Large Format Document Scanning Case Study: City of Euless Digitizes Architectural Plans
Project SnapshotCity of Euless Digitizes Rolled Architectural Plans
The City of Euless, Texas, located in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, needed a more efficient way to manage bulky rolled architectural plan sets used by Public Works, permitting staff, and fire department personnel. Southwest Solutions Group scanned 303 rolled plan sets containing 7,578 sheets and converted them into searchable PDF files for digital access.
Municipal records digitization project for a city public works environment in North Texas.
Large format document scanning project completed for the City of Euless in the DFW area.
The project supported records used by Public Works, permitting, and fire department teams.
Rolled architectural plans were converted into searchable digital PDF files.
The project focused on digitizing oversized architectural plan sets, blueprints, and construction drawings for easier retrieval and sharing.
The city wanted to reduce reliance on physical rolled plans while making records easier to locate, search, and share across departments.
Rolled Plan Storage Created a Public Works Records Access Challenge
The City of Euless retained architectural plan sets for buildings and businesses that had gone through permitting and certificate of occupancy processes. Over time, the volume of rolled plans created a storage, organization, and retrieval challenge for the Public Works department.
Limited Physical Space
The city had accumulated a large number of rolled architectural plans that needed to be retained for long-term municipal records access. These bulky plan sets occupied valuable room and created a storage problem for the Public Works department.
Slow Plan Retrieval
Staff had to locate, pull, and handle physical rolled plan sets whenever they needed building information. This made records access slower than opening a digital file and searching within a searchable PDF.
Single-Copy Access
Physical plan sets could not be used by multiple people in different locations at the same time. The city needed a way for permitting staff and fire department personnel to access the same plan information without passing around one rolled set.
Large Format Document Scanning for Searchable Municipal Plan Records
Southwest Solutions Group converted the City of Euless rolled architectural plans into electronic PDF files through a large format document scanning workflow. The project included document preparation, oversized sheet scanning, quality control, and indexing so staff could search within the PDF files. The completed files gave city users digital access to architectural plans, blueprints, and construction drawings that previously required physical storage, manual retrieval, and paper handling.
Convert Rolled Architectural Plans Into Searchable PDFs
The project converted 303 rolled architectural plan sets, totaling 7,578 sheets, into digital PDF files. Keyword search capability was added so staff could search within large plan sets instead of reviewing oversized sheets page by page.
Use Batch Scanning to Maintain Practical Records Access
The city did not want to send every rolled plan at one time, so plan sets were sent in batches under a blanket purchase order. This approach allowed Southwest Solutions Group to prepare, scan, inspect, and index records as they were received while supporting the city’s ongoing access needs.
Make Plan Information Easier to Find and Share
Once digitized, the plans could be opened from a computer and searched within the PDF. This helped Public Works, permitting staff, and fire department personnel access the same plan information without relying on a single physical rolled set.
A Batch-Based Scanning Workflow for Rolled Architectural Plan Sets
Southwest Solutions Group managed the City of Euless project as a large format document scanning workflow in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. The process focused on preparing oversized plan sheets, scanning them into digital files, reviewing image quality, indexing records for retrieval, and returning PDF files for use in the city’s existing system.
Define the Plan Conversion Scope
The project centered on a large collection of rolled architectural plans used by the city for Public Works, permitting, and fire department reference. The scanning approach was selected to reduce physical storage demands and improve digital retrieval of building records.
Transfer Rolled Plans in Manageable Batches
The City of Euless sent plan sets in batches instead of releasing the full collection at once. This kept the scanning workflow manageable and supported the city’s need to maintain access to records during the project.
Prepare Oversized Sheets for Large Format Scanning
Southwest Solutions Group prepared the paper documents by removing staples, fasteners, and other items that could interfere with scanning. The team organized the plan sheets before sending each document through large format scanning equipment.
Create Search Paths Based on City Lookup Needs
Indexing was structured around the ways staff might search for a plan, including address, business name, architect, construction company, or other available plan identifiers. This supported future retrieval from the digital records after the files were returned.
Scan Rolled Plan Sheets Into Multi-Page PDF Files
Each oversized plan sheet was scanned using large format scanning equipment and converted into a digital record. Full paper plan sets were assembled as corresponding multi-page PDF files.
Review Scanned Images Before Final Delivery
After scanning, the files went through quality control to check readability, orientation, cropping, and completeness. Human review helped verify that the digital images were usable before the files were finalized.
Provide Searchable PDF Files for City Systems
The completed PDF files were provided back to the City of Euless for loading into the city’s existing system. This gave staff digital records that could be accessed and searched without relying only on the original rolled plans.
Support Review of Originals After Scanning
After scanning and delivery, the customer could review the digital files before deciding how to handle the original documents. This step supported the city’s transition from physical plan storage to searchable electronic records without assuming a specific final disposition.
Searchable Digital Plan Records Improved Access and Reduced Paper Storage
The City of Euless transformed hundreds of rolled architectural plans into searchable digital PDF files, giving Public Works, permitting, and fire department personnel faster access to building information while reducing dependence on physical records storage throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
303 Architectural Plan Sets Digitized
Southwest Solutions Group scanned 303 rolled architectural plan sets containing 7,578 oversized sheets. The completed project provided searchable PDF files that improved records access while reducing reliance on bulky paper plans.
Faster Plan Retrieval for City Staff
Staff can now search within digital PDF files instead of manually locating, transporting, and reviewing rolled plans. This improves productivity for Public Works, permitting, and fire department personnel.
Indexed Records Improved Search Accuracy
Architectural plans were indexed using practical search criteria such as address, business name, architect, construction company, and additional project identifiers, creating a more organized municipal records system.
Supports Ongoing Municipal Records Management
Large format document scanning reduced physical storage requirements while providing long-term digital access to architectural plans, blueprints, and construction drawings for departments throughout the City of Euless.
Before and After Large Format Document Scanning
These project photos show how rolled architectural plans were converted into searchable digital records for the City of Euless Public Works Department.
Need to Digitize Architectural Plans, Blueprints, or Oversized Records?
Southwest Solutions Group helps cities, counties, engineering firms, architects, and public agencies convert large format documents into searchable digital files that improve records access and reduce physical storage requirements.
Whether you need to digitize architectural plans, construction drawings, engineering documents, utility maps, or oversized municipal records, our document scanning specialists can recommend a solution that fits your workflow.
One team from planning through project completion.
