OCR Detailed Guide: Technique, Accuracy, Usage, and Benefits

What is Image to Text Converter?

It refers to a digital tool that uses online OCR techniques to extract text from an image. With the help of online OCR software, this program translates the characters in an image into electronically designated characters. The image-to-text converter eliminates the trouble of manually typing the text.

What is OCR Technology?

It denotes the mechanical or electronic conversion of images containing handwritten, printed, or typed text into machine-encoded text. It can either be from a photo, a scanned document, or a scene photo. The OCR technology digitizes printed texts making it possible to edit, search, display or store them electronically.

How OCR Converter Works

The online OCR converter is one of the most reliable, smooth, and accurate extracting text from images or pdf. Most online OCR converters are driven by AI. These converters have been trained with millions of images to increase the recognization accuracy as much as possible.

Generally, you have three options for extracting text from images: capture a screenshot, upload a file from a computer, or paste an image URL. Once you have your file ready, you are going to click some buttons like “Start” or “convert”. And the OCR converter will quickly scan the image and analyze what is included on the screen. Finally, the text is extracted from the image. Then, you can preview and edit the processed document as displayed on the review screen.

Best Online OCR Increases The Productivity

Powered by an advanced and industry-leading translation engine, Easyscreenocr may be one of the best online orc software. It can process translation after the image has been converted to plain text. This program supports auto-detecting 100+ languages around the world, extracting text from screenshots, printed paper, or images. What’s more, easyscreenocr also offers the chances for users to customize the using options, such as customizing keyboard shortcuts and choosing the translated language. This image to text converter also supports lots of platforms. You can use it directly on Windows and Mac, or you can enjoy the service on your phone as its mobile apps are available on Android and iOS.

The Accuracy of OCR Software

According to the Annual Test of OCR Accuracy from 1992 to 1996, it is impossible to achieve 100% accuracy of typewritten text even with clear imaging. However, the accuracy of the OCR software varied from 81% – 99%, according to newspaper pages of the 19th and early 20th centuries. The latest web-based OCR systems can achieve 80% to 90% accuracy on clean and neat hand-printed text. With some errors still being witnessed, the technology may only be useful in very limited applications.

Most OCR software provides 98-99% accuracy, measured at the page level. The implication is that if a page has 1,000 characters, then 980 – 990 characters will be accurate. It is the standard level of accuracy prescribed by global standards.

Where is OCR Commonly Used?

The application of this OCR technology is evident in many places. Some of the common places include:

• Offices: Most of these have document scanners for digitizing printed paper documents.
• Banks: They use this technology to achieve better transaction security and improve risk management.
• The banking sector takes a huge chunk of the OCR software institutions. Banks have also incorporated this technology to provide two-layer security at ATM points and facial recognition software.

Best Benefits of Using OCR

With the tremendous developments made on the OCR, users continue to enjoy the following benefits:

• It increases the accessibility of data to clients with the text-search option
• OCR systems save time by eliminating the use of manual data, which may be tedious
• Allows for faster usability and conversion of data
• The OCR technology has low-cost processing, thus improving business operations
• It improves productivity by providing easily accessible digital data
• OCR technology has a high level of accuracy which improves data utility
• It eliminates the need for huge paper files thus, increasing storage space
• The security of data is guaranteed
• Using OCR for data entry enables you to store documents in secure servers, which is essential during disasters
• It is an environmentally friendly mode of business operations
• Any business establishment or individual can achieve more by incorporating OCR technology in their services.

Ways to Improve OCR Accuracy

Having looked at some of the limitations of this technology in terms of accuracy, let us dive into ways of achieving perfection when using OCR:

• Improving the quality of the original image: Higher quality makes it possible for the OCR technology to separate the characters from each other and achieve a higher OCR accuracy.
• Having the right resolution for the specific OCR engine: The standard size is usually about 1.5 mm x 1 mm or less of the original size.
• Removing noise from the image: Noises in the background or foreground make it difficult for the software to read the characters in the source.
• Increasing the contrast between the background and text: It will add to the clarity of the output and make the OCR engine read the images accurately.
• Getting the image in the correct shape and format: Ensure that the text is horizontal rather than inclined.

Conclusion

The OCR technology continues to be critical in extracting image files or PDFs to data. The improved workflows and business productivity are a few areas where this software is making inroads. However, users must ensure that the accuracy of the OCR technology is at its best by working on the factors that lower its effectiveness.