Do you know what OCR is? This technology has been in existence for decades, but not everyone is aware of what it is and how it can benefit. OCR can save you time when converting, editing and managing documents digitally.
In this article, we will learn about OCR in detail, how it works, its benefits and its applications.
Table of Contents
- What is OCR?
- How does OCR work?
- Use of OCR
- 1.Data entry
- Banking
- e-commerce
- Soft copy
- 5.Handwriting recognition
- OCR advantages
- Disadvantages of OCR
- The future of OCR
What is OCR?
OCR i.e. Optical Character Recognition is a technology that helps computer systems to read and understand the text present in images. With the help of OCR, the computer can easily understand handwriting and typed text.
OCR recognizes a scanned text document and converts it into word processing text that can be edited on a computer. OCR software is also used to read old hand-written text.
How OCR works?
OCR fonts are stored in the computer, which are called OCR standards, they contain letters, numbers and special symbols, with the help of which OCR can easily understand and read the text in any photo or article.
OCR equipment uses a light source to read any text and converts the text into electrical signals and sends it to the computer for processing.
In today’s time, Optical Character Recognition has become so advanced that it can easily understand the text written by anyone and if someone’s handwriting is bad then it can be understood and read easily.
Use of OCR
Optical Character Recognition technology has become quite useful in today’s times. Its successful use helps people save time. Some of the main uses of OCR are as follows –
1.Data entry
The most important use of OCR technology is for data entry. This technology recognizes text from the scanned data and enters it into your system automatically. This eliminates the need for typing, which saves time and reduces possible errors.
2. Banking
OCR technology is also used in the banking industry. When a document is submitted to the bank, such as a check, the OCR technology scans and enters all the data on the check. This saves time for bank employees.
3. e-commerce
OCR technology is also used in e-commerce sector. For example, if a person buys a book or anything online, OCR technology generates text from the order data and helps in order processing.
4. Soft copy
With the help of OCR technology, books can be stored in the computer as soft copies.
5.Handwriting recognition
With the help of OCR technology, any handwritten article can be easily stored in a computer as a document. Even if the handwriting in an article is not good, it can still understand the handwriting well.
Benefits of OCR
There are many benefits of OCR technology, some of the main benefits are mentioned below –
- Saving time – The biggest advantage of OCR technology is that it saves time. With OCR technology, multiple pages of text can be scanned in a few seconds, whereas if this work is done manually, it can take several hours.
- Tracking and Monitoring – Another big advantage of OCR technology is that it makes tracking and monitoring easier. It is also easy to work with text files and export them to other software.
- Character string detection – After detecting the text through OCR technology, users can also check the character string. If there is bad writing in an article then it is easily understood.
Disadvantage
- Improper Identification – OCR technology can often result in improper identification in low quality photos or scanned details. This generates inaccurate data which can be harmful to industries.
- Resources needed – Using OCR technology requires appropriate resources such as high quality devices.
- Lack of clarity – While OCR technology has provided users with the convenience of creating text easily, it may lack clarity in some cases.
The future of OCR
Optical character recognition technology has a very bright future. With this, going forward the OCR systems and software will be improved which will provide more efficiency and accuracy.
With the use of deep learning technology for the OCR system, the OCR software can be more finely tuned in the coming days, thereby providing greater efficiency and ease.
The usage places of OCR system are also being increased, like digital libraries, IT sector, financial services, scanning and photocopying departments etc. OCR systems will continue to expand and be used in more industries with increasing awareness.
