What Is OCR - How Does OCR Work?

OCR is the abbreviation of Optical Character Recognition. It is a technology that deals with the interpretation and extraction of visual content. It allows much more optimization when it comes to handling unmodifiable file formats such as images and PDF files.

In this article, we will discuss various aspects of OCR. What exactly is OCR, and how does it work? These are some of the main questions that we will try to answer. However, for an exhaustive experience, we will also discuss the applications and benefits of OCR.

In short, you will be able to use OCR technology to your benefit after you are done reading this write-up. So, stay with us because you can get a lot of valuable insight from the following content.

History of OCR

According to a research paper, the roots of OCR technology can be traced back to Emanuel Goldberg. He created a machine that converted text characters into telegraph code. This includes morse codes and more. In other words, this machine converted normal text characters into coded information.

With developments, this prototype became electronic. This form of OCR was able to recognize text characters in electronic devices. At first, these technologies worked only for specific fonts. However, models were later created that also understood multiple fonts.

In its current form, OCR models are able to detect any type of font and all types of text characters. But what does this detection achieve? To understand, let’s discuss what OCR does.  

What is OCR?

Optical Character Recognition, as we mentioned, is a text character recognition technology. However, the type of text is specific. To understand better, let’s talk about an example. Take a look at this image. 

This is an image, but it has a collection of text characters inside it. For a computer, this is just a JPG file. It is not concerned with what the content of the file is. However, this causes a problem in that we can’t alter this text.

If there is such an image that contains information that you want to select, copy, or edit, you can’t do it directly. You first have to convert it into machine-readable text. For this purpose, OCR can be used. OCR can detect or recognize such image-embedded text and then extract it for you.

This extracted text can be called machine-readable, and it should look like this:

The sun dipped below the horizon, casting a warm, golden glow across the calm ocean waters.

This text, unlike the one embedded inside the image, is interpreted by computers as a collection of text characters. You can select it and copy it. Then, if you paste it into a text processing platform, you can even edit it.  

In conclusion, we can say that OCR allows us to convert hard-coded text in images into machine-readable or editable text.

Modern OCR

Now, let’s talk a little bit about the current situation of OCR and some of its future aspects. Currently, a large number of OCR software and tools are integrating AI into their functioning. With AI and OCR combined, a highly useful technology is developed, which is sometimes called Intelligent Character Recognition or ICR.

These modern tools have Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning algorithms to help them detect text intelligently. This means that the tool won’t simply analyze text characters but also what those characters mean. In this way, the probability of errors is reduced significantly.

Here are some other future prospects of this technology:

⦁    OCR can be integrated into Augmented Reality systems so that the machine detects textual content from real-life objects and processes it. This can be useful in logistical jobs where a lot of paperwork or data entry is required along with physical labor.

⦁    Traditionally, OCR technology is accessed through computer systems in the form of online tools or downloadable software. However, this is starting to change as OCR can now be accessed via mobile applications as well.  

⦁    In order to facilitate the visually impaired internet users, businesses are starting to integrate OCR into their websites. This allows the said users to understand the content without being able to see it properly through text-to-speech software.

This data shows that OCR is not just a technology out there but is a modern one with loads of potential that is yet to be uncovered. 

How Do OCR Tools Work?

Moving on to the question about how an OCR tool does what it does. How does the recognition and the extraction actually work? If we go into technical detail, it might not be understandable for everyone. Therefore, we will try to help you understand OCR’s functionality using simple analogies and examples.

There are 3 steps that happen at the backend of an OCR tool while it is converting an image into text.

⦁    Image Acquisition

First of all, the inserted document is prepared for analysis. This involves scanning the document so that the information present inside the file becomes readable to the tool. Normally, the tool recognizes light areas as blank and dark spaces as text.

⦁    Pre-Processing

This step is similar to image acquisition because it also involves refining the original document so that processing it becomes convenient. The tool may use different techniques for this step. This can include adjusting the alignment of the document, removing unnecessary or non-text spots, and recognizing the text’s language. 
All these precautions are taken to maximize the final result's accuracy. Once these pre-processing steps are complete, the document is ready for conversion into text.

⦁    Text Recognition

OCR utilities employ two primary methods to recognize and extract text from images. 

⦁    Pattern Matching: The first method involves matching the characters in the original file with characters stored in the tools directory. This method works if the characters in the file are in a specific font. This is because if there is an unusual font, the tool might not be able to find accurate matches.

⦁    Feature Matching: The other method analyzes the features of every character. It will look at the lines and how they are connected and make a decision accordingly. In this way, every character is converted into editable text. This method is more advanced and works for multiple fonts. 

Intelligent Recognition

As we have mentioned before, there is a third method of OCR functioning as well. This is intelligent recognition. Instead of analyzing every character separately, this form of recognition analyzes whole words or even sentences.

Because of this, the tool is able to read what the content means. Using NLP technology, this method extracts text based on whatever makes the most sentence. This is the most accurate method for text extraction in the market right now. 

⦁    Post-Processing

After the text is recognized, OCR gathers the collected data to present to the users. This can be in various forms. Some tools show plain text to the users, while others prepare a downloadable text document. In this way, the conversion is complete, or the image is successfully converted into text.

How to Use an OCR Tool?

Now that you know what happens on the backend of an OCR tool, let’s take a look at what that achieves. In this section, we will explain how you can use a typical OCR tool. We are using our image to text converter for this purpose.

⦁    Upload Your Image

First, go to the tool’s homepage and upload the relevant image. This is what an online OCR tool usually looks like:

As you can see, the tool provides four uploading options:

⦁    Drag and Drop files.
⦁    Copy an image and use Ctrl + V to upload.
⦁    Browse files from your storage device.
⦁    Enter the URL or link of the image.

