Featured in This Roundup:
Layout analysis software, that divide scanned documents into zones suitable for OCR Graphical interfaces to one or more OCR engines Software development kits that are used to add OCR capabilities to other software (e.g. Forms processing applications, document imaging management systems, e-discovery systems, records management solutions).
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ABBYY FineReader 11 Corporate Edition
Pros: Powerful, flexible OCR software, smoothly automated for high-volume and hands-off operations, with precision correction tools for difficult tasks. The superb Verification tool makes it easy to correct doubtful readings by comparing OCR text to the original.
Cons: Some advanced options menus could use better explanations.
Bottom Line: The highest-power OCR software on the market, indispensable for anyone who needs fast, accurate text-recognition.
Read Review -
ABBYY FineReader Express Edition for Mac
Pros: The most accurate OCR engine available, in the simplest possible OCR interface. One-click conversion of scanned images or image files into text, worksheet, HTML, or searchable PDF output.
Cons: No editor inside the app for correcting OCR errors or adjusting images. No support for scanners connected through a wireless network.
Bottom Line: Despite the lack of a built-in editor or image-correction tools, still the best OCR available on the Mac.
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OmniPage Ultimate
Pros: Powerful OCR software with fine-tuned automation for high-volume corporate OCR tasks. Interface includes direct input from Dropbox, SharePoint, and other cloud services. Excellent text-to-speech module.
Cons: Confusing and inconsistent interface.
Bottom Line: Exceptionally high-powered OCR, with a seemingly unlimited range of features, but with a flawed interface.
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Abbyy FineReader Touch (for iPhone)
Pros: Lets you image documents and save them to searchable, editable form. Converts saved documents as well. Good overall OCR quality.
Cons: Only for recent iPhones, iPads, and iPods touch. Good OCR quality requires good lighting and document positioning.
Bottom Line: Abbyy FineReader Touch (for iPhone) lets you image documents with an iPhone and save them through the cloud to searchable, editable text.
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Prizmo (for Mac)
Pros: Flexible, up-to-date app. OCR for photos or scanned images. Captures photos taken from an iPhone or iPod connected to a Mac. Many options for image adjustments. Can extract text from images in any OS X app.
Cons: Comparatively weak OCR engine. Slightly overcomplex and underdocumented workflow.
Bottom Line: Prizmo is a terrific app for performing OCR on iPhone photos, but it has a far less effective OCR engine than ABBYY FineReader Express.
Read Review
Paper hasn't gone away. You've probably noticed that even in the digital era you still have stacks of hard-copy printouts, books, magazines, newspaper clippings, invoices, bills, and other paper that you have to search through by hand, one page at a time. Or you need to get an old essay that you typed or printed years ago into digital format, and you're dreading retyping it. This is where OCR (Optical Character Reading) software becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. OCR creates searchable, editable text from printed documents—and also from photos of printed documents, or PDFs made from scanning old books and papers. The more paper documents you have, the more you need OCR.
When to OCR
You use OCR for two basic functions: archiving documents or repurposing documents. For archiving, you'll typically feed your documents (receipts, business cards, handouts, or anything else) into your scanner and let your OCR software create searchable PDF files that show a scanned image of the original document but also contain—hidden underneath the scanned image—text that you can copy from the PDF and paste into other applications, or that you can search for when you need to find the original.
For repurposing, OCR typically converts a printed table into an Excel spreadsheet, or an old book either into a PDF with searchable text hidden under the page images or into a word-processing document that you can edit and reuse. High-powered OCR software can also convert printed text into HTML files that anyone can view in a browser.
Choosing OCR Software
When you choose an OCR app, you'll want to decide whether you want it to run automatically, interactively, or a combination of both. When an OCR app runs automatically, all you do is click a button, walk away, and come back to find your output files already created. When it runs interactively, you typically use image-enhancement tools to straighten or sharpen an image, layout tools to block out parts of a page that you don't want in the output, and then a proofreading tool to correct any misreadings by the software. With most apps, you can choose between automation and interaction by giving you a set of interactive tools and letting you decide which ones to use. But read or reviews to see how much freedom of choice you get with each individual app.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the interface of every OCR app is built on a character-recognition engine that does the grunt work of converting images into text. The fanciest interface can't make up for the limits of a recognition engine that isn't consistently accurate—and it's no accident that our Editors' Choice products have the strongest available recognition engines.
