As a professional, you will meet tons of people, and each time you meet someone new, you will exchange business cards. That means, over a few years, you will end up with hundreds of business cards. Of course, all cards will not be useful and you will end up throwing them away. However, there will be many more that you will want to save so that you can keep important phone numbers and contact details in a safe place.
In this day and age, when technology has intruded into every sphere of life, having a business cardholder is passé. In fact, you’ll be hard-pressed to find someone who actually stores the physical cards. Most people store the cards digitally, either in their phone’s address book or the cloud. So, how do you go about doing this? Will you have to invest in a business card scanner?
The Way Forward
Just a few years ago, people used to buy a business card scanner to help them scan each card and save them. Thankfully, this time-consuming job is no longer used. Today, people use their mobile phones to click a pic and then use a mobile app to convert that information digital files that can be saved in the cloud or mobile.
These mobile apps are quite high-tech and many have OCR capabilities that allow them to separate the text from the scanned image and save each field correctly. Of course, some of the older phones may not support these apps. Under such circumstances, all you need to do is click and photograph of the business card and then use another app to transfer the necessary information to your phone’s address book. Sound simple, doesn’t it?
How Does a Business Card Scanner App Work?
You need not get your knickers into a twist. It is quite easy to use a mobile scanning app. You don’t have to be technically savvy to use such an app. In fact, using a mobile scanning app is just like click a pic using your smartphone.
When you want to click a photograph of a document, you will place it on a flat surface, focus your phone’s camera on it until the document is clear and then click a photograph. You need to follow a similar process when you use a mobile business scanner application. However, the smart application will guide you from start to finish.
Usually, you will need to ensure that the edges of the business card are aligned with the crop marks that you will be able to see on the phone screen. Then hold the mobile steady while the app does the work. It merely takes a couple of seconds to scan a business card. Your handiwork (or shall we say that the work of the app) will be visible on your mobile screen. You can see it, and if you are satisfied, you can save the image to your address book. After that, you start a new scan and scan the next business card in your pile.
You may be wondering why should you use a business card scanner when you can use your phone camera to click an image of the business card and store it in the cloud. You could do it, but you risk the resultant pic being unclear. Remember, scanning ensures you enjoy high levels of clarity. Also, with a phone camera, the text may not be legible and what you will have is an image where you cannot search the text. So, if you want to extract the pic of the business card at a later stage, you will find it difficult and cumbersome to retrieve it.
So, if you are wondering whether you need a business card scanner in 2019, the answer is big no. However, you do need a business card scanning app that makes it easy for you to scan and store the contact details of multiple people in an effortless manner.
Finding the Right Business Card Scanning Application
A good business card scanning application allows you to clearly capture the contents of the card, ensures that the text is searchable and enables you to save the scanned business cards in your digital address book without a hitch.
But how do you find a good business card scanner application? The app should have certain features and some of them are as follows:
Automatic Detection of the Edges: The app should be able to detect the edges of the business card automatically when you point the camera on it.
Save and Export Features: After you finish scanning a business card, the app should allow you to save or export the scanned card on your mobile phone, storage device, Google Drive or any other data storage service.
OCR Capabilities: With this feature, the text on the business card will get saved and you will be able to edit or paste it. That is invaluable when you are scanning business cards, so make sure that the app you choose has this feature. www.colombia.co
Search Option: The application should have a search option that enables you to search for anything you have scanned. That way, if you do not have the best organizational skills, you will still be able to retrieve a name and contact details at a later stage.
Multipage Capability: The application you choose should be able to scan multiple business cards one after another and then it should collate the contents into a single file. This feature could be useful in cases where you want to club business cards from one company but of multiple professionals.
The Price Factor: Most business card scanner apps provide free and premium membership. If you are looking for an OCR-enabled application, it would be a premium service. You have the choice between making a one-time payment or opting for subscription-based service. Usually, the latter is more cost-effective if you tend to frequently scan business cards.
In Conclusion…
While you do not need a dedicated business card scanner in 2019, you definitely need a business card scanning application. What is your take on this?
