Optical character recognition (OCR) and similar scanning technologies can help you digitize documents more effectively

Scanning files is only part of creating a digital records system. By default, scanners digitize documents as image files. If you need to find a particular piece of information, you might have to sort through hundreds — or thousands — of records manually. That’s where document capture technologies can come in handy. By recognizing characters on a page, optical character recognition (OCR) can convert scanned images to digital text. From there, you can index, search, copy, and paste that information, just as you would in any other text-based file.

Depending on what you need to scan, there are three text extraction techniques that might come in handy. Optical character recognition (OCR) converts typewritten text. Intelligent character recognition (ICR) converts handwritten text. Optical mark recognition (OMR) converts check marks, filled-in bubbles, and similar symbols. Both traditional scanners and mobile devices support these technologies. With the right document capture tools, you can streamline your scanning operations while enhancing your data accuracy.

For a deeper dive into optical character recognition technology, read OCR Made Simple: A Guide to Understanding Optical Character Recognition.

Types of capture technology

What is document capture? Simply put, it’s the process of taking a picture of a physical document. In your research, you’re likely to come across three important document capture terms:

Optical character recognition (OCR)

If you’re searching for scanners, you’re almost guaranteed to come across optical character recognition, or OCR. This feature dates back to 1974, and is one of the most common document capture technologies on the market. OCR uses pattern analysis to identify letters, numbers, and symbols and converts them into digital text.

What differentiates an OCR scan from other technologies is that it deals primarily with typewritten or printed text. Handwritten documents require a different process, which we’ll cover shortly. Just be aware that some companies use “OCR” as a catch-all term for any kind of text conversion, printed or handwritten.

Intelligent character recognition (ICR)

Think of intelligent character recognition, or ICR, as OCR for handwritten documents. Unlike typed text, handwriting can vary wildly from one person to another. As such, ICR software is more specialized than OCR and sometimes more expensive. Some modern ICR programs can use artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to “learn” handwriting styles. This process could produce more accurate scans over time.

If your organization has a lot of handwritten forms or letters to digitize, ICR may be worthwhile. Even then, remember that your scans may require some human oversight to correct.

Optical mark recognition (OMR)

If you’ve ever taken a standardized multiple-choice test, you’re probably familiar with optical mark recognition, or OMR. Whereas OCR and ICR digitize words and numbers, OMR focuses on filled-out forms. True to its name, OMR recognizes marks: check marks, filled-in bubbles, Xes, and so forth. OMR is common in schools and survey organizations. Whether it’s a good fit for your company depends on how many ticked boxes you have in a standard record.

Did You Know?:The RICOH fi-8170 scanner offers powerful, accurate OCR with PaperStream software. The device can scan up to 70 double-sided pages per minute, or thousands of sheets in a single day. Click here to learn more.

Document capture processes

Once you know which document capture technologies your business needs, you can choose the right tools for the job. Traditional scanners are still the best choice if you have a huge backlog of paper documents or scan documents regularly. However, mobile scanning is a perfectly good alternative for small, infrequent jobs. No matter which tool you use, you can save documents either to local devices or in the cloud.

Business scanning

For large-scale text extraction projects, a powerful scanner is still the best tool for the job. A desktop scanner can digitize dozens of documents per minute, while a production scanner can handle hundreds. Most business-oriented scanners have OCR technology built into the default software. You can also upgrade your OCR software for expanded capture functionality. Look for solutions that come with the OCR, ICR, or OMR capabilities you need,along with added features that make doing business easier, built-in.

Cloud-based scanning

There are options for where your digitized data lives. You can incorporate cloud computing into the process. Many scanners let you select file destinations in advance. If you choose a cloud server, your coworkers will be able to access a digitized document seconds after you scan it.

Did You Know?:The RICOH fi-8170 earned four out of five stars and an Editors’ Choice distinction in a PCMag review. The article highlighted the scanner’s “accurate OCR,” rapid scanning speeds, and clean interface. Read the full review here.

Our recommendation: RICOH scanners and solutions

If your business needs effective document capture technologies, Ricoh can help in two different ways.

First, consider our extensive lineup of fi Series scanners. These professional-grade devices come equipped with the robust PaperStream software. Thanks to PaperStream’s powerful OCR features, you can extract complete, accurate text from documents as soon as you scan them. These devices can handle up to hundreds of pages per minute, meaning your business could digitize thousands of documents each day.

Second, Ricoh offers a wide variety of custom business solutions. From digitalizing workflows to managing remote hardware, we can help your company simplify, streamline, and scale its operations. Our remote distributed scanning service, for example, can help you digitize and share your records across several workspaces, saving IT costs and minimizing employee training time. Get in touch today to learn more.

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