Mac Ocr App
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP
ABBYY FineReader 11
$280.00
%displayPrice% at %seller% This is the highest-power OCR software on the market, and it's indispensable for anyone who needs fast, accurate text-recognition. Read the full review ››
ABBYY FineReader Express Edition for Mac
$99.99
%displayPrice% at %seller% Despite the lack of a built-in editor or image-correction tools, Abbyy still offers the best OCR available on the Mac. Read the full review ››
ABBYY FineReader Touch (for iPhone)
$2.99
%displayPrice% at %seller% This clever app lets you image documents with an iPhone and save them through the cloud to searchable, editable text. Read the full review ››
Omnipage Ultimate
$499
%displayPrice% at %seller% Omnipage offers exceptionally high-powered OCR, and a seemingly unlimited range of features, but ultimately the software suffers from a flawed interface. Read the full review ››
Prizmo (for Mac)
$49.95
%displayPrice% at %seller% Prizmo is a terrific app for performing OCR on iPhone photos, but it has a far less effective OCR engine than ABBYY FineReader Express. Read the full review ››
Paper hasn't gone away. You've probably noticed that even in the digital era you still have stacks of hard-copy printouts, books, magazines, newspaper clippings, invoices, bills, and other paper that you have to search through by hand, one page at a time. Or you need to get an old essay that you typed or printed years ago into digital format, and you're dreading retyping it. This is where OCR (Optical Character Reading) software becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. OCR creates searchable, editable text from printed documents—and also from photos of printed documents, or PDFs made from scanning old books and papers. The more paper documents you have, the more you need OCR.
Mac Os Ocr
When to OCR
You use OCR for two basic functions: archiving documents or repurposing documents. For archiving, you'll typically feed your documents (receipts, business cards, handouts, or anything else) into your scanner and let your OCR software create searchable PDF files that show a scanned image of the original document but also contain—hidden underneath the scanned image—text that you can copy from the PDF and paste into other applications, or that you can search for when you need to find the original.
For repurposing, OCR typically converts a printed table into an Excel spreadsheet, or an old book either into a PDF with searchable text hidden under the page images or into a word-processing document that you can edit and reuse. High-powered OCR software can also convert printed text into HTML files that anyone can view in a browser.
Choosing OCR Software
When you choose an OCR app, you'll want to decide whether you want it to run automatically, interactively, or a combination of both. When an OCR app runs automatically, all you do is click a button, walk away, and come back to find your output files already created. When it runs interactively, you typically use image-enhancement tools to straighten or sharpen an image, layout tools to block out parts of a page that you don't want in the output, and then a proofreading tool to correct any misreadings by the software. With most apps, you can choose between automation and interaction by giving you a set of interactive tools and letting you decide which ones to use. But read or reviews to see how much freedom of choice you get with each individual app.
Behind the Scenes
Behind the interface of every OCR app is built on a character-recognition engine that does the grunt work of converting images into text. Login failed mail app mac os. The fanciest interface can't make up for the limits of a recognition engine that isn't consistently accurate—and it's no accident that our Editors' Choice products have the strongest available recognition engines.
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP
ABBYY FineReader 11
$280.00
%displayPrice% at %seller% This is the highest-power OCR software on the market, and it's indispensable for anyone who needs fast, accurate text-recognition. Read the full review ››
Best Ocr Software Mac
ABBYY FineReader Express Edition for Mac
$99.99
%displayPrice% at %seller% Despite the lack of a built-in editor or image-correction tools, Abbyy still offers the best OCR available on the Mac. Read the full review ››
ABBYY FineReader Touch (for iPhone)
$2.99
%displayPrice% at %seller% This clever app lets you image documents with an iPhone and save them through the cloud to searchable, editable text. Read the full review ››
Omnipage Ultimate
$499
%displayPrice% at %seller% Omnipage offers exceptionally high-powered OCR, and a seemingly unlimited range of features, but ultimately the software suffers from a flawed interface. Read the full review ››
Prizmo (for Mac)
$49.95
%displayPrice% at %seller% Prizmo is a terrific app for performing OCR on iPhone photos, but it has a far less effective OCR engine than ABBYY FineReader Express. Read the full review ››