Paper records carry more than information.
They carry history, decisions, obligations and trust.
But paper is fragile.
Over time, documents fade, tear, become brittle or suffer damage from handling and environmental conditions. Each retrieval introduces risk — not because people are careless, but because physical materials wear with use.
Access Versus Preservation
Many organisations face a difficult balance:
How do you protect important records while still allowing people to access them?
Digitisation offers a practical solution.
By creating high-quality digital copies, organisations can
preserve original documents while reducing the need for physical handling. The digital version becomes the working record. The original is protected, stored securely and disturbed far less frequently.
This approach safeguards valuable information without locking it away.
The Space You Didn’t Know You Needed
There’s another impact of paper records that often goes unnoticed — space.
Filing rooms, archive storage and boxed records occupy valuable areas within workplaces. Over time, storage expands while usable space shrinks. Digitisation allows organisations to reclaim that space without losing access to their records.
Rooms once filled with shelves can be repurposed.
Storage costs can be reduced.
Work environments can breathe again.
It’s not about erasing the past.
It’s about
preserving it more responsibly while making room for the future.
A Thoughtful Approach to Safeguarding Records
Digitising documents is more than scanning paper. It requires care, structure and respect for the information being preserved.
At Document Management Tasmania (DMTas), digitisation is approached with this responsibility in mind — ensuring documents are handled securely, preserved accurately and stored in a way that maintains their integrity over time.
Because preserving records isn’t just about protecting paper.
It’s about protecting what those documents represent.
