OmniPage 17 Review: Nuance's Latest OCR Software

Another year has passed and the technology for document scanning software or optical character recognition software (OCR software) in 2010 keeps getting better and better. Never before has it been easier to create, store, and edit your scanned documents. Nuance is still leading the way with their latest OCR software solution OmniPage 17.

Omnipage 17 allows you to convert your scanned documents (paper, PDF files, digital photographs) into a format that you can easily manipulate and edit. There are two versions of this product: the standard version, which is geared more towards home users, and the professional version. Let's take a look at both.

OmniPage 17 Standard Version

OmniPage 17 is one of the fastest and most accurate ways of transforming your paper documents, PDF files, and digital photographs into an easy-to-edit format. Documents that would take hours to retype are transformed in an instant. The standard version of OmniPage 17 has everything you liked about OmniPage 16 but packs some new features like:

• New Hyper-Binary Conversion delivers 42% accuracy increase for scanned documents


• 23% overall accuracy increase for PDF and digital documents


• 99%+ accuracy for document conversion and archiving critical business documents


• 200% faster launch speed


• Support for the iPhone, 2-megapixel phone cameras, and the Amazon Kindle


• Works with ANY scanner

These are just a few of the key features of OmniPage 17. One of the huge advantages of OmniPage is that the software works with any scanner you have. You're not dependent upon the software that might come with your scanner.

The standard version of OmniPage is perfect for home office users, small business users, and students. Not to mention it is also a couple hundred dollars cheaper than the professional version. You get all the power you need for a very reasonable price.

Learn more about OmniPage 17 here

OmniPage 17 Professional Version

The professional version of OmniPage 17 is practically identical in all of the previous mentioned ways but does set itself apart from the standard version in that gives you the ability to do batch processing.

Batch processing allows you to schedule large volumes of files from folders or emails to be processed in real time. This allows you to leave OmniPage completely unattended to handle these large tasks. This is just one of the features that sets the professional version of OmniPage from the standard version.

The professional version is perfect for larger business organizations that require this sort of power and automation.

Learn more about OmniPage 17 Professional here

OmniPage for Mac Users

While OmniPage 17 is created only for PC users, Nuance has also created OmniPage Pro X for Macintosh. It's definitely worth checking out if Macs are your cup of tea.

So what's the best OCR software on the market these days?

In past posts, we've looked at popular OCR software, OCR freeware, and OCR for Mac. But this doesn't really narrow much down.

Best OCR Software

Right now, the best OCR software solution for students, home office, small business, and professional users is OmniPage 16. PCWorld rated it with one of the highest ratings "Superior" at 9.2/10.

Not only is the price competitive to other OCR software packages, but OmniPage 16 is loaded with features like:

• Quickly convert paper, PDF files, and digital camera pictures into files you can edit in your favorite PC applications


• Scanned documents look exactly like the original - complete with columns, tables, bullets and graphics.


• Turn text into audio files perfect for burning to a CD or listening to on your iPod


• 99% accuracy

OmniPage 16 has the leading edge as the best OCR software solution out there. It's worth checking out.

You can find out more about OmniPage 16 here.

OmniPage 16: Review of the Leading OCR Software Solution by Nuance

Nuance, the creators of OmniPage, introduce a whole new set of features in OmniPage 16 that are sure to help you convert your scanned documents into an editable format. Unlike the professional version of OmniPage, the standard version is aimed at the home, student, or small business user in a very affordable package while retaining all of the features that make OmniPage Professional 16 so great.

Features include:

• Edit any type of file including digital photos, scanned documents, and PDF files


• Improved speed by 46% and improved accuracy by 27%


• All original formatting from the original scanned document is kept the same


• Microsoft Office 2007 support and Microsoft XPS file support

OmniPage 16 can easily be considered the easiest, most flexbile, and most powerful OCR software solution to use. This product blows all other out of the water easily!

Learn more about OmniPage 16 here!

OmniPage Trial Downloads: Plus, an OmniPage 16 Review

OmniPage by Nuance is arguably the world's best OCR software. It's the easiest to use, it's powerful, and not to mention, extremely accurate.  Here are some of the features of Nuance's newest version, OmniPage 16.

• Convert hundreds of original paper documents into documents that can be edited on your PC


• 99% character recognition accuracy


• Perfect formatting--you're scanned documents look like the original!


• Capture text from a digital photo

I highly recommend this for students, home office, and small business users.  Anyone can use this.

OmniPage Trial Downloads

The latest OmniPage trial downloads available are for OmniPage 15.  You can download this trial version here.

OmniPage trial downloads are not yet available for OmniPage 16, but I imagine that they should be in the near future.  However, Nuance does have a variety of video demos available for OmniPage 16 on their website.

My Review

Out of all the other OCR software solutions available, OmniPage 16 is by far the most flexible, easiest, and most powerful to use.  I most love the fact that when I scan a document in OmniPage retains all of my original document's formatting.  Plus, it's only $149.  

My only complaint is the fact that the software can't be used on both PCs and Macs.  I would have to get the Mac version of OmniPage in order to do this. 

Click Here to Learn More about OmniPage 16

Free OCR programs - Reader suggestion

We all like free.  My hope has been to provide some useful information on this humble blog about how to edit a scanned document and OCR programs.  This includes any word I get about free OCR programs.  After all, OCR programs can be expensive!

A reader left a comment saying:

Dude, check out TopOCR at http://www.topocr.com. This is free OCR software that even works with your digital camera. I just tried it and it's awesome! It has every feature you need.

