# Automated Data Processing With Paper-Based Forms Source: PaperSurvey.io Blog URL: https://www.papersurvey.io/blog/automated-form-processing-paper-forms --- Are you currently collecting data on paper forms and entering data manually? There is a better way. In this post, I'll describe how you can minimize manual data entry costs by automating form capture and processing. [papersurvey.io](https://www.papersurvey.io) provides an easy and cost-effective technology for creating paper-based forms with checkmark and handwritten text recognition: * Scan an unlimited number of documents. * Create surveys with an unlimited number of questions and pages. * Recognize documents from photos, deskew images and automatically rotate pages. * Scan duplex or simplex questionnaires. * Uniquely mark each paper copy to avoid duplicate scans and automatically sort the pages. ### Data entry from paper-based forms Setup your questionnaire on [papersurvey.io](https://www.papersurvey.io) for collecting data via paper forms. Once you are ready and happy with how the survey looks, just print your survey forms and distribute them to your respondents or the data collector staff. You do not need to worry about the design of the form. Our survey builder creates an optimized layout so the forms are readable by machine and do not require any adjusting. The data entry is automated. You only need to scan the filled sheets and upload them to our cloud platform. Within minutes of uploading, you will be able to analyze the quantitative data. Respondents fill the forms the normal way with a pen, and you skip transcription entirely. ### Cloud-based software Unlike most of the alternatives such as ABBYY OCR or Remark Office OMR, the software is available as a web service and does not require you to install any type of software or buy compatible hardware to scan the surveys. This allows you to start creating the survey for your research immediately. You never need to worry about backing up your data as we automatically back it up several times a day and store it in encrypted storage. Read our [security statement](https://www.papersurvey.io/security) to learn more about it. Data is hosted in the EU, GDPR compliant, and never used to train AI models, and the whole platform runs on infrastructure that is ISO 27001 certified and SOC 2 Type II audited. Our advanced image processing allows capturing responses from forms scanned on any device, from office scanners to phone cameras. Getting started is easy as you only need to register, create a survey form online, and print it. Once you have several responses collected, just scan the pages and upload the scanned documents. ### Easy to use survey designer We built the survey designer to be as simple as possible for users to set up their first paper survey. The generated paper layout is automatically optimized for the automatic form processing and includes all required marks to help with image processing and field recognition. ### Scanning paper-based forms You may use any type of scanner to scan the completed documents. You may as well capture paper forms using your mobile phone. Generally, scanning with a document feeder is much more efficient. However, our software is designed to recognize documents from photos as well. ### Handle any scale Our data processing software is designed to handle a large number of documents and can scale dynamically. Therefore, we are able to process thousands of scans per hour. Whether you are running a single classroom evaluation or a nationwide field study, the same workflow applies, so you never have to change tools as your program grows. ### Accurate optical mark recognition Our software correctly identifies 99.99% of the checkmarks. If the calculated accuracy is lower than a certain threshold, a response will be flagged for you to review and manually verify the answer. You may choose between two recognition modes to suit your requirements: * Check or fill the box to respond (default mode) * Check to respond, fill to unmark ### Online survey collector Do you need to collect the surveys from both paper-based forms as well as web surveys? Or would you like to enter the data into the system manually on certain occasions? Web surveys may be optionally enabled allowing you to collect data from multiple sources and store them in one location. When you mix collection modes, keep the design consistent. One German study found that changing the survey mode degrades measurement quality more than making the questionnaire longer does, and that self-administered modes show more item nonresponse than interviewer-led ones (Cernat et al., 2024). Because both paper and web forms are self-administered, keeping each question clear and easy to answer matters more than worrying about a form's length. ### Analyzing results online You may analyze your results online as soon as you upload the pages and the data is processed. Exporting results from our database is simple and fast, with one-click export to Excel, CSV, SPSS, R, PDF, Google Sheets, and PowerPoint, plus onward connections through Zapier, a REST API, and webhooks. The numbers land in the format your analysts actually use, without a manual copy-and-paste step reintroducing the errors you just eliminated. ### Try It Free Are you ready to create your first form and automate your data processing? There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card required, and plans start at about $20 a month. [Start your free trial](https://www.papersurvey.io/app/auth/register) and run your own forms through to see the keying time disappear. --- Need more? The complete PaperSurvey.io help center and blog is available as a single document at https://www.papersurvey.io/llms-full.txt.