Mobile tech helps with the HR forms
OK, so today is a bit hectic but it just became a wee bit easier. Aside from responding to tons of e-mails about our latest news, I’m filling out HR forms for my new employer. Only one problem: all of the identification documents I have won’t go through our all-in-one copier / scanner / printer / noise-maker. No, the last feature isn’t advertised… it was apparently a free extra.
No worries since we’ve previously written about a solution that just came in handy. I’m talking about scanR, the service that takes your digital images and turns them into usable PDF scans. In this particular case, I was hesitant to use the service for my identification credentials simply because I wasn’t sure about the security implications of having my driver’s license zipping through the clouds. Before doing anything, I perused the scanR privacy terms and felt comfortable enough to continue on. Understanding privacy policies and then determining next steps is a pretty personal choice, so I’m sure that some of you would have stopped right there. Makes sense as it’s your personal data, so it should be your choice. I found it to be very simple to opt-out of scanR keeping any of my images and information on their server right in my account settings. Quick, easy and an effective solution to my scanning problem.
While the web continues to be tricky in terms of privacy and data, here’s how I look at it: I’m willing to give up a reasonable bit of personal data in order to benefit from better services. What’s your take?
I would still be worried about identity theft, but that’s just me. Just make sure you get one of those credit monitoring services, and you’ll be fine!
Hi Kevin,
My question is how sharp is the scanning? I’ve used two or three scanning services with three or so camera phones and I haven’t been impressed with the quality, which ranges from unreadable to good enough.
Perhaps ScanR is doing a better job?
Great question Alan. scanR recommends 2 MP or better. While most phones have moved beyond the old 1.3 MP standard, I believe that 2 MP is towards the low-end. For some documents and whiteboards 2 MP might be enough… for professional looking PDF scans, you’ll want to consider using something with higher res, or even a standard digital camera. I can tell you from experience that the camera in the iPhone was impressive enough for the Pastor at my church. When planning our wedding earlier this year, he went to fire up the photocopier so we could get a copy of our service, readings, etc… As he left the room, I snapped a pic with my iPhone and had a readable copy in my e-mail before he had the photocopier ready to go.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the fast reply. I have, but never use, camera phones with fewer than two megapixels. I use everything from a BlackBerry Curve (two megapixels) to a Nokia N95 and N82 (five megapixels). The Curve is at least as good, possibly better, than the iPhone, and the Nokia phones blow away the iPhone in terms of image quality and features.
Should assume the scanR images you took for your, uh, gig at Gigaom (congratulations and the best of luck) with a camera phone came out sharp enough for you to be satisfied? Or, did you use a regular digital camera and avoid any camera phone problems?
Alan for general text docs, I’ve found scanR to be acceptable with a 2 MP image. For my credentials, which are image-based and fairly detailed, I opted to use an actual digital camera and I was thrilled with the images.
Hi Kevin,
Thanks very much for the additional info. I appreciate your taking the time to answer.
Hi Kevin;
I work in information security for “Big Bank” and as a result (or maybe its the cause) I am paranoid when it comes to access controls around information. If I’m going to store information in the cloud then the ability to encrypt with a key and password that I control is the only acceptable solution (I have trust issues). I’m also concerned about working with applications in the cloud where I can’t control things such as temporary copies of my data, which may remain on servers even after I’ve closed the file. This means that I won’t be able to enjoy the “pure” cloud/browser-only experience that you are seeking since I want the manipulation of data to happen in an environment I control.
When it comes to information related to my identity I get particularly paranoid since things such as SSN and drivers license numbers are the basics of identity theft and can remain tied to me for life. For someone who is young and might not have a lot of savings it may not seem like much of an issue, but as you approach retirement and are relying on your wealth to become your primary income it becomes a lot more worrying.
I have been using scanr for over a year or so and I like it a lot. Especially when you’re out in the boon docks and have to fax something. If you are using a phone make sure you have the option set to send picture as original size and also that you have the camera set at highest resolution.
A comment and a question:
Comment:
And it means something different for each of us.
The important word in the last part of your article is “reasonable”
Question:
If your scanner didn’t work (what did not work?), why didn’t you just copy the fotos from your camera to your PC and either directly print them to pdf or probably even arange a few of them on one page with Word and print the page? Don’t tell me you don’t have a pdf converter – there are so many free ones available.
Correct, “reasonable” will be defined differently by each individual.
Our scanner isn’t a flatbed scanner, so it was choking on my credentials. I actually did take pics of them against a white background and viewed them in Preview on the Mac, which of course can save as PDF natively through the Print menu. However, I wanted to see how scanR would handle the images. There’s usually mutliple solutions for these types of challenges…