OCR Text Extraction Explained: From Process to Function

As you can see, Optical Character Recognition, often known by OCR, is a technology that evolves pretty fast and is used globally by many companies, including in Southeast Asia. One of its popular purposes is for extracting text or widely recognized by OCR Text Extraction. This article will explain the definition of OCR Text Extraction, how it works, and how it can elevate your business operations.
A Glimpse of OCR
Based on IBM, OCR is a technology that uses automated data extraction to quickly convert images of text into a machine-readable format. OCR is sometimes referred to as text recognition. An OCR program extracts and repurposes data from scanned documents, camera images and image-only PDFs. OCR software singles out letters on the image, puts them into words, and then puts the words into sentences, thus enabling access to and editing of the original content. It also eliminates the wasted effort of redundant manual data entry.
How OCR Text Extraction Works
OCR text extraction involves several key stages. Here’s a breakdown of the typical process:
- Input: The process begins with a digital image file (e.g., .bmp or .jpg) containing the text to be extracted.
- Preprocessing: Unnecessary parts of the image are removed or adjusted to improve accuracy in the next steps.
- Segmentation: The image is divided into sections to identify individual characters or lines of text.
- Normalization: The characters are resized and adjusted for consistent formatting, such as width, height, or line thickness.
- Feature Extraction: Unique characteristics of each character, such as shape or edge patterns, are analyzed.
- Recognition: These features are compared against a database to accurately identify and convert each character into digital text.
Before starting, it’s important to define the type of text that needs to be extracted. Identifying the category and characteristics of the target text allows the system to perform more accurately and efficiently.
Real-World Applications of OCR in Business
OCR technology is transforming industries across the board. One of the most impactful areas is customer service. For example, OCR can be used to process incoming support tickets by scanning for keywords in customer complaints. Once identified, automated systems such as chatbots can provide immediate responses tailored to the issue. If the issue is unresolved, it can be escalated with a unique ticket ID to a customer service agent for direct handling.
OCR is also widely used in identity verification. When users submit a photo of themselves holding an ID card, OCR can automatically extract key information such as name, date of birth, and city of residence. This speeds up the verification process, reduces manual input errors, and improves the user experience.
The Business Value of OCR
Implementing OCR text extraction in your business can lead to:
- Faster data processing
- Lower operational costs
- Improved customer satisfaction
- Enhanced accuracy and data quality
As the technology continues to advance, OCR is becoming an essential tool for businesses looking to modernize workflows and automate repetitive tasks.
Why Choose Verihubs for Your OCR Solutions?
OCR technology revolutionizes data entry, text editing, and document indexing for search engines across industries. By leveraging OCR, you can simplify data input processes while significantly reducing the risk of human error.
With Verihubs’ OCR-powered technology, you can optimize user registration by scanning and extracting information from legal documents, invoices, and also ID cards. The system automatically populates application forms quickly and with high accuracy. Contact us today to learn more!
