OCR (Optical Character Recognition)

Data entry through Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is faster, more accurate and more efficient than keystroke data entry. Acme Data Services has the technology to cost-effectively and efficiently handle hand-held data collection. Save money by outsourcing bulk data entry to India. The information gathered can be formatted as an easily retrievable and usable business document, and stored in electronic form.

An example of OCR applications is remittance processing where data on utility bills or other turnaround documents needs to be collected and entered into a system. Some OCR scan lines may contain more than 40 characters and valuable information such as the date the bill is due, account number, amount owed, type of service, etc.

OCR Scanners
There are two categories of OCR scanners: Text Input and Data Capture.

Text input devices scan pages or large portions of documents: the data can be hand fed or automatically fed, read, sorted and stacked. Text input allows data to be edited after it is scanned.

Data Capture devices are designed to capture repetitive data and to format the data as it being entered. This data cannot be edited later.

Why OCR is used

• To reduce data entry errors
• To consolidate data entry
• To handle peak loads
• Human readable
• Can be used with many printing techniques

Opportunities

OCR can recover valuable information and format it in reusable form. Information can be gathered from old paper files, resumes and applications, forms, address labels, etc. India has the capability to handle such data entry, thus saving time and money.

OCR or bar code?
In applications which involve rough handling and harsh environments (like airline passenger luggage handling) bar codes are a better option than OCR but they require more space on a label or document. Inch for inch, OCR can hold 6 times more information than a standard bar code.