Questions we're asked
Getting started
Do you provide an end-to-end paper survey and OMR scanning service in Australia?
Yes. We can design and set up the scannable form, arrange Australian printing and personalisation, handle individual or bulk distribution and returns where required, scan and verify the closed responses, key open-ended answers, and deliver the agreed Excel or CSV data with PDF images for scanned projects. Form preparation, pack assembly, receipt of returns, scanning, verification, keying and data delivery are handled at our premises in Vermont, Victoria; printing and usually personalisation are completed by Australian print partners.
Can you scan an existing survey form, or should it be manually entered?
An existing form can be used as it stands for manual entry, or rebuilt to Scantron specifications before automated scanning. Every form we scan is one we've set to Scantron specifications. Send it to us and we'll quote the suitable method. For a small run, manual entry of your existing form may cost less, with PDF images optional at extra cost.
Is our survey a good fit?
If most of the questions are closed, such as tick boxes, rating scales and multiple choice, yes. Open-ended questions are welcome, but they're keyed by people rather than read by the scanner, so a form that is mostly free text isn't a good fit and we'll say so when you ask for a quote.
Why paper, when we could survey online?
Paper gives respondents a way to participate without completing an online form. It suits people who are older, offline or without a work email, and anyone who finds screens hard to use. Anonymous collection can be planned where required, with the questionnaire, identifiers and return arrangements considered together. Sent to people who haven't answered online, paper can also lift the overall response rate. If everyone you need to hear from has a work email and a laptop, an online survey alone will probably do, and we'll say so.
Can you scan and score test or examination answer sheets?
Yes. Answer sheets are what this type of scanner is designed to read: every response is closed, and optical mark recognition is well suited to the format. Multiple-choice exams, placement tests and assessments are set up and scanned the same way as a survey, with an operator checking every double mark, blank or erasure. Results come back as one row per candidate, with each answer as given, scored against your answer key, or both. See our page for education and assessment providers.
What do you need from us to quote?
Tell us the quantity, approximate pages per form, how forms will be distributed and returned, roughly how many open-ended questions, and when you need the data. If you have the questions or a draft, send them too; if not, we can still quote. Use the page count of your current draft and tell us about any supporting artwork, branding or accessibility requirements.
How much does it cost?
It depends on quantity, pages, distribution and return arrangements, and how many open-ended questions need keying. Those factors drive the price. Australia Post postage can be included as a fixed quoted amount, estimated and then charged at the actual lodgement amount, or charged directly to your Australia Post account where available. See our distribution, returns and Australia Post postage options for details. Ask for a quote and you'll get a price for your job, broken down by step.
Why is there a set-up cost for a scannable form?
Because the form has to be built for the scanner before a single copy is printed. The artwork is set to the scanning specifications, including grids, timing marks, page identifiers and dropout colour, then checked and test-scanned. A scanning application is then written for that form: where every response area is, whether it's closed or open, what value each answer carries, and which fields an operator must look at. It's tested in-house and again on the first real batch of returns. That work is done once per form, however many copies are scanned.
Is there a minimum job size?
No, but the method changes. Below a certain volume the set-up costs more than it saves, and it's cheaper for our operators to key the forms by hand. Where the line falls depends on the form; more closed responses per page makes scanning pay sooner. For a hand-keyed run, full-page images are available on request at extra cost, and every form is numbered by batch and serial so the data can be checked against the paper. We quote whichever costs you less.
How long does it take?
It depends on the same things, plus how long fieldwork runs. When we quote we give you a schedule from proof approval to data delivery, built around your fieldwork dates.
Why not buy scanning software and do it in-house?
Scanning is only one part of a paper-survey project. Form preparation, printing, distribution, receipt of returns, logging, keying open-ended responses and producing the data file also take time. We can manage the agreed services under one quote, without your team needing scanning equipment or software licences. Distribution and returns can still involve your staff or participating sites where that suits the project.
Form design and print
Do you offer professional graphic design as well as form layout?
Yes. We combine professional graphic design with specialist form layout, bringing together typography, colour, imagery, usability and efficient use of page space. You supply the questions and other written content; we provide the visual design and production-ready artwork. Question wording and response options remain under your control.
