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Ascent Upgrade Adds Broader Functionality

Ascent Capture 3.0 is a 100% 32-bit upgrade of the widely popular 2.X-generation capture package. It has an all-new interface and support for multi-threaded and multi-tasked operation on Windows 9X and NT. A new batch class organization scheme lets you define multiple document and form types. This is coupled with automatic forms ID, so you no longer have to sort your documents before you scan.

Like its predecessor, Ascent Capture 3.0 has modules for Administration, Scan, Quality Control (formerly called rescan queue), Index, Index Verification, OCR, Release and Batch Management. Version 3.0 adds an automated Forms Processing module. User-defined processing queues pass batches from module to module. At the end of the queue, images are released to long-term storage. With forms processing in the mix, data extracted from forms as well as index information can be released to a target database, text file or back-end business application.

Version 3.0 lets you publish and update your user-defined batch classes (including document classes, form types and related queues). This allows you standardize and export batch classes so remote offices can be kept up-to-date with the latest field types, batch properties, sample pages, scripts, etc. You can ýValidateý a batch class or go right to ýPublish.ý Either way, Ascent checks the settings and warns you about potential problems.

Kofaxýs new Ascent Capture Internet Server (which supports up to 256 concurrent connections) lets you set up remote scan stations for distributed capture. This eliminates the need to ship paperwork to centralized scanning facilities. From a browser-connected remote site you can work off line and then send completed work immediately, at predetermined intervals or when a batch is completed. A server log tracks the batches, and data is sent and received with Microsoft Cabinet compression capabilities and SSL encryption.

Entering the competitive forms market with internally developed functionality, Kofax says it has no ambitions to take on high-volume or highly specialized applications such as tax or HCFA forms. Rather, it says its goal is to provide an off-the-shelf product that provides the basics in an easy-to-use package. Kofax says it will compete with Cardiff Teleform Standard and Elite and MTI OCR For Forms.

Version 3.0 adds intelligent character recognition (ICR) from Recognition Technology as well as optical mark recognition (OMR) and Form ID recognition from Kofaxýs own ImageControls 3.2 toolkit. Preexisting recognition technologies have been enhanced with OCR from Caere and barcode and patch code recognition from ImageControls 3.2.

Thereýs no voting between multiple recognition engines, as youýll find in even low-end forms processing packages, though solid image cleanup and validation can be as effective. Ascent 3.0 doesnýt offer full forms removal, but thereýs vertical and horizontal line removal, character reconstruction and the usual despeckle, deskew, deshade, black border removal and various edge enhancement features. Also lacking are the scores of canned routines -- for things like social security numbers, zip codes and mathematical calculations -- found in other off-the-shelf products.

There is no separate forms design tool for building forms from scratch. The administration module lets you define field types and zones on pre-existing forms that you scan or import.

Working from a pre-existing catalog order form, it took me about half an hour to define and zone out about 20 fields requiring a mix of OCR, ICR, barcode and OMR. I ran a small batch through the Scan, Forms Processing, Index and Release modules within a couple of minutes. It took another 10 minutes to tweak the zones and correct a few field definitions. All of the recognition engines worked reliably in my limited test. The Indexing module offered split screens and pan-and-zoom features for the image zones, but the index fields were small and hard to read.

The forms functionality in Ascent Capture 3.0 is fine if you deal with just a few forms, but itýs not an every-day solution. Kofax says you can add or tweak features with custom scripts, but this is not consistent with the goal of being easy to use.

To Kofaxýs credit, they are backing this first release up with free maintenance and point-release upgrades (Ascent Capture 2.0 had three such upgrades). Pricing is based on images per month (ipm) with a self-refreshing dongle used to keep track of scanning. A 5,000 ipm license (aimed at remote sites) costs $895. From there, 25,000 ipm = $3,000; 75,000 ipm = $5,000; 200,000 ipm = $9,000; and unlimited ipm = $14,000. A separate workstation license for everything except scanning costs $2,500.

If you want capture with the advantages of automation and you also encounter a handful of forms, Ascent Capture 3.0 can do it all. Kofaxýs maintenance plan ensures free upgrades, and the company says the next full release will incorporate both manual and automatic forms creation tools, which will go a long way toward extending Kofaxýs reach in the forms market.