Pros: If you have a custom system or one that can easily integrate with web services, I recommend DocConverter and the REST interface. It is very good at retaining the Office format of documents, converting them into PDF. Performance is good, uptime is very good. Our application server has PDF commands for bursting, appending, deleting pages, etc. so we don't rely fully on DocConverter. But it has all those commands and then some if you need a solution that includes all of the features you could want in paperless workflow systems.
Cons: In the past we have had the server give us strange errors and support always had us re-install. Initially each one of those episodes caused lots of other issues. Now, we have the reinstall documented and it is very reliable. But to make things even better, we have not (knock on wood) had a need to re-install for over a year. I think this latest product with the web service interface is really solid.
Overall: We have a custom Transportation Management System (TMS). I have eliminated many of the file cabinets in the company and replaced with paperless processes. One example is Order Faxes. Customers email or fax us documents which then appear to an order entry clerk on a dual screen system. They enter the orders and the 'fax' is attached to the order. This gives everyone visibility to that initial document and eliminated the filing aspect. Many of the emailed documents are Word, Excel and HTML. DocConverter does a great job of transforming them into PDF. We also use DocConverter to compress PDFS by using different conversion settings to reduce their size. We have truckers sending us electronic POD PDFs that are huge.
Vendor Response
by ActivePDF on March 26, 2019
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and comments on DocConverter. Your feedback is beyond valuable and drives future product improvements across the board.
Kind Regards,
ActivePDF
Paper hasn't gone away. You've probably noticed that even in the digital era you still have stacks of hard-copy printouts, books, magazines, newspaper clippings, invoices, bills, and other paper that you have to search through by hand, one page at a time. Or you need to get an old essay that you typed or printed years ago into digital format, and you're dreading retyping it. This is where OCR (Optical Character Reading) software becomes more of a necessity than a luxury. OCR creates searchable, editable text from printed documents—and also from photos of printed documents, or PDFs made from scanning old books and papers. The more paper documents you have, the more you need OCR.
When to OCR
You use OCR for two basic functions: archiving documents or repurposing documents. For archiving, you'll typically feed your documents (receipts, business cards, handouts, or anything else) into your scanner and let your OCR software create searchable PDF files that show a scanned image of the original document but also contain—hidden underneath the scanned image—text that you can copy from the PDF and paste into other applications, or that you can search for when you need to find the original.
For repurposing, OCR typically converts a printed table into an Excel spreadsheet, or an old book either into a PDF with searchable text hidden under the page images or into a word-processing document that you can edit and reuse. High-powered OCR software can also convert printed text into HTML files that anyone can view in a browser.
Choosing OCR Software
When you choose an OCR app, you'll want to decide whether you want it to run automatically, interactively, or a combination of both. When an OCR app runs automatically, all you do is click a button, walk away, and come back to find your output files already created. When it runs interactively, you typically use image-enhancement tools to straighten or sharpen an image, layout tools to block out parts of a page that you don't want in the output, and then a proofreading tool to correct any misreadings by the software. With most apps, you can choose between automation and interaction by giving you a set of interactive tools and letting you decide which ones to use. But read or reviews to see how much freedom of choice you get with each individual app.
Behind the Scenes
Pdf Ocr Software Reviews
Behind the interface of every OCR app is built on a character-recognition engine that does the grunt work of converting images into text. The fanciest interface can't make up for the limits of a recognition engine that isn't consistently accurate—and it's no accident that our Editors' Choice products have the strongest available recognition engines.
Featured OCR Software Reviews:
ABBYY FineReader 11 Review
MSRP: $280.00Pros: Powerful, flexible OCR software, smoothly automated for high-volume and hands-off operations, with precision correction tools for difficult tasks. The superb Verification tool makes it easy to correct doubtful readings by comparing OCR text to the original.
Cons: Some advanced options menus could use better explanations.
Bottom Line: The highest-power OCR software on the market, indispensable for anyone who needs fast, accurate text-recognition.
Read ReviewABBYY FineReader Express Edition for Mac Review
MSRP: $99.99Pros: The most accurate OCR engine available, in the simplest possible OCR interface. One-click conversion of scanned images or image files into text, worksheet, HTML, or searchable PDF output.
Cons: No editor inside the app for correcting OCR errors or adjusting images. No support for scanners connected through a wireless network.
Bottom Line: Despite the lack of a built-in editor or image-correction tools, still the best OCR available on the Mac.
Read ReviewAbbyy FineReader Touch (for iPhone) Review
MSRP: $2.99Pros: Lets you image documents and save them to searchable, editable form. Converts saved documents as well. Good overall OCR quality.
Cons: Only for recent iPhones, iPads, and iPods touch. Good OCR quality requires good lighting and document positioning.
Bottom Line: Abbyy FineReader Touch (for iPhone) lets you image documents with an iPhone and save them through the cloud to searchable, editable text.
Read ReviewOmniPage Ultimate Review
MSRP: $499.99Pros: Powerful OCR software with fine-tuned automation for high-volume corporate OCR tasks. Interface includes direct input from Dropbox, SharePoint, and other cloud services. Excellent text-to-speech module.
Cons: Confusing and inconsistent interface.
Bottom Line: Exceptionally high-powered OCR, with a seemingly unlimited range of features, but with a flawed interface.
Read ReviewPrizmo (for Mac) Review
MSRP: $49.95Pros: Flexible, up-to-date app. OCR for photos or scanned images. Captures photos taken from an iPhone or iPod connected to a Mac. Many options for image adjustments. Can extract text from images in any OS X app.
Cons: Comparatively weak OCR engine. Slightly overcomplex and underdocumented workflow.
Bottom Line: Prizmo is a terrific app for performing OCR on iPhone photos, but it has a far less effective OCR engine than ABBYY FineReader Express.
Read Review