this post was submitted on 22 May 2026
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Paperless-ngx and seeking suggestions for getting into a decent workflow (discuss.online)
submitted 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) by kiol@discuss.online to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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cross-posted from: https://discuss.online/post/40125235

Picked up an ix500 scansnap and wondering about suggested workflows for going paperless. My intention is to scan a bunch of documents, but haven't delved deeply into how this will actually flow on the software level. I know I'll need to OCR the scanned documents, and my base setup is:

  • Pi with SSD storage running compose version of Paperless-ngx to filesystem mounted folders.
    • Folders can also be accessed over Samba
  • ix500 statically assigned over wifi as network scanner.
  • A literal filing cabinet, for things I should keep physically.
  • Ubuntu computer for browsing

I feel a bit overwhelmed, but am excited to get started. Will be scanning personal document, work docs, whatever else I need to digitize and recycle. All suggestions appreciated!

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[–] dan@upvote.au 13 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (2 children)

And file away your scanned papers separately,

I'd recommend using ASN (archive serial numbers) for documents you store a physical copy of, following the recommended flow

I printed ASN QR code stickers, using the smallest Avery labels I could find (Avery 5267 in the USA, L4731REV-25 in Europe) along with their free online design app.

For documents I want to keep, I stick a QR code sticker on them before scanning. Paperless-ngx automatically detects the QR code and sets the ASN. I then file it away in a folder that's sorted by ASN. When I need to find the physical copy again, I first look in Paperless to find the ASN, then find the document in the folder (pretty quick since all documents are sorted).

You'll need to set the following settings:

PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_ENABLE_BARCODES=true
PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_ENABLE_ASN_BARCODE=true
PAPERLESS_CONSUMER_BARCODE_SCANNER=zxing

[–] JensSpahnpasta@feddit.org 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

It also does work without those sticker by just putting every document chronologically in a folder. New ones come on the top and if you need a document, you can get the date from paperless. Since most documents have a date printed on them and most people are not getting thousands of letters every year, you will find the document

[–] dan@upvote.au 1 points 1 day ago

That's true, but the stickers weren't much work so I figured I'd try them out.

[–] Opisek@piefed.blahaj.zone 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago) (1 children)

I still like my offline documents to be organized into different binders. Is there a way to have separate binder-specific ASNs?

Edit: Turns out there's no built-in way to do that. https://github.com/paperless-ngx/paperless-ngx/discussions/1841

I guess ASNs are not for me.

[–] Daaric@lemmy.world 2 points 2 days ago (1 children)

I have achieved this by having several number rows for different binders. E.g.. :

  • ASN0xxxxxx family stuff
  • ASN1xxxxxx wife's stuff
  • ASN3xxxxxx kid' stuff
  • ASN4xxxxxx...

Downside is, paperless treats it as a single ASN number row and reports the highest used.

[–] dan@upvote.au 1 points 2 days ago* (last edited 2 days ago)

paperless treats it as a single ASN number row and reports the highest used.

This is OK as long as you consistently use the QR codes to assign ASNs.