Different Functions of OCR and How Does an OCR Work

It must be very tiring when you have to always type documents into electronic form manually, right? This problem does not need to happen again because now there is OCR technology. The way OCR works and functions are so sophisticated that our work can be done more efficiently and quickly. Unfortunately, there are still many people who do not know about this OCR technology and its useful functions of OCR.

The existence of OCR as an office technology is still relatively new in Indonesia, although many benefits can be obtained from using it. AdIns will explain more about the functions of OCR and how OCR works in this article for your daily life.

Getting to Know the Companies’ Reliable and Revolutionary Tech, OCR

OCR stands for strong>Optical Character Recognition. This technology can recognize writing in an image, photo, or document. The form of writing can be in the form of handwriting, a typewriter, or documents that have been printed. OCR can also convert writing into text data that can be edited or modified on a computer digitally.

Two algorithms are built into OCR: pattern recognition and feature detection. Pattern detection is an algorithm to recognize patterns in the form of text, punctuation, images, numbers, and symbols in a document. Meanwhile, feature detection is tasked with detecting the graphic form of documents, ranging from straight lines, diagrams, arrows, and the like.

Machine learning technology is also applied in OCR. The text detected by OCR is converted so that it can be read by the machine, before being changed according to the user’s needs.

Development of OCR Over the Years

The concept of OCR has been around since the 1920s. At that time, OCR was applied to the telegraph, a communication tool that was widely used before being replaced by the telephone. However, OCR was first developed as the computer technology in 1974 by Ray Kurzweil, an American computer product businessman. Kurzweil developed OCR so that this tool can recognize text in a variety of fonts.

OCR technology has become popular since the early 1990s. This technology is widely used to convert old newspapers into digital versions. Since then, OCR has continued to evolve until it has several more advanced features and functions. The use of OCR is often found in almost all fields of work today.

However, people have only been able to access OCR online since the 2000s. Now, OCR is present and found in cloud services and smartphone applications. Some companies even provide OCR as their Online-as-a-Service (OaaS) product.

Read Also: Getting to Know OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) Technology

2 Usable Functions of OCR

The OCR function remains the same even if you use a different OCR platform. OCR only has two functions, but both are equally crucial in converting manual documents to digital ones. The following are common OCR uses that have always been a mainstay for users.

1. Text Scanning

Scanning text is the main function of OCR. This technology was created to scan text or characters in an image or document. Your work becomes easier with this function.

An example is when the Human Resources (HR) team wants to make a recapitulation of employee attendance data for one month of work. Data that is usually recorded on paper in handwritten form can now be recapitulated in digital form for easy reading. The task can be completed more quickly with the help of a scanning tool from OCR through the smartphone camera lens.

Read Also: Steps on How to Convert Image to Text

2. Image Conversion

OCR also has a conversion function. Image or photo files can be easily converted into .doc format documents so that the content can be edited as needed. Like the first function, this OCR function is also very helpful for your work.

Still using the example above, OCR technology scans every text and character in employee attendance data, from names, and check marks, to table images. All content is converted so that it can be modified, then a recapitulation file is made before being sent to the work supervisor.

Process and Procedures of OCR

The workings of various types of technology are always interesting to explore, including OCR. How does the OCR process work so that it produces digital documents that are neat and easy to view?

• The document is photographed first, then scanned via the OCR application. 
• OCR smooths the position of the image so that it is aligned and not skewed so that the text and characters in it are easier to scan. 
• OCR instantly detects the entire content, then analyzes every character in the document. The detection results start from the text first, then other features such as illustrations, diagrams, and so on.
• The scanned content in the document is then converted into a format that can be modified.
• After the modification is complete, the file is saved in the form of an image, file, or PDF according to user requirements.

Read Also: Why Should We Digitalize Documents?

That’s how OCR works in detecting and converting manual documents into digital form. Sometimes, OCR fails to recognize characters and text in documents. These incidents are usually caused by illegible handwriting or a camera that is too blurry. So, try to make sure that your document contains clear writing and make sure that the smartphone camera lens used is clear.

It is undeniable that the presence of technology always makes the lives of employees easier while working. Almost every department in the company is helped by OCR technology so that their workload becomes lighter. The finance department, for example, can record expenses more easily just by scanning shopping receipts using OCR software.

Are you looking for an easy-to-use OCR software for your company that has reliable functions of OCR? Use this OCR application from AdIns. Abandon the manual scanning process and embrace the digital functions of this app due to its flexible nature and availability on smartphones. Contact AdIns right now and experience the great OCR function for your work and employees through this application.