Reconstruction program may help shed light on lost files

In the past, many companies and government organizations relied primarily on paper files. They were generally stored in file cabinets, which left them vulnerable to natural and man made disasters alike. Individuals with ulterior motives were sometimes known to burn or shred incriminating records.

Many people in Europe are currently dealing with recovering documents that were destroyed by East German police after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, according to the Southern California Public Radio.

Many of the files were shredded using powerful machines, the source explained, and when they were put under too much strain, officers ripped the papers by hand. Now, individuals in the area are using new technology, the E-Puzzler, to put the files together again.

The SCPR reported that the machine scan documents and match them with others that have previously been scanned, pairing them with items with similar textures, tear lines, fonts, colors and other elements.

To make sure intensive efforts like this don't have to be used in the future, businesses and other organizations should consider storing their documents online using conversion services. That way, even if the hard copy is destroyed, the information will always endure.

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