Acentra delivers scanning-to-go for big genealogical challenges

Your customer is a sweet lady in her 80s. She has over one million letters, documents, photos and other pieces of important genealogical data. She wants them all preserved and safeguarded digitally. Yet she won’t let the collection out of her sight for a minute. What do you do? If you’re Matt Bills, you bring your scanning operation to the lady and scan her materials on site. And you let her watch, if she wishes to do so.
Personal experience inspires a new businessFive years ago Matt Bills was newly married. He and his wife were moving into a home formerly occupied by his wife’s grandmother. Now suffering from Alzheimer’s, she had left a few years prior and rented out the house. All of the grandmother’s things were stored in a damp, dark room in the basement. As Bills sorted through the belongings, “I realized that under my feet was the history of this woman and her life. We found photos, documents, letters her husband had written from overseas during World War II … it was all such a mess. I thought, there has to be a better way.”
From that illuminating experience sprang the genesis for Acentra, Inc., a somewhat unusual service bureau operation headquartered in Provo, Utah. While Bills has other Acentra locations in Idaho, Arizona and the tri-state area of NY/NJ/CT, his Provo business finds itself heavily involved with genealogical preservation. Provo is home to Brigham Young University and — according to Association of Religion Data research — 98 percent of area residents are adherents to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints (LDS). These Mormons are very interested and involved in genealogy. “We worked with one group, the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers, who compiled almost 60,000 folders, each filled with 30 to 40 pages of historical data,” says Bills. “Each folder was for a specific person. Mormons don’t want history and stories to be forgotten, and we assist them in safeguarding their past for the future.” 

“… like the A-Team on a genealogical mission”As noted earlier, many Provo-area residents are loath to let these invaluable collections be sent to a service bureau. So Bills and his coworkers come to them. “We’re essentially a mobile digitizing unit,” he says. “It’s kind of like the A-Team taking on a genealogical mission. Our clients have books, records, photos, documents, great history. We’ve scanned 15th century land records, even pieces of stainless steel with text etched into them!”
Taking document scanners on a road trip is no easy task. Bills tried out scanners from several well-known manufacturers before deciding on models from Kodak, primarily KODAK i260, KODAK i1220 and i1320 Scanners. “Simply put, the scanners from Kodak aren’t wimps and can take the wear and tear, and travel and perform well,” Bills states. “Other companies’ scanners were too finicky or SCSI-based. We will do some modifications to our scanners to assure even more robust performance, and we even put some flame decals and other customization on them. We like to have fun doing what we do.” Acentra uses KODAK Capture Software, Lite along with the built-in imaging processing capabilities of their Kodak Scanners and finds the results “outstanding.”
Bills’ teams use trailers to transport the scanning operations, and build custom configurations and cases for their journeys and on-site projects.
“While we will work out of the trailers, we’ll also set up in a home or office, sometimes on a dining room table,” says Bills. “Whatever is most efficient and comfortable for our client. We’re flexible, and we target the scanners and related equipment to the needs of the job.”
Acentra’s Provo facility employs about 20 people most of the year, but the workforce swells to over 100 in the summer when the company embarks on an annual door-to-door campaign. “Provo is home to the largest LDS missionary training center, and we hire many young people who come back to the area to explain the advantages of digital preservation,” Bills says. “They talk up the service, and we generate a tremendous amount of business.”
Acentra converts almost anything analog to digitalAlong with hard-copy materials, Acentra also transitions videos, audio tapes, cassettes, slides, vinyl records, old 8 mm and 16 mm films and other analog media to digital formats, primarily DVD. Recently they’ve begun to offer newer formats, such as Blu-ray discs. Acentra has found that archiving service is increasingly popular. “People love having safe access to their collections on DVD, but they also want to know that they’re protected in case of a fire or mishap,” Bills notes. “We’ll burn a gold archival DVD and store it off-site, actually in an underground or Granite Mountain vault. It provides great peace of mind.”
To create additional selling opportunities, Acentra works with a sister company that offers scrapbook products, enlargements, and other photo specialty products. A customer can simply drag and drop digitized photos into predesigned templates, for example, and then have prints made with pictures and backgrounds as composite pages.

