Linda - it is of course location and economy - specific. Here in Sydney
Australia, labour and accommodation costs are significantly higher than
other parts of Australia, so what follows won't apply in Canberra or Perth
etc.

It costs about $5 a year for commercial storage of what the yanks call a 1
cu ft archive box, into which you can put 2,500 - 3,000 A4 pages (depending
on scruffiness). Compare this with scanning at commercial bureau rates of
around $0.10 - 40.18 per exposure (so double sided is two exposures). Make
some assumptions about the time and labour cost per data entry,
and preparation / handling, and my sums for our region say it's AT LEAST
four times more expensive to scan, and in specific cases I've calculated up
to ten times more expensive. Then take into account the TCO (total cost of
ownership) to maintain, refresh and eventually dispose of, and this sort of
ratio holds up pretty well.
I'm really just using these numbers to make people stop and think - and do a
bit of needs / benefits / risk assessment.

Regards

Glenn

Glenn Sanders
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Australia

These views are mine alone. They may or may not be those of any
previous or present employers or clients. I don't know. If I'd asked
and they'd agreed, I would have signed it "Harry Peck and Co and
Glenn". Or whatever. But I haven't, so I didn't.

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