Written on 21/5/2020

Advantages of modern OCR techniques for companies

Since the inception of OCR in 1990, technology has come a long way. OCR has become better at distinguishing languages ​​and symbols, but it is also able to recreate the original layout, fonts, and nipple size of your documents.

Many companies, therefore, use software that combines OCR with other intelligent functions, with which you can extract data from photocopies of documents. The information is converted into a database, making it usable and available for digital platforms.

Modern OCR methods can recognize a wide variety of colors and they can tell the difference between the background of the document and its contents. They evade, remove stray dots and markers, and even use 3D image correction, so they can process low-resolution images from smartphone cameras, get off the Internet, and even get into the organization via fax.

Numerous businesses rely on OCR to capture and process data from corporate documents, and for good reason. OCR is used to meet business objectives such as print on demand or online publishing initiatives where there is a desire to reduce the need for paper.

OCR can be used for:

• Speed ​​up your workflow, reduce paperwork and make documents accessible for electronic processing.
• Lowering the hidden costs of manual data entry. This ensures more profit and better productivity.
• Improve accuracy by reducing human error in manual input.
• Optimizing your customer service by always having the information at hand.
• Improved security of your documents through the use of digital techniques such as encryption

If ICT is good at something, it is in finding solutions to new problems. Most solutions were not completely new, but they have never been applied on such a large scale.

Some OCR practice examples

Mailroom automation

Large companies use OCR to automate their mail on a large scale. Incoming documents are analyzed, sorted, and sent to the appropriate team. Important data is indexed so that the systems that support the teams can display the data at lightning speed. By reading the data, the correct digital security technology can be applied immediately.

Invoice automation.

Businesses of all sizes scan paper invoices or import electronic documents into their systems. The extracted data is automatically validated to ensure accuracy and allow proper categorization. From there it can be transferred into any accounting or financial system that needs it, making it better and more efficient.

Form automation

As with invoice automation, forms automation allows companies to automate forms processing by scanning paper forms and importing electronic forms into their systems. The data is validated for accuracy. And the digital forms, as well as all relevant attachments, can be exported to the organization’s document management system, where they can be tracked and stored.

Retrieve information

One of the main benefits of OCR for businesses is the creation of a searchable PDF file. Business systems use OCR software that can convert paper documents and image-only PDF files into searchable files. Searchable PDF files are similar to normal PDF files, except that in addition to the scanned bitmap image of your paper document, they also contain an invisible overlay with searchable text. This allows you to use your digital file system as a searchable database to find keywords, names, and phrases that can help you find the information you need. These examples show that the OCR functionality and the electronic documents it creates are an indispensable part of the DNA of a modern organization today.