using IronOcr; using IronSoftware.Drawing; // We can delve deep into OCR results as an object model of // Pages, Barcodes, Paragraphs, Lines, Words and Characters // This allows us to explore, export and draw OCR content using other APIs/ var ocrTesseract = new IronTesseract(); ocrTesseract.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = true; using var ocrInput = new OcrInput(); var pages = new int[] { 1, 2 }; ocrInput.LoadImageFrames("example.tiff", pages); OcrResult ocrResult = ocrTesseract.Read(ocrInput); foreach (var page in ocrResult.Pages) { // Page object int PageNumber = page.PageNumber; string PageText = page.Text; int PageWordCount = page.WordCount; // null if we dont set Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = true; OcrResult.Barcode[] Barcodes = page.Barcodes; AnyBitmap PageImage = page.ToBitmap(ocrInput); double PageWidth = page.Width; double PageHeight = page.Height; double PageRotation = page.Rotation; // angular correction in degrees from OcrInput.Deskew() foreach (var paragraph in page.Paragraphs) { // Pages -> Paragraphs int ParagraphNumber = paragraph.ParagraphNumber; string ParagraphText = paragraph.Text; AnyBitmap ParagraphImage = paragraph.ToBitmap(ocrInput); int ParagraphX_location = paragraph.X; int ParagraphY_location = paragraph.Y; int ParagraphWidth = paragraph.Width; int ParagraphHeight = paragraph.Height; double ParagraphOcrAccuracy = paragraph.Confidence; OcrResult.TextFlow paragrapthText_direction = paragraph.TextDirection; foreach (var line in paragraph.Lines) { // Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines int LineNumber = line.LineNumber; string LineText = line.Text; AnyBitmap LineImage = line.ToBitmap(ocrInput); int LineX_location = line.X; int LineY_location = line.Y; int LineWidth = line.Width; int LineHeight = line.Height; double LineOcrAccuracy = line.Confidence; double LineSkew = line.BaselineAngle; double LineOffset = line.BaselineOffset; foreach (var word in line.Words) { // Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines -> Words int WordNumber = word.WordNumber; string WordText = word.Text; AnyBitmap WordImage = word.ToBitmap(ocrInput); int WordX_location = word.X; int WordY_location = word.Y; int WordWidth = word.Width; int WordHeight = word.Height; double WordOcrAccuracy = word.Confidence; foreach (var character in word.Characters) { // Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines -> Words -> Characters int CharacterNumber = character.CharacterNumber; string CharacterText = character.Text; AnyBitmap CharacterImage = character.ToBitmap(ocrInput); int CharacterX_location = character.X; int CharacterY_location = character.Y; int CharacterWidth = character.Width; int CharacterHeight = character.Height; double CharacterOcrAccuracy = character.Confidence; // Output alternative symbols choices and their probability. // Very useful for spellchecking OcrResult.Choice[] Choices = character.Choices; } } } } }

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Best OCR Engine (Free & Paid Tools)

Published March 6, 2024

Introduction

Optical Character Recognition software (OCR) has become an essential tool in the constantly changing field of document digitalization, enabling organizations to convert scanned documents, and handwritten or printed text into editable formats and machine-readable data. With the increasing demand for AI-based OCR software solutions, organizations looking for advanced features such as unmatched accuracy, automated data entry, adaptability, and efficiency must identify the best OCR software performers to extract text. This article examines the attributes and functionalities of the top 5 Optical Character Recognition software solutions, with a focus on IronOCR—an OCR program that has made a name for itself as a leader in text recognition and business process automation. In this article, we are going to learn more about the best OCR engine.

Tesseract OCR

Tesseract OCR is an open-source OCR engine created by Google that is well-known for its powerful features. Tesseract OCR, which dates back to the 1980s and was resurrected by Google in 2006, is well known for its accuracy, automated manual data entry, and support for several languages.

Key Features

Open Source: Tesseract OCR's open-source architecture has attracted a thriving developer community, which has aided in the software's ongoing development.
Multilingual Support: Tesseract OCR is a flexible option for international workflows since it is highly effective at identifying and processing text in a wide range of languages.
Versatility: Tesseract OCR demonstrates versatility in handling some types of handwriting recognition while being primarily built for written text.

Integration and User Experience: Tesseract OCR ensures accessibility for a broad spectrum of developers by supporting integration with well-known programming languages including Python, Java, and C++. Non-technical people can find the command-line interface difficult to use, however, there are many third-party tools available that make it easier.

ABBYY FineReader

As one of the most popular OCR engines, ABBYY FineReader is praised for its accuracy, adaptability, and sophisticated features. Complex papers containing tables, illustrations, and a variety of typefaces are no match for it.

Key Features

Advanced Document Processing: Applications that need accurate extraction from a variety of layouts choose ABBYY FineReader because of its ability to handle complicated documents.
Multilingual Recognition: FineReader can recognize several languages, making it easier to integrate them into increasingly international processes.
Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR): With its strong ICR features, FineReader is better able to identify and handle handwritten text.

Integration and User Experience: Users with different levels of technological experience may easily utilize FineReader thanks to its user-friendly interfaces for both desktop and cloud-based editions.

