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OCR (Optical Character Recognition) scanning
allows you to scan a paper document into your computer as a text-based
document that you can open in a word processor or text editor. OCR
scanning helps you quickly digitise paper documents so you can edit
them, email them, archive them, and more -- without the need for
a person to manually key the content into a word processing document.
These days, the advances in OCR software have made scanning a crucial
part of every efficient workspace. Consider the benefits:
- OCR saves space. Now
you can have fewer bulky files. Any paper document can be replaced
by easy-to-store digital documents.
- OCR saves time. You
don't need to spend time retyping lengthy documents. Moreover,
when it comes to filing and retrieving materials, all you have
to do is set up and maintain consistent naming and filing conventions.
- OCR saves worry. You
can make and store digital backup copies of crucial documents.
This insures that whether your office sits in tornado alley, on
a flood plain, or in a state with a fire season, your most important
files won't go M.I.A when mother nature comes to call.
The
right settings
Special OCR software makes the conversion
from printed text
to digital text possible. Many scanners are bundled with OCR software,
or you can purchase a third party package like ReadIRIS. Here
are a few tips for getting the most out of your OCR software. Let's
start with the ideal settings for OCR scanning.
- File Format. TIFF, BMP,
or JPEG are the top choices for formats. TIFF offers little compression,
but these files can be efficiently sized if the proper colour
and resolution settings are used. Alternately, if machine resources
seem taxed, use BMP or JPEG.
- Resolution. Choosing
a lower resolution such as 150 dpi saves times and makes the files
easier to work with.
- Colour. Scanning documents
generally does not require colour. Scan in 256 shades of grey
(8 bit) or black and white.
Other tips for getting the best out of
OCR
- Quality. Always start
with a high quality original. Tears, wrinkles and smudges can
confuse the OCR software and lead to errors in the final output.
Touch up a dirty original with a touch of correction fluid, or
make a photocopy to improve the contrast of the original.
- Simplicity. OCR software
generally prefers large amounts of clean text since there is no
layout to consider, and no columns or lines with which to contend.
- Parameters. Scanning
text from a page with multiple columns is also simple. OCR software
programs generally allow you to designate certain areas of a page
of text to scan. If you define each column as a separate text
field, the OCR process will start with the first column, then
move to the second, et cetera.
- Safety Checks. Certain
types of text may cause trouble for your OCR software. Underlined,
boldfaced, or italicised text can make characters unreadable to
the scanner. Joined text or kerned text (when the space between
letters has been adjusted to fit together more efficiently) can
also pose difficulties for OCR programs. That makes proofreading
crucial. Spell checking simply won't catch all the errors.
- More Safety Checks.
You can save time and trouble by electing to flag characters your
software can't process. (This is a choice offered by most OCR
programs.) This is an enormous help when it comes to proofreading.
- Trial and Error. If
you're going to be scanning a large or long document, try scanning
the first page and then process it all the way to the final output
text. This will give you plenty of chances to find and address
any errors or deficiencies.
- Equipment. The faster
your processor and scanner, the less time you'll spend waiting.
You'll need at least 32MB of RAM (though 64MB is better) for basic
functions such as differentiating images from text, identifying
characters, and translating a document's layout into electronic
form. In addition, if you need to scan several pages at once,
an automatic document feeder (ADF) might be a good investment.
For more information
HP has a variety of scanners and MFPs to
facilitate any OCR solution. If you are planning to use OCR to archive
important documents, be sure to plan for a complimentary storage
solution to protect your digital documents. Visit the
HP Web site for more information about HP
digital cameras.
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