Law firm trials virtual filing

Fujitsu helps solicitors better their customer service

Michael Anvoner & Company is a niche UK based solicitors practice. It specialises in private client law and deals with wills, probates, estate planning and older client affairs. Established over 20 years ago and with an extensive client base, the solicitors of Michael Anvoner & Company have extensive experience in organising and managing the estates of their clients.
The type of law that Michael Anvoner & Company specialises in can often be a very complicated matter. It involves a lot of documentation and many different parties to deal with. As such, the lawyers have to be on top of every aspect of the case and client information. Due to the immense amount of paperwork involved, a problem often arises with quick and effective access to important documentation when time is of the essence.
As a result, Michael Anvoner, Principal Solicitor at Michael Anvoner & Company decided to implement an efficient method of customer service – virtual filing. By instantly scanning all of the documentation as soon as it is received, the solicitors are able to store the 'soft copy' onto the computer, where it is saved into a file which can be accessed quickly.
Speedy response to client queries is key
Because of the nature of the job, most of the duties of the solicitors at Michael Anvoner & Company involve ensuring the wishes in the wills of past relatives. As a result, clients are often distraught and require answers to their questions immediately. If their individual solicitor who knows the specifics of their case is not available at the time, it may be become problematic. The client might not have the time and patience for the individual to look for the correct file.
Michael Anvoner notes; "The clients who have queries on the phone are often at their most vulnerable. This is because we are dealing with the administration of the estate of a relative that has died. In this instance, the individual taking the call will have to sort through the files until they come across the right documentation."
Virtual filing provides the answer
Virtual filing is a term used to describe the record keeping method used at Michael Anvoner & Company. This is a form of filing where a virtual rendition of the clients' case files, correspondence and contacts are saved securely on a central server that can be accessed by all members of the legal team.
Anvoner adds; "If a person dealing with a particular client's case is not in the office at that time of the call, anyone else on the team can deal with it because they have a virtual file of the client's case. Every time we issue and receive a correspondence on a probate matter, it is saved both in the virtual file and in a physical one. Everything is saved in the virtual folder exactly the way it is in the physical one."
Lawyers consult the ScanSnap
To assist with the virtual filing, Michael Anvoner & Company looked to Fujitsu and their S510 ScanSnap range scanner. The ScanSnap is a 50 sheet ADF powered scanner that can scan documents up to 18 pages per minute at 150dpi and 36 images per minute if double sided. With the ScanSnap, the user has the choice to scan directly to Adobe PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint 2003 or standard image viewers.
Anvoner decided on the ScanSnap S510 because of its features and capabilities. He explains; "I read a review of it and it really looked ahead of its time." After using the ScanSnap, Anvoner was pleased with the results.
"What's wonderful about the ScanSnap S510 is its speed and the fact that it is so efficient that every time we get any correspondence from a party, we can scan it and save it in the appropriate folder. This way when answering a call, any person can access the virtual file and answer the client's query right away instead of physically getting up to search for the relevant file or taking a message and ringing back. It saves us a load of time and makes the client very happy because they can get instant answers from us" continues Anvoner.
Additional benefits
Aside from enabling a digital filing system, the ScanSnap also provides additional benefits to Michael Anvoner & Company. By digitalising client files, the practice is moving ever closer towards better customer service. This is saving both internal costs and the costs to the client. Anvoner notes; "Using the scanner is so simple that you don't need any technical or IT experience to operate it. The lawyers and paralegals are able to do it and at no cost to the client because we don't need any designated technical personnel to scan letters."
Anvoner is also impressed with how compact the device is – "it is a fabulous piece of kit that really helps us with our work. It has a very small footprint in that it sits comfortably on everybody's desk."
The speed and ease of use is a deciding factor in Anvoner's decision to invest in more ScanSnaps. He notes; "The ultimate aim is to have one scanner on everyone's desk, legal, secretarial and support staff."
Andrew Cowling, Senior Marketing Services Executive at Fujitsu Europe says of the use: "This is a great example of how technology can play a part in sensitive client situations. Businesses such as Michael Anvoner & Company tend to deal with a lot of paper and files, so I'm pleased that Fujitsu scanners are enabling them to do the best for their clients."

Knock Knock. Who’s There? Now Individuals Know When a Member of the Maryland Locksmith Association is at the Door.

