This post was written by Dorota Turlejski from the CCLA Technology Committee.
Tiny Scanner
Cost: free (with option for upgrade for $4.99)
Features/ uses: Scanner “on the go”
Category: Document management, Collaboration, Document storage, Transaction Management
Where to find: search for “Tiny Scanner” in the Apple Store if you have an iPhone, and Google Play if you have an Android.
This app turns your Android or iPhone/iPad into a portable document scanner, meaning that you can travel and scan without having to bring a very heavy scanning machine along with you! This can be very useful because taking photos with your phone does not provide the clarity and resolution you may need.
The app is password-protected and it auto-adjusts the images scanned in (because there is no feeder to flatten paper out), in order for them to appear as if they came from an office-size scanner.
You can set the app to automatically upload the documents into your Google Drive or you can e-mail and fax documents straight from the app, wherever you are.
For example, you go see your client outside the office to have them sign an agreement. You can provide your client a copy of the signed agreement as soon as it is executed. You take the signed document, scan the pages and e-mail it straight from your phone/tablet to your client. In the meantime, an electronic version is stored in your Drive so that you don’t have to ask your assistant to scan the documents in when you go back to the office.
The main value-added of the app is that it produces documents looking like scanned documents and not like images taken with a phone. The app is indispensable for lawyers working from home or sole practitioners who spend a lot of time on the road and not much time in the office.
It is not efficient to use Tiny Scanner to scan very large volumes of paper. A self-feeding scanner would be more appropriate. For the majority of paperwork, up to 30 pages a document, Tiny Scanner is a great solution.
Thank you for great tip!