How to Convert a PDF to Images as a Preprocessing Step Before OCR
Running OCR on a PDF directly works well for clean, text-based documents. For scanned pages with skewed text, mixed fonts, unusual layouts, or heavy...
How to OCR Multi-Column Newspaper and Magazine Layouts
Newspapers and magazines arrange text in multiple columns that snake across the page.
Why Does OCR Accuracy Drop on Documents With Colored Backgrounds
OCR accuracy drops significantly on documents with colored backgrounds. A form printed on light blue paper. A certificate on cream stock.
How to OCR a PDF Written in Right-to-Left Languages Like Arabic or Hebrew
OCR engines are primarily designed for left-to-right languages. English, French, Spanish, German. The text flows from left to right.
How to OCR Scanned Signatures Without Misreading Them as Text
A signed contract is scanned to PDF. The signature at the bottom of the page is part of the page image, just like the printed text above it.
How to Convert an Image-Only PDF Into a Fully Searchable Text Document
A scanned document arrives as a PDF. It looks like a document. It displays text on every page.
How to OCR Receipts and Invoices for Expense Tracking
A shoebox of paper receipts is a compliance problem waiting to become an audit finding.
How to OCR Handwritten Forms for the Best Accuracy
A stack of handwritten forms arrives from a field office. Customer intake forms. Inspection reports. Medical history questionnaires.
How to OCR Only Specific Pages in a Multi-Page Scanned PDF
A 200-page scanned PDF contains a mix of page types. The first 150 pages are clean printed text that needs OCR.
How to OCR a Poor Quality Scan for the Best Possible Result
A poor quality scan is a photograph of a document taken in bad light, a fax that was printed and rescanned three times, a wrinkled page from an old...
How to Compare a Scanned Original With Its OCR Output for Accuracy
OCR converts scanned page images into machine-readable text. The output looks correct when you glance at it. Words are spelled correctly.
How to OCR a PDF That Contains Multiple Languages
A multilingual PDF contains pages in English, French, and German. A product manual with instructions in three languages on alternating pages.
Can You Translate a Scanned PDF Accurately Without Retyping
Yes, you can translate a scanned PDF accurately without retyping it, but the accuracy depends on the quality of two sequential processes: OCR, which...
How to Convert PDF Screenshots Into an Actual Text Document
Someone sends you a PDF that turns out to be a collection of screenshots. Each page is an image of text rather than actual text.
How to Convert Scanned Handwriting Into Editable Text
OCR technology has advanced to the point where printed text recognition is a solved problem.
How to Convert a Scan Into a Fully Searchable PDF
A scanned PDF is a collection of page images. It looks like a document, but to a computer it is a photo album.
Can You Recover Text From an Unreadable PDF
Yes, in most cases you can recover text from a PDF that appears unreadable. But the recovery method depends entirely on why the PDF is unreadable.
How to Handle PDFs With a Mix of Scanned and Text Pages
A PDF assembled from multiple sources often contains a mix of scanned image pages and digitally created text pages.
Can You Extract Specific Data From a PDF Automatically
Yes, you can extract specific data from a PDF automatically, and the technology has advanced far enough that structured data like invoice numbers,...
How to Make a Scanned PDF Look Like a Digital Original
A raw scanned PDF announces its origins immediately. The page images carry the slightly uneven contrast of a scanner lamp moving across paper.