You can use any one of these four methods to upload your image. Once that is done, we can move to the next step.

⦁    Extract

As soon as your image gets uploaded, you will see a button labeled as ‘Extract Text.’ 

Click on this button to start your conversion. Additionally, you can also add more images before proceeding with this step. Just keep in mind that you can add three images at a time and a maximum of 20 MB per image. This bulk conversion feature can be quite useful in certain cases.

⦁    Complete Verification

After clicking on ‘Extract Text,’ online tools usually ask for verification. This should look something like this:

Complete this verification as instructed. Once you do that, the OCR-powered tool will begin its work. At this point, your uploaded image will undergo the three processing steps explained above.

⦁    Collect Results

The results of your image-to-text conversion will be displayed to you after a few moments of processing. The results of this tool are displayed as follows:

As you can see in the bottom right corner, there are three options. If you hover your mouse over these, you can see that these are:

⦁    Copy Text.
⦁    Download as .txt.
⦁    Download as a Word Document.

Using any three of these options, you can get your extracted text. This sums up the online image to text conversion.

Applications of OCR

Now, let’s address one of the most important points of this write-up. Here, we will answer the question of why you should use OCR. We will do so by introducing the applications of this OCR in professional and daily lives.

⦁    Efficiency in Academic Processes

The first use case of this technology is in the educational sector. Students can convert their notes or textbooks into digital copies. This has various benefits, such as improved shareability, enhanced readability, increased editability, and much more.

Apart from these advantages, there is also a general shift toward digital study material among students these days. However, if your curriculum still uses outdated physical textbooks, you can use OCR to step into the digital world. Also, if you prefer making handwritten notes but study better from digital ones, you can make that happen using image to text converting OCR tools.

⦁    Digitization in Corporate Firms

Just like the academic industry, the corporate world is also shifting towards digital file formats. Digitization has similar benefits for these firms as well. Some of them are listed here:

⦁    In digital form, sensitive data is more secure and is easier to protect. 
⦁    Digitized content can be searched much faster than paper files. 
⦁    Digital content also has shareability benefits, such as e-signatures and e-mail attachments. 
⦁    If information changes rapidly, you can edit your digital files accordingly. In contrast, this is not possible with physical files.

As you can see, these benefits are very similar to the ones discussed in the education section. However, one thing to note is that these benefits are more like necessities for corporate functioning because of the fast-paced nature of our world.

⦁    Data-Entry Automation

OCR can also be used as a medium for automated data entry. Since this technology can recognize text inside images, it can be used to process the images of invoices, receipts, bills, and much more.

Some platforms also offer specialized OCR in which a specific format is encoded. This means that if a document of a certain format is entered into the tool, it will recognize which section means what. Consequently, it will automatically relay that data to relevant destinations.

This ability of OCR usually comes into practice in banks, retail stores, or any other business where data entry is integral to functioning.

⦁    Interpreting Real Life Text from Other Languages

If you are traveling abroad, you might find signs, posters, notice boards, etc., that are written in other languages. A solution to this lies in OCR technology. If you capture an image of the sign under discussion and enter it into an OCR-enabled image to text conversion tool, you can get an editable form of that text. 
This text can be translated using online translators such as Google Translate. In this way, you can make your tourism experience tenfold better.

⦁    Security Applications

In offices and other high-security buildings, OCR-based security systems are often installed. These are present in the card-scanning machines. When an employee shows this machine their ID card, it scans the text and other elements and finds a match from its directory.

Other than internal security, OCR can also be used by authorities such as the police department to speed up their processes. For example, OCR can be used to process images of suspicious cars. OCR can extract the text from number plates and send it further for tracking.

⦁    Text-to-Speech for Unmodifiable Files

Text-to-speech is a technology that converts input text into a voiceover. One of its applications is for the visually challenged people. They can interpret textual content using this technology. However, this technology only takes text as input. This means that if an image contains text, this technology won’t be able to convert it. 
This is another use case of OCR, in which users can convert image-embedded text into machine-readable text and then convert it into speech. This feature can be integrated into websites, e-books, social media posts, and much more.

How to Choose an OCR Tool?

Now that we are done with most of the crucial information about OCR, we will help you choose a tool for yourself. As you may know, there are a plethora of OCR tools available. Which one is perfect for you? In order to answer that, try to answer the following questions.

⦁    What do you need the OCR tool for?

As we have explained earlier, you can use OCR tools for multiple reasons. If you want one for your personal use, such as converting school notes into digital formats every once in a while, use free online tools. However, if you want a tool for professional use, then a more advanced tool with premium features might be a better choice.  

⦁    How much will it cost?

When choosing an OCR tool, you should evaluate how much you will be spending on it. After that, analyze the long-term benefits you will get from using the tool. If these benefits outweigh the costs, then you should choose the tool. If you are choosing from multiple options, then see which one provides the most profit.

⦁    Will integrating the tool be easy?

For business purposes, OCR tools might be required to get integrated into employees’ workflow. However, you need to make sure that this integration is smooth and compatible. If the tool supports your existing business structure, then it would be a good fit. Otherwise, you may face issues later on.

⦁    How efficient is the tool?

Finally, the features and accuracy of the tools under consideration should be considered. You can do test runs, evaluate user feedback, watch online reviews, and much more. These will give you valuable insight into whether you should choose the tool or not.

Ending Remarks

Optical Character Recognition has come a long way since it was first used. Now, it has applications that are almost unavoidable in certain cases. Whether it be enhancing efficiency or boosting productivity, OCR can be of great use.

We would like to emphasize the importance of using this tool in these modern times. You should make sure that you are squeezing this technology’s maximum potential in order to streamline your workflows and even your daily life tasks.