempting to handle scanning internally using office equipment or entry-level scanners. This is usually driven by the desire to cut costs or maintain full control over documents. However, the challenges of this approach quickly become apparent:

  • Time-Consuming: Office staff are typically not trained in high-volume document prep, scanning, or indexing. What should take hours often takes days or weeks.
  • Inconsistent Quality: Consumer-grade scanners can lead to poor image quality, missing pages, or failed OCR (Optical Character Recognition), compromising the usefulness of your digital records.
  • Data Handling Risks: Without secure protocols, sensitive documents may be misplaced, mislabelled, or exposed to unauthorised access.
  • Opportunity Cost: Valuable employee time is spent on administrative scanning tasks instead of revenue-generating work. Plus, it’s a very boring job!

So, what may seem like a budget-friendly solution often ends up costing more in the long run—through inefficiencies, errors, and the need to redo poorly scanned documents.

The Off-Site Advantage

Off-site scanning with a professional provider like Datascan involves securely collecting your physical records and transporting them to our Dublin based scanning facility. From there, our trained team manages the full digitisation process using high-speed, industrial-grade scanners under strict quality control and security standards.

The benefits are substantial:

  • Speed & Efficiency: We process thousands of pages per hour, delivering fast turnaround times that far exceed what’s achievable in-house.
  • Consistency & Accuracy: Every document is prepared, scanned, and indexed to a professional standard, ensuring clean images, searchable text, and logical file structures.
  • Security & Compliance: As an ISO 27001 and ISO 9001 certified provider, we ensure your documents are handled securely and meet data protection and quality management standards.
  • No Business Disruption: Your team stays focused on core responsibilities while we handle the heavy lifting behind the scenes.
  • We use compression software so the files you receive will be at the best quality in the smallest size possible. Important if data is to be loaded into a business information system.

 

Choosing What’s Right for Your Business

While DIY scanning may seem attractive at first glance, it rarely delivers long-term value. Off-site professional scanning ensures your digital transformation is done right the first time—securely, efficiently, and in full compliance with regulatory requirements. Let us turn your paperwork into productivity, talk to our expert team today.