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OCR Software Comparison Guide
There are several OCR software solutions available to convert scanned images to
text, Word, HTML or searchable PDF. The differences between them can often
be obscure, leaving many to wonder why some OCR software cost about $100 while
others cost $500.
The main features that differentiate OCR software are:
  
- Character recognition accuracy
- Page layout reconstruction accuracy
- Multi-engine voting technology
- Support for languages
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Support for searchable PDF output
- Speed
- User interface
We have tested the latest versions of
FineReader,
OmniPage,
ReadIRIS,
TextBridge and
SimpleOCR and have
determined that ABBYY
FineReader 9
is the best overall value for business users, while
ReadIRIS is the best
OCR software for under $150. The key deciding factors were:
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User interface design
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Page layout reconstruction capabilities
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Extensive language support
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Stability of the engine when processing large documents
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Helpful (and free!) technical support staff
Though other testing labs have ranked OmniPage's overall accuracy slightly
higher, we find the difference is pretty negligible. All modern OCR software have very good accuracy, so we recommend going with the one that
has
particular special features like IRIS's
Arabic and Hebrew and
Asian
Language versions.
Because of the infinite combinations of document types, OCR engines and
settings, it may be possible that one engine may perform better with your
particular documents than another. For this reason,
ScanStore provides demo downloads for
all its OCR software
with your ScanStore User
Account. Because of this variability and the subjectivity of user
interface preferences, we recommend using the demos to see which performs best
with your documents.
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OCR software |
ABBYY FineReader
9 Professional - FineReader Professional is
a highly
accurate and easy to use OCR software that includes host of features
including digital camera OCR, intelligent document layouts, image
enhancement, barcode recognition and command line integration.
FineReader 9 is our pick for OCR software because its document layout
retention will save you much time in reformatting documents you convert
for editing.
ABBYY FineReader
9 Corporate - FineReader Corporate Edition offers unique
concurrent licensing that makes it possible for many users who need
occasional use of OCR to share a small
pool of active licenses. With accuracy comparable to OmniPage,
superior technical support services and
a user interface that many users find preferable, we think FineReader
Corporate is
the best choice of OCR software for business.
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IRIS
ReadIRIS Pro 11 - Affordable OCR software for business
 and home users.
ReadIRIS Pro provides a extremely accurate OCR recognition rate at a low
cost, but still has some of the advanced features that higher priced
professional OCR software includes.
IRIS ReadIRIS Corporate 11 - Adds support for files over 50
pages, business card recognition, as well as automatic processing of hot
folders.
 Nuance
OmniPage Pro 16 - OmniPage is widely considered the fastest,
most accurate and fully featured OCR software.
OmniPage 16 Professional has a unique new feature that lets you convert
any type of document to searchable PDF or Word.
OmniPage does not have a downloadable demo. Nuance also does not provide free technical
support after the first call. For these reasons we recommend the ABBYY and
IRIS products instead.
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Apple Macintosh OCR software |
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Nuance OmniPage X for MAC - OmniPage OCR software for Macintosh users.
This version does not use the latest OmniPage engine, but provides good
accuracy nonetheless. Once again, Nuance does not make a demo
download available. |
IRIS
ReadIRIS Pro 11 for MAC - Affordable OCR software for Macintosh
users using the latest version of the IRIS OCR engine.
IRIS ReadIRIS Corporate 11 for MAC - Adds support for files over
50 pages, business card recognition, as well as automatic processing of
hot folders. |
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Server-Based OCR software |
ABBYY
Recognition Server - Innovative server-based OCR software
 for
performing centralized enterprise-wide OCR processing. Processor
license allows anyone on the network to submit files for OCR.
Complex XML job specifications can be submitted to control output.
Support available for Arabic and Asian languages. |
IRISPdf Server - IRISPdf is a lower cost solution
compared to
 recognition server, but lacks some of the more advanced
features and has slightly lower accuracy.Several versions are
available with varying monthly page processing limitations, letting you
scale your solution to meet your budget requirements.
Asian,
Arabic and
Hebrew language packs
are also available. |
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Chinese, Japanese, Korean & Thai OCR software |
Arabic, Farsi & Hebrew OCR software |
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IRIS ReadIRIS Pro 11 Asian
OCR software with support for Japanese, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese and Korean
characters.
IRIS ReadIRIS Corporate 11 Asian
Adds the ability to recognize files over 50 pages, business cards and
monitor a hot folder to automatically process images in the background.
IRISPdf Server
Asian Language Pack
Enables Chinese, Japanese and Korean character recognition in a
server-based solution.
ABBYY
Recognition Server
Add 30% to the cost of the Recognition Server license to add Chinese,
Japanese & Korean (CJK) language support. Thai character
recognition language pack is also available, but is sold separately from
CJK. |
IRIS ReadIRIS Pro 11 Middle East
OCR software
with support for Arabic, Farsi and Hebrew character recognition.
IRIS ReadIRIS Corporate 11 Middle East
Adds the ability to recognize files over 50 pages, business cards and
monitor a hot folder to automatically process images in the background.
IRISPdf Arabic
Language Pack
Enables Arabic and Farsi character recognition in a server-based
OCR software.
ABBYY
Recognition Server
Add 30% to the cost of the Recognition Server license to add Hebrew
language character recognition support. |
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Personal OCR software |
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 Nuance
TextBridge - The classic TextBridge engine is still available as
an affordable alternative to high priced engines. It gives you an
ultra-low cost, yet still accurate OCR software with out all the extra
features. Allows you to output to web pages, Word documents and
more while retaining the layout of the page, but does not include PDF
output. |
SimpleOCR - Our own freeware
OCR application provides acceptable accuracy for those who just need to
convert a few pages and can't justify the cost of commercial
OCR software. Developers can use the
command-line and
SDK versions to integrate SimpleOCR with their custom applications. |
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