The C# OCR Library

 OCR in 1 line of code
// Nuget PM> Install-Package IronOcr
using IronOcr;

string imageText = new IronTesseract().Read(@"images\image.png").Text;' Nuget PM> Install-Package IronOcr
Imports IronOcr

Private imageText As String = (New IronTesseract()).Read("images\image.png").Text

 PDF OCR Text Extraction
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();


using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    // OCR entire document
    Input.AddPdf("example.pdf", "password");

    // Alternatively OCR selected page numbers
    Input.AddPdfPages("example.pdf", new[] { 1, 2, 3 }, "password");

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()


Using Input = New OcrInput()
	' OCR entire document
	Input.AddPdf("example.pdf", "password")

	' Alternatively OCR selected page numbers
	Input.AddPdfPages("example.pdf", { 1, 2, 3 }, "password")

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OCR with Barcode & QR Reading
var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = true;
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\imageWithBarcode.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    foreach (var barcode in Result.Barcodes) {
        Console.WriteLine(barcode.Value);
    }
}Dim Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = True
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\imageWithBarcode.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	For Each barcode In Result.Barcodes
		Console.WriteLine(barcode.Value)
	Next barcode
End Using

 125 International OCR Languages
//PM> Install-Package IronOcr.Languages.Arabic

using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.Arabic;

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\arabic.gif"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}


// Advanced Example

var Ocr2 = new IronTesseract();
Ocr2.UseCustomTesseractLanguageFile("custom_tesseract_files/custom.traineddata");
Ocr2.AddSecondaryLanguage(OcrLanguage.EnglishBest);

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\mixed-lang.pdf"))
{
    var Result = Ocr2.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}'PM> Install-Package IronOcr.Languages.Arabic

Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.Arabic

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\arabic.gif")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using


' Advanced Example

Dim Ocr2 = New IronTesseract()
Ocr2.UseCustomTesseractLanguageFile("custom_tesseract_files/custom.traineddata")
Ocr2.AddSecondaryLanguage(OcrLanguage.EnglishBest)

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\mixed-lang.pdf")
	Dim Result = Ocr2.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Fixing Low Quality Scans & Images
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    Input.Deskew();
    Input.DeNoise();
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Input.Deskew()
	Input.DeNoise()
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Fast OCR Configuration
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

// Fast Dictionary
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishFast;

// Turn off unneeded options
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = false;
Ocr.Configuration.RenderSearchablePdfsAndHocr = false;

// Assume text is laid out neatly in an orthogonal document
Ocr.Configuration.PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.Auto;

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

' Fast Dictionary
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishFast

' Turn off unneeded options
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = False
Ocr.Configuration.RenderSearchablePdfsAndHocr = False

' Assume text is laid out neatly in an orthogonal document
Ocr.Configuration.PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.Auto

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OCR Image Optimization Filters
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    Input.WithTitle("My Document");
    Input.Binarize();
    Input.Contrast();
    Input.Deskew();
    Input.DeNoise();
    Input.Dilate();
    Input.EnhanceResolution(300);
    Input.Invert();
    Input.Rotate(90);
    Input.Scale(150); // or Input.Scale(3000, 2000);
    Input.Sharpen();
    Input.ToGrayScale();

    // you don't need all of them
    // most users only need Deskew() and occasionally DeNoise() 

    
    // Optional: Export modified images so you can view them.
    foreach(var page in  Input.Pages){
          page.SaveAsImage("filtered.bmp");
    }
   

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Input.WithTitle("My Document")
	Input.Binarize()
	Input.Contrast()
	Input.Deskew()
	Input.DeNoise()
	Input.Dilate()
	Input.EnhanceResolution(300)
	Input.Invert()
	Input.Rotate(90)
	Input.Scale(150) ' or Input.Scale(3000, 2000);
	Input.Sharpen()
	Input.ToGrayScale()

	' you don't need all of them
	' most users only need Deskew() and occasionally DeNoise() 


	' Optional: Export modified images so you can view them.
	For Each page In Input.Pages
		  page.SaveAsImage("filtered.bmp")
	Next page


	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OCR Image Color Editing
using IronOcr;
using System.Linq;
using System.Drawing;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();


using (var Input = new OcrInput("blue_and_pink.png"))
{
    Input.WithTitle("Recolored");
  
  	Input.ReplaceColor(Color.Pink, Color.White, 10);  
  	// Pink detection has 10% tolerance

  	 Input.ReplaceColor(Color.Blue, Color.Black, 5);  
  	// Blue detection has 5% tolerance
   
    // Export the modified image so you can manually inspect it.
    Input.Pages.First().SaveAsImage("black_and_white.bmp");


    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr
Imports System.Linq
Imports System.Drawing

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()


Using Input = New OcrInput("blue_and_pink.png")
	Input.WithTitle("Recolored")

	  Input.ReplaceColor(Color.Pink, Color.White, 10)
	  ' Pink detection has 10% tolerance

	   Input.ReplaceColor(Color.Blue, Color.Black, 5)
	  ' Blue detection has 5% tolerance