Adobe Acrobat OCR

Adobe Acrobat, the program most people associate with PDFs, increases its functionality by including OCR. The capacity of Adobe Acrobat OCR to convert scanned documents into editable and searchable text is well recognized, as is its smooth interaction with the larger Adobe Acrobat Pro DC ecosystem.

Key Features

OCR built into Adobe Acrobat: The OCR features of Acrobat are smoothly incorporated into the popular Acrobat program, which helps to streamline document operations and extract data.
PDF Handling: Adobe Acrobat OCR is the preferred option for workflows that involve PDFs because of its exceptional ability to identify and handle text contained in PDF documents.

User Experience and Interaction: The user experience is designed for people who are already familiar with the Adobe ecosystem because of its interaction with Adobe Acrobat. Its cohesiveness with other Adobe technologies is a noteworthy asset, even if it isn't as freestanding as other OCR engines.

IronOCR

As one of the best OCR software, IronOCR from Iron Software stands out for its accuracy, adaptability, and simplicity of use. IronOCR is a strong option for companies looking for an OCR solution because of its exceptional document image text recognition and extraction capabilities from a range of document types as well as device types such as mobile devices. To know more about the IronOCR OCR solution, check here.

Key Features

Unmatched precision: Because of its sophisticated algorithms, which produce accurate results even in difficult situations, IronOCR is associated with precision.
Support for numerous Languages: IronOCR offers support for numerous languages, meeting the linguistic needs of companies with international operations.
Excellence in Handwriting Recognition: IronOCR has exceptional handwriting recognition skills, going above and beyond standard OCR capabilities.
Versatility Across Formats of Digitized Documents: IronOCR is made to operate with a wide range of document formats, such as PDF file editing, a scanned DOC image, and photos, and it can be easily integrated into different workflows.
Simple Integration: IronOCR makes it easier for developers to integrate with well-known programming languages like C#, VB.NET, and F#.
IronOCR is a precise OCR engine that works with a variety of fonts, languages, digital documents, and formats, making it adaptable to a broad range of OCR uses.
IronOCR is appropriate for worldwide applications and documents with a variety of linguistic content since it can recognize text in various languages and perform data extraction.
Features for barcode reading from pictures or image files are included in IronOCR. When it's necessary to extract both text and barcode data, this might be helpful.
With IronOCR, it is possible to define OCR zones—parts of an image that may be specifically targeted for text extraction. When working with papers or PDF documents that have organized layouts, this function comes in handy.

User Experience and Integration: IronOCR is praised for its intuitive interface, which makes it possible for users with different levels of technical skill to make use of OCR technology without needing intensive training. The smooth interaction with well-known programming languages and document conversion enhances the user experience.

Here is a basic C# example:

var Ocr = new IronTesseract(); // nothing to configure            
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest;                                     
Ocr.Configuration.TesseractVersion = TesseractVersion.Tesseract5;            
using (var Input = new OcrInput())      
{          
    Input.AddImage(@"Demo.png");         
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);       
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);        
    Console.ReadKey();          
}

var Ocr = new IronTesseract(); // nothing to configure            
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest;                                     
Ocr.Configuration.TesseractVersion = TesseractVersion.Tesseract5;            
using (var Input = new OcrInput())      
{          
    Input.AddImage(@"Demo.png");         
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);       
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);        
    Console.ReadKey();          
}

Dim Ocr = New IronTesseract() ' nothing to configure
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest
Ocr.Configuration.TesseractVersion = TesseractVersion.Tesseract5
Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddImage("Demo.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
	Console.ReadKey()
End Using

VB C#

The above code allows us to extract data from the image with the best OCR accuracy. IronOCR also helps us to convert extracted text from handwritten documents into editable formats such as Word file formats. We are also able to convert the scanned document into a searchable PDF. The result can be saved in different OCR output formats using IronOCR. To learn more about the code refer here.

Source Image:

Best OCR Engine (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 1 - Input Image

Result:

Best OCR Engine (Free & Paid Tools): Figure 2 - Console Output

Conclusion

Within the ever-changing field of OCR tools, Tesseract OCR, ABBYY FineReader, Adobe Acrobat OCR, and IronOCR are distinguished as superior options, with each offering distinct advantages. The selection of OCR tools among them is contingent upon the particular demands, preferences, and integration requirements of organizations as they negotiate the intricacies of document digitalization. Organizations may use these OCR engines to fully realize the promise of text recognition in the digital age, regardless of their preferences for open-source flexibility, sophisticated document processing, smooth cloud integration, or accuracy in handwriting recognition.

Finally, IronOCR stands out as an exceptional OCR tool that combines accuracy, adaptability, and superior integration. IronOCR is the best option available for OCR because of its unmatched accuracy, sophisticated algorithms, and ability to recognize a variety of document types, including handwritten ones. IronOCR guarantees developer accessibility while keeping an intuitive interface, thanks to its smooth integration capabilities across common programming languages and multiple documents.

The cost-effective development edition of IronOCR is available for a free trial, and purchasing the IronOCR package grants a lifetime license. The IronOCR package, which starts at $749, is a great deal because it gives a single price for several devices. Please see the IronOCR website for further information on the fee. To know more about the Iron Software products, refer here.

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