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Document processing involves the equipment, software, and procedures for creating, formatting, editing, researching, retrieving, storing, and mailing documents. A document is any written, printed, or electronically prepared business communication that conveys information. The most common types of documents are those that comprise correspondence: letters, memos, reports, forms, statistical tables, and e-mail.

Document processing can be viewed as an integral part of information resource management (IRM), which includes the management of (1) a broad range of information resources, such as printed materials, electronic information, and microforms; (2) the various technologies and equipment that manipulate these resources; and (3) the people who generate, organize, and disseminate those resources. The overall purpose of IRM is to increase the usefulness of information to both internal users and external customers.

Information resource management is a philosophical and practical approach to managing information. Because information is a valuable resource to be managed like other resources, IRM contributes directly to accomplishing organizational goals and objectives. It provides an integrated approach to managing the entire life cycle of information—from creation, to dissemination, to archiving or destruction—so as to maximize the overall usefulness of information.

DOCUMENT ORIGINATION AND PREPARATION

The procedures for creating a document include formatting the layout of a document, inputting and editing it, and proofreading it.

SETTING FORMATS

In correspondence, formats are selected that are appropriate for the type of document (e.g., letter, memorandum, or report). Format settings in clude margins (left, right, top, and bottom of page), tab settings, page length, line spacing, header and footers, page numbering, type style (font typeface and size)

INPUTTING DOCUMENTS

Documents are most often keyed into a computer so that they can be stored, revised as needed, and updated and reused when appropriate. Sometimes voice-recognition software—which keys in words that appear on a computer monitor as one dictates material—is used.

EDITING DOCUMENTS

A document may be edited, or changed, several times before it is finished. Sometimes certain kinds of formatting are done after a document has been initially keyed in, including alignment (e.g., centering or justifying); and such for matting enhancements as bold face or italic type, underscoring, bulleted lists, and tables. Editing functions include copy and move, cut and paste, search and replace, insert and delete, merge, and save, among others.

PROOFREADING

After a document is keyed, checks are made for errors, such as keying errors, spelling errors, and grammatical errors. Many software packages have tools that check for spelling and grammar errors. These tools enhance, but do not replace, careful proofreading.

COMPOSITION OF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENCE

The essentials of effective communication are courtesy, clarity, completeness, and conciseness. Business correspondence includes memos, minutes of meanings, agendas, e-mail messages, and letters. Electronic technology has increased the use of written communications in the office, which often take the form of an interoffice memos or e-mail; employees of a large corporation may send hundreds of thousands of pieces of e-mail every month. Interoffice memos and e-mail can be in a more casual form than traditional letters.

Because many businesses have offices around the world, it is important to understand international business communications and to accommodate cultural differences. Customs, values, religion, decision-making processes, and manners, vary from country to country; international correspondence should reflect an understanding of these differences. International correspondence is often more formal than domestic correspondence.

Tone is an important part of a message because it reflects the attitude of the writer; a positive tone—which includes tact and courtesy—encourages a positive reaction from the reader. Letters should have a natural style, with short sentences and active verbs. Typical business communications include cover letters, reference letters, "good news" and "bad news" letters, reminders, acknowledgments, and letters of introduction. A variety of business reports, ranging from briefing reports to comprehensive research reports, are also typical business communications.

Business correspondence can also include forms, such as invoices, purchase requisitions, and purchase orders. Document processing also includes the creation, distribution, and use of such forms.

DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Desktop publishing is a method for using a computer, a laser printer, and various software programs to prepare and print documents ranging from a single page of text to flyers, advertisements, pamphlets, books, and magazines. Desktop publishing became possible for small businesses on a broad scale around 1985, with the introduction of the first relatively inexpensive laser printer able to produce "letter-quality" type and visuals when used with a personal computer.

A basic desktop publishing system, besides providing a variety of type fonts and sizes, can also create graphics as well as use art and photographs stored in sources inside the computer.

