Digitization is usually priced as though scanning were the work. In practice scanning is the fastest and most predictable part of the process. What drives cost, timeline and ultimately whether the output is usable is everything decided before a page reaches the glass.
Three variables do most of the damage when they are unknown. Volume, because an estimate based on shelf metres can be out by a wide margin once boxes are opened. Condition, because stapled, bound, torn or oversized material needs preparation and sometimes different equipment. And classification, because the index model determines whether anyone can find a file afterwards.
That last one is the expensive mistake. Index fields chosen by the scanning team rather than the people who search the records produce a repository that is technically complete and practically useless. Rework means re-indexing, and re-indexing an archive costs more than indexing it correctly the first time.
An assessment is deliberately short. It exists to convert those unknowns into a scope you can cost and approve, not to produce a document. If a supplier is willing to quote a per-page rate without having seen the collection, that rate is doing a great deal of guessing on your behalf.
Working through this in your own institution? We can look at what you hold and come back with a structured next step.
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