Suppose you are very lazy or busy or in a rush and you want to convert your big bulk of paper notes into something portable and easily accessible. Well, you got it!! You must have heard about OCR technology. OCR is short for Optical Character Recognition. It converts your text images (typed, handwritten or printed) into digitized word files, mainly in PDF format. Also by using OCR you can perform searching, editing, etc. on the scanned documents.
The process of converting images into text file includes many steps such as analyzing the images, then breaking the words into characters and then comparing them with a set of pattern images. Finally, it converts the image into digital format.
By using this technology many apps have been created for the convenience of mass. Here, I am going to list some of those very popular apps.
A convenient, on the go app which is among the top best OCR apps available on Android phones developed by Renard Wellnitz. Text fairy is a free app on top of being the most accurate text scanning and editing app. Its many features include converting an image into text, editing the extracted text and converting the scanned page into PDF files. It recognizes over 50 languages.
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Many points have to be taken care of for using text fairy such as lighting, background, etc. Lighting should be good for taking a clear picture, and the background should be glaring free. Text fairy cannot read handwriting in images. It's one of its drawbacks.
Another favorite app for converting images into PDF format is cam scanner. It is one of the most downloaded apps on play store. The app's function is to take a picture of the required document and then editing and cropping it to create PDF files for sharing a purpose. It also gives the user the option to merge multiple files, add password protection, etc.
The different setting allows you to sort and edit the document files according to the user's preferences. Cam scanner was developed by INTSIG Information Co. Ltd which is one of the top Android app developers. One can download the free or paid version via Playstore.
Developed by one of the top leading app developer ABBYY, the fine scanner is available for both iOS and Android platform. By using ABBYY fine scanner, one can quickly digitize any printed or handwritten documents in jpeg or PDF files.
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The app recognizes 193 languages on scanned papers and gives the user the option of 12 output formats such as doc, xls, pdf, txt, etc. The app can be downloaded in both paid and free versions having advanced features in the paid version.
The app uses the latest technology, i.e., OCR for page detection, image processing, etc. to convert scanned documents into Jpeg or PDF files. This is the most useful app present on Play store and has been awarded several productivity app prizes. When an image is not taken correctly, i.e., it is not in perfect alignment the app can quickly rectify the problem.
Its many features include time-saving capability, the best quality images and creating PDF documents for multiple scanned images. The scanned documents can be easily shared via different mediums.
This OCR app developed by the Microsoft Corporation is best for Microsoft users. But it is also available for Android users on play store. Apart from changing scanned document into PDF files, this fantastic app can also convert images in word and power point files. It also has a business card mode whose function is to extract critical data from business cards.
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The best feature of the app is its whiteboard mode which saves data written on blackboards and whiteboards in accessible formats. Files scanned are directly saved to One Drive and can be shared easily. The only shortcoming of this app is that it supports only a few languages.
On the top being a text scanner, scanbot can also scan OCR and Barcodes. The cropping and saving of a scanned document are done automatically. The app contains many filters which can enhance or improve the quality of the scanned documents.
More features include fast scanning process, automatic upload of background and user-friendly interface. The app is free and can be downloaded easily on play store.
This app has both a paid and a free version available on Playstore. It is one of the best OCR apps developed by Appxy and can scan everything from small receipts to photos etc. It generates a jpeg or PDF file of the scanned document. Also, a user can name and organize the scans and share them via email, Dropbox, Wi-Fi, fax, etc.
Apart from general features of all other OCR apps, this app can set sizes for PDF documents such as a letter, legal, A4 and much more. A user can also protect the document by setting a password.
Till now we have seen the typical OCR scanner which converts scanned files into digitized document data. A different app using the OCR technology is Reader which converts the scanned files into audio files. It can extract text from the image by using Google Cloud OCR Support and makes mp3 file by using Google Text to Speech (TTS) API Support. The app supports many different languages. The user can share the created mp3 on social media with one click.
Different features of this app include speed, accuracy, security and offline work. The scanning process operates in real time and thus is about 20 times faster than typing manually. The app works efficiently even in a bad lighting condition. Best of all, the app works offline which gives the user the freedom to work when no network connection is available. Download the app on Play store and enjoy its features.
Last but not the least, this is the best app of them all. Google developed this app for many purposes in which one of them is OCR function. The app also works as a QR-Barcode scanner. The app's best feature is its ability to recognize a famous landmark, painting or an attractive image on a simple click. It can also translate the scanned picture into required languages as it supports various languages.
Google Goggles is a one stop of any amazing features one can introduce in an app. It can even search for similar products online for the user. You can easily download this app on play store and experience its amazing features.
So go ahead and exploit these super cool apps which will save a lot of your precious time and energy, as these apps will make your text images usable by converting them into a more convenient format instantly.
