Key Benefits of Using an OCR API

When your workflow involves converting physical or digital documents into standardized, searchable and easy-to-archive PDF files, your choice of optical character recognition system will play a large part in determining how effective your company will be at reaching its document management goals. There is room to optimize every step of the process, from the accuracy of the text recognition algorithm to the way users call upon the OCR solution.

Picking an OCR tool with API support, such as Foxit’s Maestro Server OCR, is one way to pack maximum automation into document processing workflows. Users can automatically process image files as well as emails, and files created in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and more, turning them into PDF or PDF/A files and archiving them.

Widespread Need for Efficient OCR

Across industries and functions, companies today need to store their documents in PDFs, a consistent, secure, searchable and widely used format. Businesses in a range of industries need better and more efficient ways to create PDFs, whether they are a hospital storing health records as required by law, a financial firm digitizing mortgage paperwork or a dedicated scanning firm providing this service for its clients.

These organizations will each have their own preferences regarding the way documents are scanned, processed and stored. The common thread is that accuracy and speed are always valuable, with users needing to use the most effective possible OCR tool to get maximum value from their conversion processes.

Making accurate conversions typically means purchasing best-in-class OCR software, ensuring characters are interpreted correctly even in cases where inferior tools may have trouble reading the image files. The resulting PDFs should have machine-searchable text that correctly reflects the source documents with a high degree of accuracy, no matter the language or character set employed in the records.

With an API, companies can automate OCR and PDF conversion. Instead of manually opening a piece of software, feeding batches of scanned documents into the software and picking locations such as output directories, users with integrated OCR tools will simply see the results, getting on with their duties quickly and efficiently, and saving businesses money in the process.

But how can companies get that kind of integrated OCR functionality? While some companies may choose to create their own OCR tools independently, an organization may not have personnel, time or budget to do so. In these cases the simple option is to employ software such as Maestro Server OCR, taking advantage of the API support to seamlessly slip powerful OCR and document conversion abilities into day-to-day workflows.

Document Conversion Becomes Second Nature

Employees responsible for scanning large amounts of documents for archiving purposes can take steps out of their workflows when OCR and conversion features are integrated with the applications they use for scanning. The time savings add up, especially for organizations that must frequently scan new batches of documents for their archives as they are created or received. Each little step – choosing which image files to convert, picking an output format, choosing a directory – can be automated. The API will call the OCR tool and get the job done every time, turning text in the image into searchable characters in freshly created PDF files and placing them in a pre-specified location.

Scanning isn’t the only scenario where OCR and conversion can come in handy, as Maestro Server OCR isn’t just for image files based on physical documents. When employees have to archive the born-digital files they receive, it’s possible to add conversion and archiving into the workflow. Companies that desire archives of standardized PDF documents, easy to store and search, may make effective use of this functionality.

Help Your Clients or Your Company

Whether you are creating a document scanning workflow for a client firm or your own internal employee teams, the ability to seamlessly add Maestro Server OCR functionality is a major upgrade for the solutions in question. You gain an effective OCR solution that can recognize characters with a high degree of accuracy. With 118 languages supported and the ability to detect text in multiple directions and orientations, the software is valuable for companies of all kinds, whether the project in question involves converting a few old documents for archiving purposes or creating a legally mandated PDF version of every record the organization generates.

The resulting documents are fully text-searchable, enabling users to find exactly what they are looking for, even if the search term is a single word within a massive, multi-page document. Companies’ existing document processing workflows don’t have to change to use Maestro Server OCR. Software developers can harness the API support to make character recognition and conversion into near-invisible parts of scanning and archiving files, providing lasting value without slowing employees down or forcing them to perform unfamiliar tasks.

The created PDFs can be customized for advanced security or searchability. Whether that means creating metadata, generating headers and footers or using the PDF/A specification for legal compliance, the features are there for users to harness.

Companies of all kinds create PDFs from scanned and born-digital documents. Maestro Server OCR offers the ability to do so accurately and efficiently, saving employees valuable time while shoring up the bottom line.