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Initially developed to digitize newspapers, OCR technology is now used on a widespread basis by organizations from major banks to search engines to accessible software. After a document is processed using OCR, the text can then be edited with word processors.īefore OCR software was developed, the only option for turning hard documents into digital files was to retype them. It can be used to digitize types, printed, or handwritten characters. OCR picks up on characters like letters, numbers, and symbols. OCR stands for “optical character recognition.” Essentially, OCR is a technology that recognizes text within a scanned document and encodes it into a machine-readable format to create a digital file. What does OCR mean and what are OCR apps?.OCR technology is a great solution for businesses transitioning to paperless, and a valuable addition to any document management system.īut the options for OCR technology can be overwhelming, making it hard to find the solution that’s right for your company. Plus there’s the added consideration of mobility on smartphones and tablets. It means uploading documents into a digital format – a task that might be overwhelming and costly. However, transitioning to paperless isn’t always quick or easy for companies.
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Some of these systems can even reproduce the original page's format, including images, columns, and other non-textual components.Remote working is here to stay and it’s forced businesses to transition to cloud-based, paperless technology to manage productivity, collaboration and data storage.
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However, more advanced systems are now widely available that can achieve high levels of accuracy in recognizing most fonts, and can accept a variety of digital image file formats as input. In the past, early versions of OCR required individual training with images of each character and could only recognize one font at a time. OCR is a subject of research in the fields of artificial intelligence, pattern recognition, and computer vision. OCR is widely used for data entry and machine processes such as text-to-speech, machine translation, cognitive computing, and text and data mining. It converts images of typed, printed, or handwritten text into machine-encoded text, making it easier to edit, search, store, and display electronically. OCR, or optical character recognition, is a popular technology used for digitizing printed text records, such as invoices, bank statements, passport documents, business cards, and mail. This can be done by scanning a document, taking a photo of it, capturing text from a scene-photo (such as a picture of a sign or billboard), or extracting text from subtitle overlays on images (such as those used in television broadcasts). Optical character recognition (OCR) refers to the process of electronically or mechanically converting images of printed, handwritten, or typed text into machine-encoded text.
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