Tips on Getting a Good Document Capture

As much as Vector's technology is built to get the best possible document scan from any Android or Apple device's camera, it is also important for drivers to follow intuitive best practices to ensure the documents that are getting sent back to their fleet are cropped, clear and legible. Follow the steps below to get a good document capture.

Upon uploading a document for the first time, the app will walk you through 3 important things to remember when taking photos of documents.

1.) The best document captures happen when there is even lighting over the entire document. Shadows or glares from the sun can make it difficult to auto-detect the document.  

2.) Hold the phone steady both BEFORE and AFTER you press the orange “capture” button - this ensures that the text on the document will be easily legible after the photo is taken.

3.)  Hover your camera directly over the document until the orange glowing box appears. That is how our technology is able to detect the document. Make sure all 4 corners are visible and the entire page is in view.

Keeping these pointers in mind, hover the phone or tablet over the document.

Place the document on a non-shaky, relatively flat surface. Make sure there is a color-contrasting background underneath so the document outline stands out clearly. The floor or a seat is usually a good option.

Avoid other papers behind the page you are scanning - it can throw off document detection. Clipboards are generally okay, as long as the entire document is in camera view.

If you are scanning a standard 8.5x11-inch page, hold the camera around 12 to 14 inches away from the paper, or at least until all 4 corners are in the shot and you’ve waited for the camera to focus. 

If you are scanning in a smaller document such as a receipt, you will need to move the camera closer to the page when taking the photo. This might be somewhere from around 3 to 6 inches away.

If part of the page is cut off or it’s zoomed in too far, the app will prompt that it is still looking for the document. The edges of the document should be just shy of the camera’s frame.

Once the orange glow appears, hold the camera still and steady. If the device is shaking while capturing, the scan will not be easily legible.

Once all these guidelines have been met, press the orange circle button to take the photo.

The document capture will appear once processed. Pinch to zoom in on the capture. Ensure there is no blurriness and all text is legible throughout the entire document. If you need to redo, press "Retake" in the top left-hand corner.

If you are taking the photo at night, make sure the flash is set to "On" or "Auto".

If you’re scanning a carbon copy or another document with light text, sometimes reverting the greyscaled photo back to the original color photo will make it more legible. Click “Adjust” at the bottom of the preview scan and tap “Original” under “Filter”.

Combining these best practices with Vector’s advanced scanning technology, you will ensure your fleet gets your documents back not only on time but with acceptable quality.