First Look: OCR Upgrade Fast but Not Foolproof

To transform printed documents into editable text, you need an optical character recognition (OCR) program. Though the basic apps that come with most scanners are fine for simple tasks, more complicated documents require a full-featured package like Iris's Readiris Pro 10. I found plenty of reasons to recommend this $130 app--packed with more features than version 9--for new users, but one aspect of its performance disappointed me somewhat.

I tested a shipping version of Readiris Pro 10 with the new Epson Perfection 4990 Photo scanner ($449 street) and found it both speedy and proficient at completing most, though not all, of the OCR tests I conducted.

The most notable improvement in Readiris Pro 10 is the addition of two new recognition engines: one for hand-printed text and the other for bar-code reading. The package also supports a wider variety of output formats, including WordML (the XML-based Microsoft Office format) and formats that most other word processors and Web browsers use.

The program features an easy, wizard-driven interface; extensive PDF support (both input and output); and Cardiris 3 LE for converting business cards into an electronic card file.

Handwriting Rec Disappoints

The big letdown was Readiris's new hand-printing recognition feature. Regrettably, various limitations within the software prohibited me from converting old handwritten notebooks into editable text files.

For example, Readiris can decipher only completely separated characters (block letters) and not continuous (or cursive) handwritten text where characters touch. That's not surprising, but I was disappointed to find that while the app can identify printed numerals and punctuation, it can't decipher lowercase letters (it works only on uppercase).

And even when I followed these rules, the results I got when applying Readiris to hand-printed text proved lackluster. For example, in one of its best test results, the accuracy rate was only about 88 percent--about 12 errors for every 100 characters.

Unfortunately, Readiris's interactive learning function, which you use to teach it new font information, didn't seem to work well with hand-printed text. That's likely because hand-printed letters can vary so widely, even when written by the same person.

Speedy Basic OCR

Aside from these limitations, Readiris's speed and accuracy in the standard OCR tests I conducted (including bar-code reading) were exemplary. For instance, Readiris took a scant 31 seconds to convert a scanned ten-page, single-spaced document into an editable text file.

In comparison, the $300 Abbyy FineReader 7 Professional Edition took about 43 seconds to convert the same document. I found that the two packages provided a markedly similar degree of accuracy, with very few errors per page.

Considering Readiris's easy interface and speedy OCR conversion, I'd recommend it to anyone who needs to convert all manner of typewritten or typeset documents into electronic versions. But I'd advise new users to lower their expectations about converting hand-printed notes into editable text, and not to consider that feature as a reason to purchase this product.

Iris Readiris Pro 10

Easy, proficient OCR for most documents; hand-printing recognition remains limited.
Street: $130
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