HISTORY OF DOCUMENT PROCESSING

Documents have been processed in business since the beginning of formal systems of writing. Prior to the invention of the typewriter, documents were handwritten, and the particular style of penmanship preferred by businesses was studied. The manual typewriter was introduced into businesses after its invention in the 1870s, followed by the electric typewriter. In the early 1960s, IBM introduced the Selectric typewriter, with a golf-ball type element that tilted and rotated to transfer characters onto paper. This innovation, by eliminating the movable carriage, allowed for faster document production. In 1964, IBM introduced the Magnetic Tape Selectric Typewriter (MT/ST). The magnetic tape stored keystrokes electronically, so that text could then be edited. The MT/ST is considered to be a "first generation" automated document processor. Office equipment manufacturers then began to develop and market word-processing or document-processing hardware and software, which included the addition of a cathode-ray tube (CRT), to view text and provide additional flexibility in manipulation of the text copy and format prior to printing. The storage media was expanded to include not only magnetic tape and cards but also floppy disks, hard disks, and mainframe computers.

REPROGRAPHICS

Reprographics, which is the multiple reproduction of images, today involves the use of two primary types of equipment: copiers and duplicators. Copiers use an image-forming process similar to a camera to create copies directly from existing originals. Duplicators make copies from masters on specially prepared paper.

Copying, printing, and distributing information has been with us for thousands of years. For much of that time, it was a largely manual task performed by scribes. The first major success in automation was by Gutenberg's invention of movable type in the fifteenth century, a milestone in the history of printing, duplicating, and copying, methods. Reprographics can be traced through four basic historical periods: printing (letterpress; 1500 to present), duplicating (offset, spirit, and stencil; 1900 to present), copying (photochemical, thermofax, dye transfer, electrofax, xerography, and liquid toner transfer; 1940 to present), and electronic printing (intelligent copier/printers, ink jet, magnetography, thermography, and laser xerography; 1976 to present).

COMPUTERIZED RECORDS MANAGEMENT

The processing capabilities and storage capacity of computers have made electronic storage and retrieval of information a common practice in business. Computer-generated document management, records-management software, and imaging systems assist businesses with large volumes of records. Imaging systems convert all types of documents to digitized electronic data that can be easily stored and retrieved. These systems include scanners that convert paper documents to a digitized form, processors that compress the image, storage media that retain the image, retrieval mechanisms to convert the image for viewing on a monitor, and output devices that process the image into hard-copy format. Laser optical disks are well suited for high-volume record management because of their high capacity and durability.

Micrographics is the process of creating, using, and storing images and data in microform. The most common type of microform is micro-film. Images, reduced in size, are stored on reels, in cartridges, on cassettes, on aperture cards, on microfiche, and in jackets. Information stored in a computer can be converted to microfilm. Computer-output microfilm (COM) is imaged directly from magnetic media. The electrical impulses on the media are converted to visual images and stored on microfilm. Computer-input microfilm (CIM) can be converted to electrical impulses, stored on magnetic media, and used as input. CIM can be used to introduce information from a large microfilm file, such as census data, into a computer for processing. Computer assisted retrieval (CAR) systems are used for high-speed microform indexing and retrieval.

For many businesses, however, manual records-management systems are still the norm. Businesses use one or more of the five basic filing methods—alphabetic, subject, numeric, geographic, and chronological—to store records in vertical and lateral files, open-shelf files, and rotary files. Good records-management practices include establishing complete archives, developing retention schedules, and using timelines for transferring records to permanent storage.

SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION ON THE INTERNET

The ease and availability of using the Internet to find information has added another dimension to document processing. A search engine is a software program that is used to find Web sites, Web pages, and Internet files. Examples include Alta Vista, Excite, Yahoo!, HotBot, Lycos, and Infoseek. Single or multiple keywords can be entered into a search engine, which will search indices to return a list of hits, which can number from zero to more than a million. The hits are Web pages that contain information relevant to the search criteria. Users must beware that the quality of the sites may differ; some sites may be those of Fortune 500 companies, while others may be those of a 10-year-old child.

The Internet contains Web sites, composed of multiple related Web pages, connected by hyperlinks. A hyperlink, also called a link, is a built-in connection to another related Web page. These links allow information to be obtained in the order desired by the user, not necessarily in the linear fashion provided in books. Information found on the Web can be easily copied and pasted into other documents or used alone, with only minor editing.