This program looks pretty slick.  The program is described as "OCR for digital cameras."  The goal of this program is to completely ditch the use of a scanner and use a digital camera. You take a digital photo of your scanned document, run the program, and voila, you got it.  Unfortunately, I can't give it a try because I'm on a Mac, but if anyone gives this a try, write a review up and comment.  I'm curious as to how well this works.  

Also, if anyone has any other free OCR programs that they know of then stick up a comment about it.  Don't be shy.  

Oops! OCR Mac programs

An anonymous poster commented on my last post about OCR programs for Mac drawing attention to the fact that I gave the link to the Windows version for Readris Pro 11 instead of the Mac version!  Oops!  Thank you for whoever pointed this out.

Click here to check out Readris Pro 11 for Mac.

They even allow you to try the program out.  If you are not sure about whether or not you want to make the leap to purchase the OCR program, then give it a try.   

My question for readers is what are you using type of OCR programs are using for Mac?  Post a comment to let everyone know.  

Edit a Scanned Document for Mac - OCR Software Solutions

I took the liberty of finding some OCR software (optical character recognition software) that will allow you to edit a scanned document if you are using the Mac OSX operating system. If you're new to OCR, OCR software allows you to take a scanned document that you scanned onto your computer (which would result in an image format or maybe even a PDF), and then extract that text in the scanned document into an editable text document.

Here is some OCR software to check out if you are using a Mac computer:

• http://www.nuance.com/omnipage/mac/
• http://www.abbyy.com/finereader_ocr/
• http://www.irislink.com/c2-480/Readiris-Pro-11-OCR-software.aspx

If you guys have any suggestions, feel free to post them.

Seven Tips for Successfully Using OCR Technology in a Legal Setting

The average legal practice is buried under an avalanche of paper. Documents are crucial elements for the communication, reference and execution of every legal transaction. But the management of these documents can severely impact your law practice’s billable hours. Finding necessary paperwork still requires human intervention to search and identify the document.

However, a little bit of computer hardware and the right software can transform that paper into usable, searchable, storable data, saving you time and money. As you move through your day, look at the ways you handle paper—and then start leveraging the power of document imaging to cut costs and increase efficiency. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Cut outside copying costs. Rather than paying outrageous copying costs to replicate documents while away from the office, you may want to take a digital camera with you to photograph them. When choosing a camera for OCR tasks, look for one that includes an image stabilizer and offers resolutions of at least four megapixels.
   
2. Pick the perfect OCR tools. Invest in an optical character recognition (OCR) product that will convert your digitally photographed images into text. ABBYY FineReader 8.0, for example, takes a JPEG file and converts it into a searchable PDF and/or an editable Microsoft Office document. The software allows for accurate translation even in the face of a variety of photo mishaps. It also corrects some environmental factors, such as the curve created in a page when it is part of a very thick book
   
3. Pick the perfect scanning tools. Although a simple scanner can do the job, choosing a model that offers some more advanced features can further boost your productivity. Most duplex scanners, for example, incorporate an Automatic Document Feeder, which automatically feeds stacked pages into the scanner one at a time.
   
4. Keep up with the news. When scanning the latest legal periodicals or newspapers, there’s no need to read every word. Instead, scan them with your OCR program and use the Hot Folder feature available in many OCR programs to automatically create a special in-box directory of items you want to peruse later.
   
5. Create good email habits. Your email box is likely to be flooded with important briefs, articles, letters and other documents that are sent as email attachments. These image-only PDFs can be opened and viewed but are not searchable so they can get lost in the shuffle. Use your OCR software to translate them into a searchable PDF that allows the documents to be managed and searched electronically. For example, you can convert image PDFs into searcheble with PDF Transformer.
   
6. Throw out the fax machine. A dedicated fax line can be a costly proposition when one considers the cost of equipment, phone charges, paper and time spent in upkeep. An electronic fax service (or a fax server) provides a practical alternative. Electronic faxing allows your office to send and receive faxes as TIFF graphics files, which can be read but not readily used in any other way. To further enhance usability of these documents, use OCR to transform them into editable text or searchable PDFs.
   
7. Scan for discovery. Rather than having a secretary retype and reformat responses, use scanning and OCR to convert discovery, motions and pleadings to word processing documents. Document formatting will be retained, and the process takes mere seconds.

Because OCR introduces far fewer errors than retyping, you’ll also save time on proofreading. This approach allows you to provide electronic copies of documents to clients faster and helps clients store and access documents easily. In addition, you’ll be able to readily create an electronic storage system for files and improve accessibility to past work products.

http://web-odonata.blogspot.com

http://www.pdftransformer.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tatiana_Sushchenko
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OCR Freeware - Download Free OCR Software

I have been explaining how to edit a scanned document and what is required. Basically, you need software to translate the scanned document into an editable text document. In my last post about popular OCR software, I shared some possible OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software solutions. These are all highly recommended solutions, but they come with a price. So where do you find OCR freeware solutions?

OCR Freeware

The following are some links to download OCR freeware.

• http://www.simpleocr.com
• http://www.gnu.org/software/ocrad/ocrad.html

One thing to say is that these OCR freeware solutions may not do the job you are looking for them to do. Optical Character Recognition can work on many different levels. The general rule of thumb is that you get what you pay for. If you need something more advanced, you might want to check out OmniPage 16. However, for basic scanned document editting, the first link, SimpleOCR, should work just fine.

Another thing to mention is that the above are wonderful OCR freeware programs, some of the paid ones I listed in my last post about popular OCR software will offer free 30-day trials. Check those out too.