When we talk about Optical Character Recognition (OCR), it is a field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that is specifically related to computer vision and pattern recognition. OCR refers to the process of extracting information from multiple data formats like images, pdf, handwritten notes, and scanned documents and converting them into digital format for further processing.
Content Overview
Using OCR, organizations can easily encode the text from an image and allow it to be electronically formatted, searched, and compacted on a digital system or web for use.
What are the key advantages of Optical Character Recognition?
Data scientists classify different types of OCR technologies based on their use and application. The following are a few examples:
Simple optical character recognition software
A simple OCR engine works by storing many different font and text image patterns as templates. The OCR software uses pattern-matching algorithms to compare text images, character by character, to its internal database. If the system matches the text word by word, it is called optical word recognition. This solution has limitations because there are virtually unlimited font and handwriting styles, and every single type cannot be captured and stored in the database.
Intelligent character recognition software
Modern OCR systems use intelligent character recognition (ICR) technology to read the text in the same way humans do. They use advanced methods that train machines to behave like humans by using machine learning software. A machine learning system called a neural network analyzes the text over many levels, processing the image repeatedly. It looks for different image attributes, such as curves, lines, intersections, and loops, and combines the results of all these different levels of analysis to get the final result. Even though ICR typically processes the images one character at a time, the process is fast, with results obtained in seconds.
Intelligent word recognition
Intelligent word recognition systems work on the same principles as ICR, but process whole word images instead of preprocessing the images into characters.
Optical mark recognition
Optical mark recognition identifies logos, watermarks, and other text symbols in a document.
What are the benefits of OCR?
The following are major benefits of OCR technology:
1. Easy Conversion of Paper to Searchable data
OCR system is capable of converting paper documents which in turn saves time and money with on-site and off-site storage. Through OCR, we can digitize all our corporate papers. This corporate content can be in the form of mail, fax, email, etc. After its conversion, a user can utilize the search feature to find the data quickly.
2. Removal of Erroneous Data
Data Entry tasks take a lot of time and money, still, there is no surety that the data will have no errors. OCR systems quickly capture the correct information. Do you know what is the best part? It doesn’t need to check or re-check to ensure that the information entered is correct. And by quality data management system, you can ensure that transactions are accurate and detrimental are mitigated.
3. Enhances Document Processing Speed
Not only does OCR benefit your company’s quality of information but it also increases the rate at which this information is routed throughout the workload to complete the corresponding transaction. It makes the process of data entry more efficient by eliminating manual entry and digitizing information for instant recall. However, it does not stop there. Another advantage of Optical Character Recognition is scalable batch processing technologies that prevent your volume of invoices from overwhelming your processors.
4. Touchless Processing
Straight-through processing, or “touchless processing,” allows your company to process invoices without any human intervention — unless the system flags an exception. That’s right. OCR is the key to Business Process Automation., serving as the conduit for data to be automated in the first place.
5. Improving Interaction with the Customer
Several inbound contact centers often provide information that their customers seek. While some call centers provide customers with the information they need, others will have to quickly access certain personal or order-related information of the customers to process their requests. Quick data accessibility becomes extremely important in such cases. OCR helps in systematically storing and retrieving the documents digitally at blazing speeds. With this, the waiting time is drastically reduced for the customers, thereby improving their experience.
6. Helps in Easily Editing of Documents
After scanning corporate documents, they need to be edited. Especially, when some information must be updated. OCR helps conversion of data to any preferred formats such as Microsoft Word. Further, this form of the document can be easily edited.
Who Can Leverage OCR?
Any firms and enterprises planning to do away with paper documents can leverage OCR data entry. OCR can also be used to transfer important documents to tablets, computers, smartphones, etc. Right from businesses in banking, mortgage, and financial sectors to those in legal, payroll, and healthcare sectors anyone can leverage this tool. Outsourcing OCR based data entry services to a reliable partner can help you save huge costs and valuable time. Some documents which are extensively being digitized include, but not limited to –
- Invoices
- Industry articles
- Tax documents
- Payroll information
- Legal filings
- Contact information
- Business cards and fliers
- Financial investments