Scan to email is a method that is often used to turn paper documents into digital files and send them to coworkers or people outside of the company. 

Scanning to email” is the process of using a scanner or copier to turn a paper document into a digital image or PDF file and then sending it to one or more people. 

Mail scanning This way of quickly getting papers from one person to another is used often and is accepted in many businesses as a good way to get papers to the right people. 

Even though scanning to email is an easy way to deal with the new problems that come with hybrid working, it is not a safe or effective way to communicate and share documents digitally.

Email is the system that hackers target the most, and the hacking industry as a whole is expected to grow at a rate of 15% per year until 2025 when it will be worth more than $10 trillion. 

Under the GDPR, for example, a company that doesn’t protect sensitive personal information could be fined up to 4% of its annual sales. Other rules about data security are also getting stricter and more expensive.

Working from home has shown where the scan-to-email process falls short. Since hybrid working environments are here to stay, it’s important to look more closely at scan-to-email practices and come up with alternatives that are just as easy but don’t cause problems as email.

Is it dangerous to scan documents to email them?

Scanning documents to email creates a security risk that could hurt your business. Even worse, this risk could cause permanent and widespread damage Data Loss Both leaking emails and failed hacking attempts lead to the loss of private and important business information.

Damage to a Person’s Good Name

Because of data breaches caused by email, consumers now feel suspicious and worried, and the bad press that follows discourages potential customers from becoming clients. 

Companies with data breaches risk getting fined by the government and seeing a drop in their customers’ spending.

Processing that doesn’t work very well

Because there aren’t document-linked service level agreements (SLAs), tasks that aren’t finished or mistakes in how documents are processed might not be reported. This could stop or slow down important business activities.

Too little control and not enough openness

Scanning documents directly to an email address doesn’t leave enough evidence of how they were looked at and handled. The chain of custody for the item in question is neither clear nor can it be tracked.

Also Check: How Can I Get A USPS Box Without An Address?

What else can I do besides scanning to email?

Some alternatives reduce risk and meet the needs of document-heavy businesses for security, transparency, and ease of use. These alternatives can be used as Mail scanning services, removing their ease of use or speed of adoption.

Lithe Digital Documents is a safe and reliable way for your company to exchange documents securely. This platform lets you see every part of a document’s lifecycle and gives you full control over who can receive, read, and send documents.

By switching from email to Lithe Digital Documents, our customers can eliminate email to move or share files. But they can keep using the document scanning technology they already have, which lets them develop a safe and effective solution that meets the needs of both remote and hybrid workers.

When someone says they offer a mail scanning service, what does that mean?

Your organization’s service provider will be able to use a mailbox at the nearby Post Office. Most service providers give you a choice of many places to pick up your physical Mail so that you can choose one close to your business.

The service provider will also set you up with an email account that you can use to receive digital Mail. Your customers, partners, and vendors will get a request asking them to send any future contact, preferably in digital form, to the above inbox. 

If any communication comes on paper, the supplier will scan it, index it, and save it in your enterprise resource planning and content management system. 

After that, the supplier will send all emails and other communication forms to the different departments and team members according to the instructions given. 

Your system for managing virtual mailboxes turns into a store of information that is collected and organized to fit your organization’s needs.

Helps with the everyday processing of Mail

It is hard and takes a lot of time to collect, organize, distribute, and keep track of business mail records. 

When you use a mail scanning service, it will be much easier to deal with your Mail in a way that doesn’t let anything slip through the cracks. 

Professionals have undergone a lot of training, so they are qualified to sort and Mail scanning services. 

They eliminate junk mail, highlight important letters, and figure out how important they are, saving your employees a lot of time and effort.

Read More: How Does Mail Scanning Work?