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If the letters OCR do not mean anything to you, they will if you use your computer for any kind of business for long. If a paper free office is what you seek, OCR will be three letters that will mean a lot. For those that already know about OCR, I think I have found the ultimate application without question.
The three simple letters O. C. R. stands for optical character recognition. This is software that can view a page, a scanned page, and transform the pictures of text into text that can be edited in a word processor. For example the text of a magazine once scanned and processed by an OCR application can be edited, reworked, saved or emailed once processed. The advantages in a business setting are huge. The value of such a program becomes essential in a digital world.
Having the ability to scan documents like forms, newspaper articles, and other hard copy documents and being able to turn them into digital editable text means having options that simply copying cannot. While you can certainly scan a page and save it, the problems with transporting that page become apparent quickly.
Let's say you wish to send a document by email that exists only in hard copy paper version. Now, let's say it is five pages long. You can scan those pages and save them as picture files. But, in order for those pages to be read, they going to be rather large. If they are too small, they will not be legible. Suddenly those five little pages become cumbersome files.
For the sake of argument, say that your email buddy does have broadband. Most email clients will burp at sending a file larger than 6 MB. And let's say you wish to make changes. Well now that means typing the entire five pages into your word processor. This then becomes a time consuming process. In these situations, OCR programs can turn the cumbersome paper documents into an easily read smaller word processing file that can be read and edited.
The problem, well the fly in the ointment, is that finding accurate OCR applications is not as easy as it looks. With the purchase of some scanners, and some graphics applications, there are "lite" versions of OCR programs for use. Certainly these "lite" versions work, but they are never full featured. What is not so commonly known is that their accuracy is seldom, if ever, as high as those of full featured programs. They can also be appreciably slower than their counterparts. If your OCR needs are modest, and you seldom use this feature, perhaps those lite versions will work well enough. But if you are dealing with more than a few pages on a regular basis, these lite versions will not do.
If you've made the transition from lite to heavyweight, you will notice a vast improvement in both accuracy and speed. I do suggest that if you have a lite version of an OCR application, you remove it before installation of a new one to remove the possibility of conflicts.
Having worked with other applications, I have to admit that OmniPage Pro 12 is a real standout. This is particular true regarding accuracy, speed and ease of use. I opened the program, followed the easy step-by-step installation setup, and I was up and running within a few minutes. With a logically arranged powerful interface, this is about as intuitive as a graphical user interface will be, I had not one problem with using this application. Plus, I found the interface aesthetically pleasing. I think it is safe to assume I was, and still am, very happy with OmniPro.
For business users, the big selling points are powerful networking abilities and its accuracy. OmniPro 12 makes few mistakes and does an incredible job of maintaining formatting and layout. It is literally amazing.
Regarding formats, OmniPro supports XML, Adobe PDF files and a plethora of other word processing programs with aplomb. For those working in other languages, this OCR supports over 100 language. According to Scansoft, their accuracy is 35 percent higher over previous versions. Thehe result being, again according to Scansoft—makers of Omni Pro 12, a chart topping 99 percent document conversion accuracy. From my humble experiences, OmniPro behaved like a champion.
If you are concerned about compatibility, OmniPro plays well with a wide spectrum of scanners. From what I have read, it will and should support any program that uses the universal and ubiquitous Twain Drivers. Theoretically, you should not have an issue with the program. Should you have problems, the enclosed documentation is direct and to the point. They have sound support on their Web site. From my interactions with Scansoft, they have been professional and prompt.
The only downside is that this type of quality is not cheap. Expect to part with about $600.00 for the full featured OmniPro 12. The good news I have learned is that there are upgrade options that push this price into more realistic price points for end users. If you have a previous version of OmniPro, or a competitive upgrade program, you can lower this price. Because this is a business program, like most pro programs, it is priced as one. But do not let that distract you from seeking this out for personal use. Do contact Scansoft and keep your eyes open for specials.
I have worked with a number of OCR programs. From lite versions to not so lite and I have yet to be happy with any of them until now. OmniPro 12 is a real winner. If you are looking for a well made, accurate OCR Program, I seriously doubt you are going to find anything better. For Mac users, there is a Mac version available from Scansoft. So do contact them for details. From my experiences with the Windows version of OmniPage Pro 12, this is the one to own and enjoy.
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