Efficient scanning is vital in modern business and a pillar of digitization, where time is money. And no member of any organization on the planet has the time to manually enter every physical document produced over the course of a week, much less years.

OCR technology provides a streamlined, one-touch scanning experience that saves valuable time. With top-quality scans that optimize every pixel for optimum readability. 

No more mistakes. No more lost information. No more papercuts. 

With OCR, businesses can securely access their scanned documents from anywhere. However, the most impressive feature of OCR technology is its ability to transform scanned documents into searchable, navigable data treasure troves in digital format. 

This feature enables users to retrieve specific information instantly, regardless of document size or complexity. But how does OCR work? This blog will explore the ins and outs of one of the most important solutions you can add to your tech stack. 

What is OCR?

OCR is the electronic or mechanical conversion of images of typed, handwritten, or printed text into machine-encoded text. This technology utilizes automated data extraction to convert images of text into a machine-readable format quickly. 

OCR programs extract and repurpose data from various sources, such as scanned documents, camera images, and image-only PDFs. OCR enables users to access, edit, and utilize the original content efficiently by singling out letters on the image and translating them into words and sentences.

How does OCR work?

Imagine a digital assistant that effortlessly converts physical documents into editable digital text. It’s like having a scanner and translator all rolled into one convenient state-of-the-art package.

With OCR, manual data entry nightmares become a thing of the past, its intelligent algorithms can swiftly analyze and transform images of text with impressive accuracy.

But OCR isn’t just limited to your desk. It can be used as software, an API, or even a web service. This flexibility allows businesses to seamlessly integrate OCR into their existing workflows, enhancing efficiency and automating tasks that used to consume valuable time and resources.

So, how does OCR work exactly?

Image Pre-Processing:

OCR technology transforms physical documents into digital images, enhancing them for accuracy. This includes aligning the document, reducing noise, and converting the image to black and white to isolate the text.

Character Recognition:

Using AI and machine learning, OCR software examines patterns of pixels to recognize characters. It employs methods like pattern recognition and feature extraction to identify text accurately.

Post-Processing:

After character recognition, OCR software refines the output for accuracy, correcting errors based on context and using a built-in dictionary to match recognized words to known ones.

The Benefits of OCR for Businesses

How does OCR work to establish itself as an invaluable tool for businesses? It streamlines document processing, improves operational efficiency, and supports sustainable practices and document management. 

These are the reasons it has become so fundamental to digitization efforts in every industry across every continent.

Time and Cost Efficiency

OCR automates the data entry process, reducing the time and effort required to digitize documents. This efficiency minimizes human errors, resulting in more accurate data entry and processing and, consequently, lower labor costs.

Improved Document Accessibility and Searchability

Digital documents created through OCR are easily searchable, facilitating quicker access to specific information within documents. This feature is particularly advantageous for businesses managing large volumes of paperwork, significantly boosting decision-making and productivity.

Enhanced Workflow and Collaboration

How does OCR work with other software applications and cloud services? It seamlessly simplifies document workflows and enables easy document organization, classification, indexing, and retrieval. Digital documents can be easily shared and edited by multiple users simultaneously, improving overall productivity.

Compliance and Security

OCR is all about digitizing, storing, and indexing documents correctly while simplifying compliance with document retention and data protection regulations. Digital documents can be encrypted and secured, reducing the risk of unauthorized access and data breaches.

Environmental Benefits

Deploying digital documentation using OCR reduces the need for physical document storage and printing, supporting sustainability initiatives and reducing environmental impact.

Different Types of OCR

How does OCR work in terms of its complexity? When it comes to OCR programs, there are four types, each offering increasing levels of sophistication to cater to diverse document needs:

Simple OCR: This type relies on character-by-character pattern-matching. Scanned characters are compared to stored glyphs, allowing for basic recognition. However, its suitability is limited due to the vast range of font and language combinations.

Optical mark recognition (OMR): OMR is specifically designed to identify marks such as checked boxes, bubbles in surveys, signatures, logos, symbols, and watermarks. It achieves this by matching scanned images to stored reference images.

Intelligent character recognition (ICR): With the power of AI, ICR takes OCR to the next level. The OCR program learns to read text like humans by utilizing machine learning or deep learning techniques. It repetitively reviews text, identifying distinctive attributes such as the locations of curves, intersections, lines, and loops.

