Optical Character Recognition and OCR Fonts
Posted by Tom Graham on
Optical character recognition - OCR - is the mechanical or electronic conversion of scanned images of printed text into machine-encoded text. It is widely used as a form of data entry from original paper data source, whether documents, sales receipts, mail, or any number of printed records. It is a common method of digitizing printed texts so that they can be electronically searched and stored more compactly.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
- Converts scanned images of printed text into machine-encoded text
- Widely used as a form of data entry from original paper data source or printed records
Digital scanners cannot OCR a full page.
Digital scanners can read 6 to 60 point OCR typeface and support the following types of fonts only; other fonts are not supported:
OCR-A
OCR-B
MICR-E13B
US Currency Serial Number
OCR-A
In the early days of computer optical character recognition, there was a need for a font that could be recognized by the computers and humans. Uses simple, thick strokes to form recognizable characters. Commonly used in banking.
OCR-B
Created to get financial features used by banks. Includes all ASCII symbols, and other symbols included for the bank environment. Widely used for the human readable digits in UPC / EAN barcodes. Compared to OCR-A, easier for the human eye to read, looks less technical. Used in passports, books, etc.
