If you have ever had a lengthy old document that you wanted to revamp and use, you’ll know that getting someone to type it out can be time consuming and tedious. Scanners have had Optical Character Recognition facilities for a while now but many in the past have been difficult to use and of limited effectiveness.

The new versions of OCR available have a high degree of recognition capability and are often used for converting a variety of paper documents to digital, including invoices, statements, and business cards.

There are even some that can now produce a close approximation for print media such as flyers and posters including images and columns. Many modern multi-function printers have state-of-the-art Optical Character Recognition that can make short work of conversion jobs.

• It helps with document management at all levels and saves time and money in employing someone to input data for you.
• It reduces your carbon footprint by reducing the amount of documentation you have in hardcopy – in other words you can convert it to a digital copy and save space in the office.
• If you delete a digital file by mistake you can restore it from a hard copy with OCR.
• It converts a document into a word file that can be used to search for keywords, so if you are reviewing something like a white paper but just want to concentrate on certain points, using OCR can make it so much easier.
• You can edit the text and produce a revised document. Or you can copy the relevant sections and put them into a new document.
• It’s a cool tool for those who need greater accessibility. For those with vision impairment you can scan a difficult to read document and place it on a pc where you can increase the font size.

Here are just some areas where Optical Character Recognition can be of help:

• Old documentation and information.
• Pdf files that can’t be edited.
• Magazine articles and information that are useful to your business.
• Business cards collected at a tradeshow or event.