Intelligent word recognition: This represents the evolution of ICR. Here, AI has been further trained to recognize complete words within a single image, resulting in lightning-fast recognition capabilities.

Use Cases for Sanad.ai’s OCR solution

With our cutting-edge technology, we enable efficient Arabic-first document understanding for a host of industries and have delivered exceptional accuracy and speed to our GCC clients. 

Simplify invoice processing, enhance procurement workflows, streamline ID card verification, and automate data capture for trade licenses. 

Sanad.ai’s OCR solution provides outstanding accuracy and efficiency, revolutionizing document management and optimizing business operations. So, how does OCR work to transform your organization and bring operational excellence? 

Let’s take a look at Sanad.ai’s use cases:

Accounting

At Sanad.ai, we understand the importance of maintaining complete control over your financials. That’s why we offer outstanding business data capture capabilities that empower you to capture and process crucial financial information effortlessly.

Invoice Processing: 

• Unlock vital insights into your profits, performance, and financial journey with Sanad.ai’s automated invoice handling powered by machine learning (ML) and OCR. 

• Achieve unparalleled data comprehension from invoices with integrated robust business intelligence (BI) capabilities, enabling comprehensive analysis and statistical operations. 

• Automated revenue calculation, tax estimation, and customer ranking based on profit gains. 

• Gain a deeper understanding of your financials, forecast future growth, and make well-informed decisions.

Purchase Orders:

• Transform your procurement processes by enhancing data capture from purchase orders (POs) and seamlessly integrating with third-party apps, such as UI Path. 

• Sanad.ai’s automated PO processing efficiently captures all vital information and directly integrates with UI Path for streamlined handling.

• Leverage our Arabic image-to-text converter to simplify and expedite your procurement workflow with automated data capture.

• Reduce manual efforts, enhance accuracy, and foster vendor relationships to optimize your procurement process and drive efficiency within your organization.

Receipt OCR:

• How does OCR work in receipt processing? By delivering exceptional data extraction capabilities, it accelerates receipt management and offers frictionless accounting.

• Adds speed and efficiency to your operations, allowing you to instantly extract and parse data from your receipts without the need for time-consuming manual capture in both English and Arabic. 

• With our no-code receipt and invoice scanning software, achieving error-free bookkeeping across any industry is just a few clicks away.

ID Card Extraction

How does OCR work to optimize data extraction from ID cards? Thanks to our cutting-edge OCR ID scanner, extracting data from ID cards has never been easier. In just seconds, you can capture and store essential information like names, dates of birth, and ID numbers.

This technology has countless applications, from ID verification to onboarding, access control, and insurance validation. Import, process, and export data effortlessly to simplify your processes.

ID Card Verification:

• Our OCR data capture software sets the standard for automating ID card data capture, ensuring the optimization of onboarding and verification processes. 

• It excels in capturing and extracting ID cardholder information with unparalleled precision from various sources, including scanned cards, documents, and emails.

• Exceptionally efficient linkage of each transaction with the cardholder’s name and ID. 

Passport OCR (GCC):

• Our advanced NLP ensures accurate and efficient conversion of GCC and English-speaking passport information into searchable, usable data within seconds. 

• This technology allows extracted data to be readily stored and accessed digitally when required. 

• By automating identity verification processes, Sanad.ai helps eliminate passport control delays, particularly in high-traffic areas such as airports, border posts, and immigration departments.

Trade License Data Capture:

• Integrating Sanad.ai’s data capture OCR into your system offers you the added advantage of real-time alerts when a license is nearing its expiration date. 

• This proactive feature enables you to take timely action to ensure compliance and avoid disruptions.

• Our advanced AI technology eliminates the need for manual entry when capturing information from trade licenses. 

• By training Sanad.ai’s ML technology, you can effortlessly extract crucial details such as issue dates, expiry dates, license numbers, and company names.

Take Your Data Extraction into the Future With Sanad.ai’s Arabic-first Document Understanding 

Sanad.ai delivers exceptional accuracy and insights to businesses across diverse industries with our AI-powered decision tools to optimize your decision-making process through the power of automation.

Driven by our mission to revolutionize how GCC businesses capture and leverage their data, we aspire to be the leading Arabic Document Understanding platform.

Experience the future of data capture with Sanad.ai today and unlock your business’s full potential. Contact us now or try for free and discover how we can drive your growth forward.