Paper-based correspondence continues to be an important component of many business transactions inspite of the growth in electronic messaging. An imaging system makes electronic access to this information possible. The document images can be stored on either optical or magnetic media and the image database enables structured access and retrieval of this information as needed. Fast document scanners facilitate the electronic capture of archived documents and current paper documents such as letters, CAD drawings, forms and medical images. Incoming electronic documents likes faxes, e-mails and photographs can easily be added to the system.