Can you follow our brand guidelines, style guide and print requirements?
Yes. We can work to your supplied brand guidelines, visual identity or style guide, print specifications and relevant accessibility or clear print guidelines. This includes approved fonts, colours, imagery, layout conventions, logos and co-branding, not just adding a logo. Full colour usually costs no more than two colours for scannable forms; response areas remain in the required dropout colour. Where branding, readability and scanning requirements need to be reconciled, we discuss the options before the artwork is finalised.
Can you reduce the number of pages in our questionnaire?
We often substantially reduce the page count of Word drafts and existing layouts through more efficient use of space, consistent formatting, planned response areas and better page breaks. Your questions and response options are retained. We do not achieve a shorter form by sacrificing readability, accessibility or adequate answer space; sometimes a clearer layout with the same number of pages is the better result.
Can you design for older respondents or people with low vision?
Yes. Tell us who will complete the form and provide any applicable accessibility or clear print guidelines. We consider readable type, contrast, instructions, spacing and answer areas for that audience. Larger text or more generous spacing may be appropriate, even where this means more pages.
Can you design letters, instructions, postcards and envelopes too?
Yes. Using your supplied content, we can prepare professional graphic design and print-ready artwork for covering and pre-approach letters, invitations, participant information sheets, instruction sheets, handouts, reminder postcards, envelopes and inserts. These can form a coordinated set, with the items included in the project scope as required.
Read more about our form design and supporting artwork service.
What do "Scantron specifications" mean for our form?
Registration marks the scanner uses to find the page, response boxes placed where the scanner expects them, and every response area printed in a dropout colour the scanner ignores so it reads only the respondent's mark. We handle all of it; you approve a proof.
Can the form be in a language other than English?
Yes. You can supply the translated text, or we can arrange translation through a translation service. Either way we set it to the same specifications.
What formats can the form take?
A4 single sheet, one or two sides, or a saddle-stitched booklet from four to thirty-six pages. A four-page booklet is a folded A3, and booklets are folded again where needed to fit the envelope.
Can each form be personalised?
Yes. Respondent ID as digits and barcode, a lithocode, a QR code, a login unique to each respondent for mixed mode, name and address positioned for a window envelope, and pre-filled fields such as site, class, ward or wave.
Can you use recycled paper?
Yes, on request.
What if a printed form doesn't scan?
If a form we printed fails to scan because of a print defect, we replace it or capture the data another way, at no cost to you.
Distribution and returns
Do you handle individual mail-outs?
Yes. We prepare personalised packs with the form and agreed supporting materials, then lodge them using the appropriate Australia Post service and barcoding for the job. A return envelope can be included where required. Completed forms can be directed to CDS or to your organisation; a CDS mail-out does not require a direct return to us.
Can you deliver forms in bulk?
Yes. We deliver agreed quantities to your organisation or nominated schools, clinics, campuses and other participating sites through Australia Post or other couriers. Your staff or local coordinators can then distribute the forms. Individual mail-outs and bulk deliveries can also be combined within one project.
How do we get our respondent list to you?
Through our secure Australian-hosted file transfer service or your organisation’s nominated secure service. We agree the transfer arrangements with you before the list is sent. For bulk delivery, tell us the delivery locations, contacts and quantities required.
How do paper surveys and Reply Paid returns get back to you?
They can return directly to CDS by post, including Reply Paid where arranged, or be collected by your organisation or participating sites and forwarded to us in bulk. Assessment providers can arrange for their staff to deliver completed forms in bulk. We agree the return destination, responsibilities and timing before distribution.
Can you mail forms to individuals but receive the completed forms from us in bulk?
Yes. The outward and return arrangements are separate. We can mail forms individually while participants return them to your organisation, which then forwards completed forms to us in batches. We also support bulk delivery and returns through schools, assessment providers and other participating sites. See distribution and returns for examples of different combinations.
Can you send reminders?
Yes. The reminder can be a letter, postcard or fresh copy of the survey with the agreed return instructions. Targeted exclusions use the respondent-level paper return records, online completion updates and undeliverable records available at the agreed processing stage. Where your organisation or participating sites receive responses first, we agree how and when their updates will be supplied so known responders can be excluded.
