I would like to scan twenty years worth of paperwork

ChavvyJaneAusten

I have an attic full of paperwork I would like to scan. Some is sentimental stuff. Others are work related etc.

We have a printer with a scanner at home but it does only one sheet at a time

Scanning things like coursework (still referred to but once in a blue moon) would drive me to tears if done one page at a time and it would never get finished.

I am wondering if there is some place I can do this or hire a machine. I do not want to pay someone to do it for me.

Can anyone recommend anything ?

Moneybagsss

Your local library may well have scanning facilities. Either that or buy a scanner with an automatic document feeder - there might be an ADF accessory for the printer you already have.

Have a read of this if you decide to buy one: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2373832,00.asp

buglawton

There's a phone app called Scanner Pro that turns a phone into a scanner. Used in an evenly lit place it produces a result that is close to a real scanner but you can work 10x faster than with a flatbed scanner as each image is instant. The app can also quickly put a series of pages into a single multi page PDF.

Marcon

If you Google on 'scanner hire' + the name of your nearest big town, that will bring up lots of options.

2017me

I've used an app called Cam Scan, its been great, I've used to to email 100 sheets of written text to myself this afternoon whilst watching a film

paddyrg

As well as document feeders (which only handle A4), as mentioned above, using your mobile is a good option. I rather like the Microsoft freebie app "Office Lens" which saves as image, pdf, integrates with cloud storage, etc.

DigForVictory

Clearly time is an issue, but no matter how you do it, storage will also be an issue - the quality has to be high enough to make retrieving the document worthwhile so you need to think about file structures & naming conventions ideally before you start to scan or phone snap or whatever you do as well as figure the tech!
Also twenty years' worth - there is a case to be made for if you had to pay 10 pence a sheet to have it available to you Just In Case in another 5 years, would you pay up? Can you not weed that heap, hard, first?

Or is it a house clearance type job - scan the lot & get rid quickly?

Also, storage costs have dropped a lot in the last 10 years but you are still probably looking at terabytes of quality images, which means you either run a fleet of free cloud accounts & have to remember all the passwords, and or invest in portable hard disks & have duplicates. (Says she with two 2 Tb portables & eyeing a third & that's just keeping family snaps & a few films.

Whichever way you jump, best of luck!

buglawton

There's the HMRC 6 year rule so no real need to store tax related stuff for longer than that. Just make sure you're not just displacing your hoarder instinct!

DCFC79

Guys the thread is from 2016 so the OP has it sorted by now.