How Does Online OCR Help To Extract Text Editable Text From A Photo? 

An OCR tool is a remarkable program that copies texts from images. But, how do you use an online one to do that? 

Using physical manuscripts and turning them into editable texts is not uncommon. In fact, the popularity of doing this is growing in businesses and marketing channels around the globe. Since it provides so much convenience, it’s only bound to grow in 2022. 

The job of an OCR tool is to extract texts from images. Mainly because many businesses around the globe rely on information stored in physical mediums, such as bills, receipts, ledgers, and record books of other kinds. 

That’s why it has become a necessary tool in the arsenal of any marketer or business today. But, how exactly does it work? What are the intricacies, or drawbacks, if any? Let’s dive right into it and find out:

What Is OCR? 

OCR or optical character recognition is the technique that allows the user to extract texts from an image. While it works on both physical and virtual images, the technology itself originated in 1929 by reading texts present on a manuscript.

Since then, OCR has evolved and become one of the leading tools used in writing, marketing, and business today. It helps writers extract text from complicated images. On the other hand, marketers have vast implications for it.

That’s why it’s continually growing and becoming a key essential in marketing or text extraction, as it helps build editable databases. 

05 Leading Types Of OCR

OCR is almost a hundred-year-old technology. So, you might be wondering how it’s still effective in today’s advanced times. While it has continued to evolve, it has also become available in various shapes, and five of those are as such:

1. IWR

IWR or intelligent word recognition is one of the leading forms of OCR today. This is the AI-based tech that most OCR tools employ as they extract texts from hand or type-written images or manuscripts. 

2. ICR

ICR, or intelligent character recognition, is the little brother of IWR. Instead of focusing on words, this focuses on individual syllables. Doing so thoroughly recognizes each character present in a text, forming them into words eventually.

3. OWR

OWR or optical word recognition is the same as IWR. Still, instead of being virtual, it’s present in physical OCR devices—such as OCR pens and scanners. It’s one of the most common in businesses today.

4. OCR

OCR itself is still up and going, as you will find it in almost all the image-to-text extraction methods, including virtual and physical.

5. OMR

OMR, aka optical mark recognition, is ideal for businesses and students as it recognizes hand-written marks and shapes on paper, i.e., math equations or other forms of hand-written shapes. 

5 Ways OCR Helps Extract Editable Text From A Photo

The operation of an OCR tool isn’t complex. In the case of a mobile phone app, it requires you to download and use it. However, an online tool requires you to use it from a browser. Since online ones are more common, we’ll be talking about the ways they help you.

Therefore, if you’re looking to find out whether an online OCR tool is what you need for your business or marketing purposes, then let’s examine the way these tools operate—and how they can potentially help you:

1. Image Upload

When you fire up an OCR tool, the first thing you will see is the photo to text conversion options. Whether you choose to upload a picture or take one from the camera tool within the app depends on your preference.

However, you will have to upload your picture on a picture to text converter. By doing so, the OCR thoroughly intakes this image and begins to extract it. The AI uses advanced OCR technology to understand what’s written then converts it back into human language. 

2. Text Capture

Once your image is processed through the tool, it will capture the text. Therefore, it dials down to the factors that we spoke of earlier, such as:

• IWR ensures reading text intelligibly 
• OMR captures any marks 
• ICR captures intricate hand-written characters and syllables

All these three essentials come together and formulate what you know as the image to text conversion. Therefore, before you see the final result, it captures the text and begins to formulate it. 

3. Image To Text Conversation

This is the part where the tool begins to convert your text into machine language and then back into human language. The tool thoroughly absorbs all the text present on your source image, photo, or physical manuscript when this process happens.

Then, the tool begins to convert that into editable text that you can use. By extracting and capturing information from an image within a few seconds, an online OCR tool will present to you this within a few moments. 

4. Editable Text

This is the part where you get to see the final text that the tool has extracted. The best part about it all is that it barely took 4-5 seconds, whereas we had to write hundreds of words to just describe it. This should tell you just how quickly these tools operate. 

5. Create Indexed Databases

Once your text is in your hand, it depends on you in whichever way you wish to use it. Bearing in mind that it’s editable text now, you can create indexed databases. That’s why these tools are paramount essential for anyone looking to extract text from images and turn them editable.

Conclusion 

That’s all folks—in our today’s tale of the way an OCR tool can help you. As you might have noticed, OCR tech is increasing in usage day by day. So, if you’re looking to gain benefits from it, use it now.