Introduction
Businesses have to deal with different types of documents on a regular basis. Although most textual files are available in a clickable text format, sometimes they receive information presented in an image format such as the digital scans of invoices, bank statements, etc.
Businesses can get several benefits by converting such text images into editable text files. With the latest developments in OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, it has become easy to perform image-to-text conversions with the greatest accuracy.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the top 5 advantages that businesses can gain by using image-to-text conversion in business documents.
Benefits of Using Image-to-Text Conversion
Improved Searchability
One of the biggest drawbacks of keeping image-based documents is that computers can’t search the content structured within images. This makes it hard to search the relevant information in business documents.
By converting text images into editable text documents, businesses can counter this problem of searchability.
For instance, if your business usually refers to old proposals, reports, or contracts as reference material, and the majority of these documents are saved as digital scans, you can turn them into searchable text by running them through an OCR-powered tool like imagetotext.io.
Instead of manually going through each document, employees can find relevant documents through specific names, phrases, or details. This will also save a lot of time that can be spent on other things that matter the most.
Better Accessibility
Apart from improving searchability, converting text images into machine-readable text files will also increase accessibility. Business data can easily be accessed and converted into other formats.
People associated with the business can access all relevant documents anywhere and anytime. Having all the information at your disposal is crucial for seamless business operations.
Also, editable text files can easily be used to make the data accessible to people with visual impairments or language barriers. The text-to-speech software can help vocalize written text for such people. This will ultimately contribute to strengthening equity, compliance, diversity, and accessibility standards.
Simplified Editing
Transforming images into text allows the content to be edited easily. Businesses can update documents effortlessly, something not possible with text images. This makes it easy for teams to modify and make edits in any document.
For example, if your company needs to update your brochures that were created in an image format instead of text, you can convert them into text files through OCR technology to make edits.
When the content is available in clickable and editable format, it is easier for teams to suggest new updates or perform last-minute changes. Simplified editing helps ensure that documents stay responsive to varying business needs.
Enhanced Data Security
Data security is crucial for a business. Every company spends a significant amount of money to keep their business data safe and secure.
Multimedia files such as images are more prone to file corruption than plain text files. When you have data preserved in an image format, the chances of it being damaged are usually higher.
So, by switching from images to text files, businesses can improve their data security and reduce data loss risks to an extent.
Increased Efficiency and Reduced Labor Costs
Optical Character Recognition technology can turn images into editable text in the blink of an eye with the greatest accuracy. So, when you have an OCR-powered solution on your side, you spend less on managing and extracting text from images.
This ultimately increases productivity and cuts back on operational costs, allowing you to spend the saved money on more strategic initiatives.
Final Words
Using image-to-text conversion can offer businesses a lot of benefits such as better accessibility, improved searchability, solid data security, simplified editing, increased productivity, and reduced labor costs. Businesses can spend that saved time and money on other things that matter the most.
FAQs
What Image Formats Can Be Converted Through OCR?
An OCR-powered tool such as imagetotext.io can extract text from all popular types of image formats such as GIF, PNG, JPEG, JPG, PDF, etc. So, with OCR technology, you can convert any image into editable text.
What is the Accuracy Rate of OCR Technology?
The latest OCR systems can achieve around 95% accuracy for printed and typed text documents. However, the accuracy can be lower for blurry and handwritten text photos. The text extraction efficiency can also vary from one OCR tool to another.
Is Using OCR Technology Safe for Text Extraction?
OCR technology is safe and doesn’t pose any privacy or security threats when employed for text extraction. The technology identifies and extracts text only; it doesn’t store or share this information with any 3rd party apps.
