The digitization of our world is a process that’s only speeding up. That’s why many companies are choosing to bring their paper documents into the virtual world. And in order to do this, they first need to have the documents scanned.
But scanning lots of business documents can be a very time-consuming thing to do. You may be interested in partnering with a professional scanning service to take the job off of your plate. If so, you’re probably wondering how much this will cost you.
The average cost of a document scanning job is between 7 and 12 cents per page. The exact amount you pay will vary depending on factors like the type of documents being scanned and your location.
Document scanning companies typically base their prices around the number of documents being scanned. But they will also use different per-page rates for various types of materials and job requirements.
We’ll cover all of the factors that can impact your pricing in the next section.
For now, just know that the range you can expect to pay per page is between 7 and 12 cents. If your job is a simple one, expect to pay on the lower end of that range. If it’s complex, you could pay closer to 12 cents per page.
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Factors that impact your document scanning pricing
Each of the following factors could play a role in determining how much you eventually pay for your document scanning job. We’ll tell you more about why they matter in this section.
Number of pages
The number of pages that you have to scan is one of the first things that a scanning company will look at when providing you with a quote for a project. Check out this table for more information.
| Number of Pages | 7 Cents Per Page | 9 Cents Per Page | 12 Cents Per Page |
|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | $7 | $9 | $12 |
| 1,000 | $70 | $90 | $120 |
| 5,000 | $350 | $450 | $600 |
| 10,000 | $700 | $900 | $1,200 |
| 25,000 | $1,750 | $2,250 | $3,000 |
| 50,000 | $3,500 | $4,500 | $6,000 |
| 100,000 | $7,000 | $9,000 | $12,000 |
Keep in mind, your actual rates for a project could be higher or lower than these figures depending on where you land with the other factors on this list. These amounts just offer a rough estimation of the average costs for different-sized projects.
Single or double-sided
This factor is fairly self-explanatory. Scanning jobs that require double-sided scanning tend to cost a lot more than projects with single-sided scans do. In fact, you can expect to pay roughly double what you’d pay for a single-sided scanning job for a double-sided one.
That’s because double-sided scans essentially count as two separate pages. So instead of being charged $0.07 to scan a document, you would be charged $0.14 if it’s double-sided.
Amount of prep work involved
Some document-scanning jobs are simply more complex than others. If your scanning project requires a lot of prep work, then don’t expect the scanning company to do it for free. The amount of work that it takes to get your documents ready to be scanned will be reflected in the price that you pay somewhere.
There are a few different ways that you might see this charge. One is as a standalone fee for processing.
Unfortunately, there is no hard data for the average prices of various types of scanning prep work. Just know that more work for the scanning company will generally mean a higher cost for you.
Some scanning companies might charge for prep work with a higher per-document rate as well. For example, instead of charging you $0.10 per page, the company might charge you $0.11 if they need to do a lot of prep work before being able to scan the documents.
Type of documents
The type of documents that you need to have scanned can also play a role in determining how much you pay to have this done. For example, the job may get more complex if you’re asking the scanning company to scan thick sheets of high-quality paper instead of standard printer paper. This could increase your costs.
Similarly, what’s on the documents themselves may have an impact on the amount that you pay.
For example, pictures and documents with color may require a special scanning solution to truly translate to a digital environment. Some document scanning companies will charge you extra for these types of things.
Location
Location is always a factor that needs to be brought up when discussing document scanning pricing. That’s because a company’s baseline prices will often be a factor of their expenses. And it’s no secret that expenses tend to be higher in areas with higher costs of living.
So, what does this mean for the cost of your document scanning job? Essentially, you will likely be asked to pay more if you live in an area where the cost of living is high. But you also may be able to save money if the cost of living in your area is low.
Project timing
The timing of your project is another thing to think about while you’re considering what a fair price for your scanning job looks like.
You might need to have a set of documents scanned very quickly because of a pressing business demand. If so, a scanning company will likely be happy to accommodate you. Just know that it will increase the overall amount that you’re paying for the project.
The opposite is also true. Maybe you just want the documents to get scanned eventually and there isn’t a need to have the job done as quickly as possible. If that’s true, then the price that the scanning company charges you would go down.
Location Affect Pricing
This is another factor that you should be thinking about as you consider what a fair price for your document scanning job might be.
If your job is a very large one or your documents contain company secrets, you may need a scanning company to perform the job on your premises. This will almost always increase the price that you pay for the project.
To get the best price, try to do everything that you can to bring your documents to the scanning company. They may even be willing to pick up and transport the documents for you if you aren’t able to do it yourself.
Having your documents picked up may cost you extra. But it will likely be much cheaper than what you’d pay to have the scanning projected completed entirely at your offices.
Things you can do to lower your document scanning prices
In the previous sections, we covered the different factors that could impact how much you pay for a scanning project. In this one, we’ll look at the other side of things. Here are four strategies you can use to save on your next scanning job.
Remove staples and bindings
Prep costs can make up a sizeable portion of the amount that you pay for a scanning project. And often, the preparation work is something that’s simple enough for you to do yourself before bringing the documents to the scanning company.
That means one of the easiest ways to save money on a scanning job is to remove things like staples and bindings before handing the documents over.
Separate pictures and documents with color
This is another type of prep work that you may want to consider doing yourself. If a scanning company doesn’t have to worry about separating your documents from one another, the job will take them less time. This will save you money.
Tape odd-shaped pieces of paper to standard-sized paper
You may also want to consider using this money-saving strategy if you have lots of odd-shaped documents to scan. Once again, it’s something that your document-scanning company won’t have to do themselves, which will save you money.
Bring your documents to a professional scanning facility
Another idea is to bring your documents to the scanning company instead of making them come to you. We covered why this matters in an earlier section. But it’s definitely something you want to keep in mind if you’d like to pay as little as possible for the scanning job.
Bottom Line
The cost of your next document scanning job will depend on the factors covered in this article. As a general rule of thumb, expect your price to go up as the complexity of the job goes up.
But you can take steps to reduce your costs as well. If you take care of some of the prep work on your own, you could pay much less than you would otherwise have to.
Still, the average document scanning price range is between $0.07 and $0.12 per page. The easier your job is, the closer you will get to the $0.07 end of that range.