The Challenge
Who among us hasn’t locked ourselves out of the house? And who hasn’t had just a twinge of
worry when calling a perfect stranger to unlock the door for us? Jonathan Mead, owner of Mead
Services and president of the Maryland Locksmith Association, understands that concern and is
doing something about it.
“This industry has always had problems with fly-by-night companies or companies operating as
an out-of-state representative,” Mead said. “I get calls every month from individuals to verify a
locksmith’s reputation or membership in our association.” As a result, Mead recently upgraded
the association’s photo ID cards to reduce the risk of duplication and to increase the professional
image of its members.
The Maryland Locksmith Association was created in 1952 to lend credibility to the profession. For
many years, it issued annual photo ID cards to its members out of laminated cardboard containing
photos taken with an instant camera. “They were easy to forge and not very professional-looking,”
said Mead. “As technology progressed, and the pricing of better equipment came down, it was
time to bring the association into a more modern and professional image.”

Solution Found
Today, each member of the Maryland Locksmith Association has a plastic HID proximity card with
the association’s logo, an individual’s photo and company name, and other pertinent information.
Proximity cards, which were chosen because of their flexibility and their ability to be programmed
to client systems, use contactless technology through an antenna embedded in the card. When
the card passes within range of a card reader, the embedded antenna communicates with a
receiving antenna in the reader, and the card is activated. HID cards use RFID technology enabling
users to upgrade to new technologies seamlessly and add new applications when they wish.
The cards are printed by Mead on a Fargo DTC300 Direct-to-Card Printer/Encoder. “We were
looking for a printer that was a plug-and-play system, easy to operate and load,” said Mead. “We
wanted a printer that would provide us with multi-colored cards and a clean, professional design.
We also wanted a machine that was not too bulky, because we pack it up in a suitcase and take
it to our meetings nine times a year, where new members are voted on and receive their first
badge.” Mead uses a Keyscan access control system and software that is compatible with HID
proximity cards. Together, the system provides the association with a workable database from
which to print professional ID cards.

Results
Members of the Maryland Locksmith Association use their ID cards to sign into association
meetings, to provide a professional image when dealing with clients, and to facilitate and
consolidate access to multiple client locations. In the past, locksmiths who worked for several
clients had to obtain access cards from each of the companies they served. “Each client had to
issue us a temporary badge or give us keys to get in and out,” said Mead. With the new HID
proximity ID cards, clients can program a locksmith’s badge information into their company’s
own system. “Instead of getting a card from each of 10 clients to gain access into their specific
buildings, I give them my information, and they put it into their database,” said Mead. “I only
need to carry one card.”
“Information from my card appears on a company’s security monitor, giving security personnel
the tracking they need,” said Mead. “At the same time, it gives us the professional image we
need.” Sometimes a PIN number is added to increase security, and sometimes companies limit
a locksmith’s access. “I have one client who activates my card only for the days I am going to be
there,” said Mead. “He wouldn’t have been able to do this with our old laminated cards.”
Most locksmiths are honest, hard-working men and women, but because no licensing is required
in 35 states, people are rightfully nervous about the small majority of unscrupulous individuals.
“We conduct background checks on all of our members,” said Mead. “If we find something
questionable, we deny membership. We go before the state legislature every winter to testify for
licensing, and these new ID cards help us to bolster our image and show pride in our industry.”
Mead also offers association members the opportunity to print ID cards for their smaller clients.
“If our members have a client with 10 to 15 people in an office and want access control but
don’t want to buy a printer, the client can send our association jpg photos, and we’ll make up
a template for a nominal cost,” Mead said. “Over the last two years, we have printed 200 nonmember
cards.”
“Homeland Security will continue to tighten down on who has access to what data, and what
data are maintained,” said Mead. Because several of the association’s members deal with
Homeland Security issues, the association may issue smart cards and add security laminates in
the future. “Some of our members want tamper-resistant cards,” he said. “We want to provide
them with what they need.” For now, Mead simply keeps the printer in a safe, along with the
laptop that holds the logos and pdf files.
While he ponders upcoming industry changes, Mead is working hard to ensure the
professionalism, integrity and training of locksmiths in the state of Maryland today. In addition
to being able to display logos and decals on their vehicles, members of the Maryland Locksmith
Association can now obtain state license plates to show their membership. But it is the new
ID cards that have been making the greatest impression with clients, whether they are large
corporations or simply individuals who have locked themselves out of their homes.
“Our members are proud to display their ID cards,” he said. “Not many associations have photo ID
cards. This makes us unique.”