	' Export the modified image so you can manually inspect it.
	Input.Pages.First().SaveAsImage("black_and_white.bmp")


	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OcrResult Class
using IronOcr;
using System.Drawing; // For image export

// 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 Ocr = new IronTesseract();
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = true;
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"example.tiff"))
{
    OcrResult Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    foreach (var page in Result.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;
        Bitmap PageImage = page.ToBitmap(Input);
        int PageWidth = page.Width;
        int 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;
            Bitmap ParagraphImage = paragraph.ToBitmap(Input);
            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;
                Bitmap LineImage = line.ToBitmap(Input); ;
                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;
                    Image WordImage = word.ToBitmap(Input);
                    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;
                        Bitmap CharacterImage = character.ToBitmap(Input);
                        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;
                    }
                }
            }
        }
    }
}Imports IronOcr
Imports System.Drawing ' For image export

' 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/
Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = True
Using Input = New OcrInput("example.tiff")
	Dim Result As OcrResult = Ocr.Read(Input)
	For Each page In Result.Pages
		' Page object
		Dim PageNumber As Integer = page.PageNumber
		Dim PageText As String = page.Text
		Dim PageWordCount As Integer = page.WordCount
		' null if we dont set Ocr.Configuration.ReadBarCodes = true;
		Dim Barcodes() As OcrResult.Barcode = page.Barcodes
		Dim PageImage As Bitmap = page.ToBitmap(Input)
		Dim PageWidth As Integer = page.Width
		Dim PageHeight As Integer = page.Height
		Dim PageRotation As Double = page.Rotation ' angular correction in degrees from OcrInput.Deskew()

		For Each paragraph In page.Paragraphs
			' Pages -> Paragraphs
			Dim ParagraphNumber As Integer = paragraph.ParagraphNumber
			Dim ParagraphText As String = paragraph.Text
			Dim ParagraphImage As Bitmap = paragraph.ToBitmap(Input)
			Dim ParagraphX_location As Integer = paragraph.X
			Dim ParagraphY_location As Integer = paragraph.Y
			Dim ParagraphWidth As Integer = paragraph.Width
			Dim ParagraphHeight As Integer = paragraph.Height
			Dim ParagraphOcrAccuracy As Double = paragraph.Confidence
			Dim paragrapthText_direction As OcrResult.TextFlow = paragraph.TextDirection
			For Each line In paragraph.Lines
				' Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines
				Dim LineNumber As Integer = line.LineNumber
				Dim LineText As String = line.Text
				Dim LineImage As Bitmap = line.ToBitmap(Input)

				Dim LineX_location As Integer = line.X
				Dim LineY_location As Integer = line.Y
				Dim LineWidth As Integer = line.Width
				Dim LineHeight As Integer = line.Height
				Dim LineOcrAccuracy As Double = line.Confidence
				Dim LineSkew As Double = line.BaselineAngle
				Dim LineOffset As Double = line.BaselineOffset
				For Each word In line.Words
					' Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines -> Words
					Dim WordNumber As Integer = word.WordNumber
					Dim WordText As String = word.Text
					Dim WordImage As Image = word.ToBitmap(Input)
					Dim WordX_location As Integer = word.X
					Dim WordY_location As Integer = word.Y
					Dim WordWidth As Integer = word.Width
					Dim WordHeight As Integer = word.Height
					Dim WordOcrAccuracy As Double = word.Confidence
					For Each character In word.Characters
						' Pages -> Paragraphs -> Lines -> Words -> Characters
						Dim CharacterNumber As Integer = character.CharacterNumber
						Dim CharacterText As String = character.Text
						Dim CharacterImage As Bitmap = character.ToBitmap(Input)
						Dim CharacterX_location As Integer = character.X
						Dim CharacterY_location As Integer = character.Y
						Dim CharacterWidth As Integer = character.Width
						Dim CharacterHeight As Integer = character.Height
						Dim CharacterOcrAccuracy As Double = character.Confidence
						' Output alternative symbols choices and their probability.
						' Very useful for spellchecking
						Dim Choices() As OcrResult.Choice = character.Choices
					Next character
				Next word
			Next line
		Next paragraph
	Next page
End Using

 Create Searchable PDFs by OCR
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    Input.AddImage(@"images\page1.png");
    Input.AddImage(@"images\page2.bmp");
    Input.AddImage(@"images\page3.tiff");

    Input.Deskew();

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf");
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddImage("images\page1.png")
	Input.AddImage("images\page2.bmp")
	Input.AddImage("images\page3.tiff")

	Input.Deskew()

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf")
End Using

 Tesseract 5 for .NET
using IronOcr;
//..
var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
Ocr.Configuration.TesseractVersion = TesseractVersion.Tesseract5;
// This is default
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr
'..
Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Ocr.Configuration.TesseractVersion = TesseractVersion.Tesseract5
' This is default
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Tesseract Detailed Configuration
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract()
{
    Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest,
    Configuration = new TesseractConfiguration()
    {
        ReadBarCodes = false,
        BlackListCharacters = "`ë|^",
        RenderSearchablePdfsAndHocr = true,
        PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.AutoOsd,
    }
};

