DALLAS, Jan. 27 -- Noted writer and philosopher Francis Bacon said, "Knowledge is power." Almost 400 years later, this phrase is truer than ever as a result of today's fast-paced business world. To help customers access critical information buried in their filing cabinets and storage facilities, Kinko's, Inc. has developed a scanning and retrieval system called Kinko's Document Scanning Services. Kinko's Document Scanning Services provides immediate relief to companies facing the challenges of storing, managing and locating critical information among volumes of hard copy documents. The service converts documents into fully searchable, indexed electronic images available in a variety of formats, including CD and DVD. The data created by Kinko's Document Scanning Services integrates easily into most software or database document management systems. "Kinko's is the world's leading provider of document solutions, and we recognized an opportunity to provide business customers better access to information than is possible with paper," said Sue Parks, executive vice president of operations for Kinko's. "This need -- combined with our experience working with documents of all kinds in a secure and confidential environment -- resulted in the development of Kinko's Document Scanning Services." Top applications include litigation departments responsible for product liability, intellectual property and other issues, disaster recovery for governments and municipalities, and management of medical or employment records. For example, one Fortune 500 firm uses Kinko's Document Scanning Services to organize and access tens of thousands of critical documents related to ongoing litigation. A large technology company uses the service to manage its patent documentation. More about Kinko's Document Scanning Services Kinko's developed dedicated closed-door facilities in many major metropolitan areas nationwide in order to create a secure, confidential environment for Kinko's Document Scanning Services. Each specially equipped location is fully scalable for large-volume orders of all sizes. For example, a typical location can scan and convert up to 50,000 customer pages per day. Once a customer has engaged Kinko's, original documents are brought to the Kinko's facility for conversion into stand-alone, searchable data files. Customers may choose from several indexing options, including automatic electronic indexing based on their own HR, accounting or other computerized systems. Additional services include data extraction (optical character recognition, form recognition and mark-sensing) or image enhancement (Bates labeling, watermarking, and cleanup). Each page is tracked and marked through a bar-code indexing system, making it possible to use the search and retrieval tool to quickly and efficiently find critical documents using key words or phrases. To ensure ease of use, the entire electronic file can be exported into a variety of formats, including CD or DVD, or integrated into virtually any software or database document management system.