Better OCR

What is Better OCR?

Better OCR turns image files (such as pages you scanned, or PDFs) into text files that you can edit in a word processor. First we use optical recognition software to convert the page images to text. Then, we employ human proofreaders to compare the OCR'd text against your original, providing far more accurate results than any other OCR tool.

How does it work?

First fill out the form. Be sure to include your valid e-mail address and carefully type the Confirmation Code to prove you're human. Select the image file on your computer that you want to extract the text from, and select the level of service that best suits your needs. You can upload more files for the same project after your first file has been uploaded.

You will receive an email when your entire order has been proofread, or you can check your status page to approve each page as soon as it's been proofread. If you are unsatisfied with the results of any page, reject it in the status screen, and we will send it back to be proofread again.

Remember to check and approve your OCR project. If you don't approve or reject pages within 7 days, they will automatically approved.

Didn't you used to have a free OCR service?

Better OCR provides plain text from your images. You can open it in a word processor to add formatting, or an HTML editor to turn it into a web page, etc.

Our proofreaders are instructed to leave a blank line between paragraphs, and to separate different sections (such as the start of a new article in the same page) with ***

An [image] tag will mark the positions of images in the document, with any captions or readable text in the image following the tag.

Most importantly, the proofread result will not contain any arbitrary line-breaks from its original columns, which means you can easily reformat the result to fit any column width.

What's the difference between Budget OCR and Better OCR?

With both Better OCR and Budget OCR, a human editor will proofread and correct any errors from the OCR software. Furthermore, the results are only final when you give your approval, which means you don't have to settle for anything that you aren't happy with.

Budget OCR typically delivers results within 2 days, at the price of $0.87 per page. For faster turnaround, use the Better OCR service at the price of $1.38 per page. Better OCR has an even higher accuracy guarantee, and usually delivers results in under 24 hours.

What kind of files can be used?

Better OCR works with a wide array of image formats, including: PDF, JPG, PNG, TIFF, BMP, and GIF. You may also combine multiple files into a zip file for quicker and easier upload. Please note that the upload will fail if your file exceeds the size limit of 500 MB.

How can I get the best results?

Images with an upright orientation and at 150 to 200 DPI usually yield the best results. Make sure the letters aren't too small for even human eyes, and the text is not faded to the point of being unreadable.

For how long will my results be saved?

Your results will be kept for a month after order completion. The original image files from your upload will be deleted from our server a week after the order is complete.

What's your privacy policy?

We hate junk e-mail, and will absolutely not send any unsolicited e-mail. We will send transactional email such as OCR order status messages. BetterOCR will not share your information, nor the content of your order with marketers or anyone else, unless compelled to do so by court order.