Can we run paper and online together?
Yes, and many of our surveys do. You run the online survey. The form, letter or instructions can carry a QR code and short link to it, or a login unique to each respondent so online and paper answers match to the same record. Paper can be mailed individually or distributed through sites, with return arrangements suited to the project. You receive the paper data in a file with column names agreed to match your online export, and merge the two.
Will we know how many have come back?
Yes. We agree daily or weekly fieldwork reporting based on forms received by CDS, individually or in bulk, and any updates supplied by your team. Completed, undeliverable and outstanding counts are included where the available records support them. Responses still held by your organisation or participating sites are not automatically included.
Can we get the IDs behind the counts?
On request, as an extra, we can supply respondent IDs behind the counts so you can cut them by wave, site, ward or however your sample is structured. IDs are captured at scanning, which can run some weeks behind receipt counts. Respondent-level reports and targeted reminder exclusions depend on the response information available at the agreed processing stage.
What happens to undeliverable mail?
Undeliverable mail received by CDS is logged and reported to you. Available undeliverable records are used to exclude addresses from targeted reminder mailings. If undeliverables go to your organisation, we agree how those updates will be supplied.
Scanning and data
Pen or pencil?
Either.
How accurate is the scanning?
Closed responses are read by optical mark recognition from forms built to the scanner's specifications. Before any data is released, critical fields, blanks and single-answer questions with more than one mark are clipped as images and shown to an operator for visual confirmation. Accuracy comes from the form being built for the scanner and from a person looking wherever a read could be wrong.
How are the rules for blanks and double marks decided?
In writing, with you, and at the point they can be judged well. Rules that shape the form are set before print. Rules about how marks are read, including what a blank means, how a double mark is resolved and whether a mark on the fold line is an answer or a crease, are set once we've seen the first real returns and how respondents actually filled the form in. Then they apply to the whole run.
How do you handle open-ended questions?
Each open-ended answer is clipped as an image and keyed by our operators, spelling-corrected by default or exactly as written if you prefer, then delivered alongside the closed-response data.
What does the data file look like?
An Excel file, or CSV if you prefer, with one row per form. Column names and values are agreed with you before delivery. For scanned projects, each row links to the form's PDF image. Where forms carry respondent IDs, those IDs link the rows back to your supplied records, regardless of the distribution and return method.
Do we get images of the forms?
PDF images are included for scanned projects: one full-page PDF per returned form, linked from its data row. For manually keyed projects, images can be supplied by agreement at additional cost.
How do we receive the data?
We deliver your data files and any agreed PDF images through our secure Australian-hosted file transfer service or your organisation’s nominated secure service.
Privacy and paper
Where is the work done?
Form layout and preparation, pack assembly, receipt of returns, scanning, verification, keying and data delivery happen at our premises in Vermont, Victoria. Printing, and usually personalisation, are done by Australian print partners. Nothing goes offshore.
How is our data protected?
Encrypted in transit and at rest, with encrypted backups on site and off site; unique credentials for every user; access-controlled premises with a monitored alarm. The full statement is on our privacy and data handling page.
What happens to the paper afterwards?
Forms are held for three months, or longer if we've agreed it, then securely shredded or returned to you if you prefer.
How long do you keep our data?
Electronic data and PDF images are held for three months after delivery, or the period agreed with you, then deleted. Respondent lists are destroyed at the end of the job.
Can you help with our ethics application?
Our privacy and data handling page is written to be quoted, and it ends with a paragraph describing our role that you can adapt for your application.
Working with us
Who are your clients?
Research consultancies, universities and research institutes, government departments and councils, health and medical organisations, not-for-profits and member organisations, commercial organisations, and assessment and testing providers. We don't name our clients publicly.
Where are you?
7/173-181 Rooks Rd, Vermont VIC 3133. Phone 03 9873 0050, email info@creativedatasolutions.com.au.
How do we start?
Ask for a quote. Tell us the quantity, approximate pages per form, how forms will be distributed and returned, and when you need the data. Let us know about any supporting artwork or specific branding and accessibility requirements. If you have a questionnaire or a draft, email it to us after you've submitted the form.