With rapid digitization of content today, including images, videos, and music, the need for converting image-based files such as PDFs to a digital format is also at an all-time high.

OCR or Optical Character Recognition is a technology that allows the electronic conversion of these files to editable text. Image-based files here refers to documents that have been scanned from different text-based sources (textbooks, magazines) and are usually saved in PDF format.

Table of Contents:

Top 7 PDF to OCR Conversion Service Providers

In this blog, we will look at the top 7 OCR readers to help you edit your scanned PDF file.

1. ABBYY FineReader

ABBYY FineReader is one of the best PDF to OCR conversion tools to make the process of extracting text from PDFs and other image-based files very simple.

Apart from PDF, the software can extract text from almost all kinds of popular image formats such as JPG, BMP, ePUB, RTF, PNG, and TIFF.

The following are some of the key features of the software –

  • The software analyzes the source file and automatically determines various sections of the file with the extractable text
  • It allows you to either have the complete text extracted or specific chosen sections
  • The software uses AI to improve character recognition while extracting texts from documents written in other languages
  • Other features include numerous font styles/sizes, extensive language support, and image correction tools for PDF files sourced from cameras and scanners
  • Available on Windows and MacOS

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Intuitive interface, robust features and functionality
  • Convert PDF and other document formats and make them searchable

Cons

  • Priced on the higher side
  • Strict licensing procedure

2. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC

Adobe Acrobat is an OCR system that allows you to convert scanned PDF files and other images into searchable or editable documents. One of the highlights of the software is that it provides custom fonts that look very similar to printouts. It is a full PDF ecosystem that works seamlessly on the web, desktop, and mobile apps.

Below are some of the key features of Adobe Acrobat –

  • Allows you to export your PDF files to Microsoft office
  • With Adobe Acrobat, you can edit any printed document instantly
  • The software enables you to easily cut and paste the text into other applications
  • It is an excellent tool that helps you to maintain the look and feel of documents similar to the original one

Pros

  • Allows cloud-based commenting and sharing
  • Features text indexing for quick searches
  • Offers full editing features in mobile apps

Cons

  • Lacks a few of the high-powered OCR proofreading tools found in other software

3. OmniPage Ultimate

OmniPage Ultimate is yet another professional PDF to OCR conversion software to convert your PDFs to digital files. The highlight of the software is its ability to accurately digitize PDFs, images, and documents while making them both editable and searchable.

The following are some of the key features of OmniPage Ultimate-

  • Supports a wide range of image formats, including JPG, PNG, TIFF, RTF, and more
  • Features the ability to detect the image layout and automatically rotate the document in the correct orientation
  • Allows you to schedule large volumes of PDF files for batch processing using an automation tool
  • The software can detect more than 120 languages and process images and documents accordingly
  • Supports various output file formats including PDF, DOC, PPT, HTML, ePUB, CDR, and more
  • Available on Windows

Pros

  • Great OCR capabilities
  • Comprehensive features
  • Offers custom workflows
  • Excellent accuracy
  • Text-to-speech features
  • Good at complex document reconstruction

Cons

  • Priced high

4. Ocr.Space

Ocr.Space is a great tool to help you get text from PDF files and also convert images containing text into an editable file format using OCR.

Below are some of the key features of Ocr.Space –

  • You can use the software to get an editable file into a multi-column text format
  • The tool enables you to choose a specific language for your document
  • Helps you to transform a screenshot of text documents
  • The software does not store your confidential data on the server

Pros

  • The software is free to use
  • Supports PDF, JPG, PNG, and GIF images or documents as input
  • The tool supports multi-page documents and multi-column text

Cons

  • Lacks some of the features
  • Unreliable accuracy

5. Amazon Textract

Launched by Amazon, Textract is a powerful OCR software for PDF to OCR conversion, which features a machine learning model and has been trained to use a massive volume of documents.

Given below are some of the key features of Textract –

  • The tool can automatically detect printed text from PDF files, images (JPG and PNG) and render it digitally with great accuracy
  • Apart from texts, the software can also extract numbers, tables, fields, and key values
  • The platform is available on Web, Windows, MacOS, and Linux

Pros

  • Provides AI capabilities along with OCR
  • Offers a pay-per-use billing model
  • No need to apply custom rules to extract relevant information

Cons

  • Only available through AWS and not as a desktop application
  • Accuracy is not very satisfactory

6. Softworks OCR

Softworks is a powerful OCR program that helps you to easily extract data from PDFs and images. It also enables you to minimize manual entry and offers an automated solution for your business.

Given below are some of the key features of Softworks OCR –

  • Accepts numerous input sources and helps you to improve the quality of scanned documents
  • The tool can easily detect existing layers of texts within an image or document
  • Softworks OCR uses a powerful computer vision algorithm to analyze the processed page

Pros

  • Comprehensive features
  • Easy to use
  • Intuitive interface

Cons

  • Accuracy isn’t entirely reliable

7. Readiris

Readiris is a professional application for PDF to OCR conversion with an extensive set of features.

Some of the features are listed below –

  • Supports a range of formats, including BMP, PNG, PCX, and TIFF
  • The tool can source images from scanner devices and lets you set custom processing parameters to source PDF files/images such as DPI adjustment before analyzing them
  • Features Readiris Pro’s cloud saving that lets you directly save your extracted PDF or text to different cloud storage services like Dropbox, Google Drive, and more
  • There are various text editing/processing features, including barcode scanning
  • Platform available on Windows and MacOS

Pros

  • Slick and modern UI
  • Easy to learn and use
  • Range of options for scanning PDF and various other types of documents

Cons

  • Tiered pricing
  • Limited features as compared to other products

To conclude

The above list of PDF to OCR conversion software allows you to get all these advantages, irrespective of how basic or advanced your text extraction needs are.

Apart from simply reading the fonts from digitally captured images or scanned documents, OCR technology can do a lot more. It can turn images into graphics, recognize line breaks in the document, allow you to search the text by keyword, and much more. The best part is that the process is quite simple and takes just a few seconds.

Whether you’re a publisher or an enterprise dealing with the need for digitizing content, you require some powerful OCR software for digital replication. Hurix can help you convert your PDF files into an editable document using OCR technology. Get in touch with us today.