Scanners may eliminate data entry problems

The Boston Herald and other newspapers are investing in scanning technology to reduce data entry errors and improve efficiency in converting documents to digital formats. While the systems show promise, they still require significant verification work and human oversight.

Since their experience with data entry, the Boston Herald has spent $8,200 to buy a scanning system including hardware and software, said Manny Korkodilos, P.C. systems manager at the Herald.

The Herald bought a Hewlett Packard Scan Jet Plus black and white scanner, a 486 PC, a hard drive, and the software version of Wordscan that lets the scanner drop what it's scanning into a variety of formats including dBase and Lotus, Korkodilos said.

The Courant is using a scanner to put campaign expenditures into a database format to use for a story.

"If the copy is good, there should be no problem," Houston said, "But nothing so far has been simple and it all takes work and verification."

Dave Davis, of the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer said his paper is not looking into scanners yet. "When scanners become more common they will be a great house data entry solution," Davis said. "We'll then have records as accurate as the paper ones."