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract() With {
	.Language = OcrLanguage.EnglishBest,
	.Configuration = New TesseractConfiguration() With {
		.ReadBarCodes = False,
		.BlackListCharacters = "`ë|^",
		.RenderSearchablePdfsAndHocr = True,
		.PageSegmentationMode = TesseractPageSegmentationMode.AutoOsd
	}
}

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OcrInput Class
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 OCR a Region of an Image
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
	// A 41% improvement on speed by specifiying a pixel region
	var ContentArea = new CropRectangle(x: 215, y: 1250, height: 280, width: 1335);
	Input.AddImage("img/example.png", ContentArea);

	var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Using Input = New OcrInput()
	' A 41% improvement on speed by specifiying a pixel region
	Dim ContentArea = New CropRectangle(x:= 215, y:= 1250, height:= 280, width:= 1335)
	Input.AddImage("img/example.png", ContentArea)

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 TIFF to Serchable PDF Converter
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    Input.AddMultiFrameTiff("images/multiframe.tiff");

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    
    Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf");
} 
 Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddMultiFrameTiff("images/multiframe.tiff")

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)

	Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf")
End Using

 Image Resolution Optimization (DPI)
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    Input.TargetDPI = 300;

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Input.TargetDPI = 300

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 MultiThreaded Tesseract OCR
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    Input.AddPdf("scan.pdf");
 
    // Image processing is automatically multi-threaded
    Input.Deskew();

    // OCR reading is automatically multi-threaded too
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);     
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddPdf("scan.pdf")

	' Image processing is automatically multi-threaded
	Input.Deskew()

	' OCR reading is automatically multi-threaded too
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
End Using

 OCR Progress and Performance Tracking
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

Ocr.OcrProgress += (_, IronOcr.Events.OcrProgresEventsArgs e) =>
{
    Console.WriteLine(e.ProgressPercent + "%   " + e.Duration.TotalSeconds + "s");
};

using (var Input = new OcrInput("large.pdf"))
{ 
	// progress events will fire during the read operation even if the main thread is blocked.
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
} 
 Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Private Ocr.OcrProgress += Sub(underscore, IronOcr.Events.OcrProgresEventsArgs e)
	Console.WriteLine(e.ProgressPercent & "%   " & e.Duration.TotalSeconds & "s")
End Sub

Using Input = New OcrInput("large.pdf")
	' progress events will fire during the read operation even if the main thread is blocked.
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
End Using

 OCR for MultiPage TIFF Files
using IronOcr;

using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    Input.AddMultiFrameTiff("images/multiframe.tiff");

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr


Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddMultiFrameTiff("images/multiframe.tiff")

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Make any PDF have Searchable, Copyable Text
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput())
{
    Input.AddPdf("scan.pdf","password");
 
    // Clean up twisted pages
    Input.Deskew();

    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf");
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput()
	Input.AddPdf("scan.pdf","password")

	' Clean up twisted pages
	Input.Deskew()

	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Result.SaveAsSearchablePdf("searchable.pdf")
End Using

 Using Custom Tesseract Language Files
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();

Ocr.UseCustomTesseractLanguageFile("custom_tesseract_files/custom.traineddata");

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
	var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()

Ocr.UseCustomTesseractLanguageFile("custom_tesseract_files/custom.traineddata")

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Multiple Languages for 1 Document
//PM> Install-Package IronOcr.Languages.Arabic

using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.English;
Ocr.AddSecondaryLanguage(OcrLanguage.Arabic);
// Add as many as you like

using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    Console.WriteLine(Result.Text);
}'PM> Install-Package IronOcr.Languages.Arabic

Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Ocr.Language = OcrLanguage.English
Ocr.AddSecondaryLanguage(OcrLanguage.Arabic)
' Add as many as you like

Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	Console.WriteLine(Result.Text)
End Using

 Exporting Images of OCR Elements
using IronOcr;

var Ocr = new IronTesseract();
using (var Input = new OcrInput(@"images\image.png"))
{
    var Result = Ocr.Read(Input);
    foreach (var page in Result.Pages)
    {
        foreach (var word in page.Words)
        {
            word.ToBitmap(Input).Save($"page{page.PageNumber}_word{word.WordNumber}.png", System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png);
        }
    }
}Imports IronOcr

Private Ocr = New IronTesseract()
Using Input = New OcrInput("images\image.png")
	Dim Result = Ocr.Read(Input)
	For Each page In Result.Pages
		For Each word In page.Words
			word.ToBitmap(Input).Save($"page{page.PageNumber}_word{word.WordNumber}.png", System.Drawing.Imaging.ImageFormat.Png)
		Next word
	Next page
End Using

OCR Tools

June 17, 2022

Online OCR converter — Free Online Tools

This section is about free online OCR tools. Online OCR tools exist to help us with the process of converting paper-based documents into digital texts.