What is OCR?

What is OCR?

OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, is recognizing and converting images to editable text. This is very useful for those looking to go paperless as it means the scans can remain useable while taking up less physical space.

OCR software is also useful in other areas like assistive technology for the blind. It is also useful in data extraction for organizational purposes. Professionals can convert business cards to a usable contact lists and allow for easier access. Additionally, license plate recognition is a common application of this software. A photograph of the tag is scanned and each character is identified using this technology.

The History

In the early 1900s, OCR use was primarily for creating reading devices for the blind and it was hugely beneficial in this way. The earliest machines could convert individual characters to code or even audible tones using a handheld device. With the addition of text-to-speech and the flatbed scanner, the adaptability became more commercial. Using it for legal documentation and newspapers and uploading them to online databases. Visual impairment again became the focus when a program made converting print books to braille, possible.

Optical Character Recognition and Document Management

The introduction of this process makes the already efficient choice to scan your documents, even easier! Not only can we help you save space and time but you can easily update and maintain it, as time progresses.

 

OCR software means that your file organization can be that much more. With computers as they are today, you can search WITHIN your documents as well as the filename. Keywords and other information is more accessible and at an even faster rate with the use of OCR technology.

Optical Character Recognition isn’t done evolving and as the software continues to advance, it continues to have many applications. It is certainly a very useful technology today, and goes hand-in-hand with document scanning and a paperless office.

 

 

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