Word, OCR and Epson 1250 Scanner

[epigram]

I've got an Epson Perfection 1250 and I need to scan some text documents and
then edit them in Word. I downloaded the Windows XP drivers for this, but
couldn't find any actual software that I would use to scan documents. I can
use, what appears to be, the built-in support XP has for scanners, but I can
only scan to image files basically. I really need a way to scan using OCR
to create text files that I can edit (e.g. in Word 97). Any ideas how to do
this, or do I have to go buy software to accomplish my goal?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

[lostinspace]

----- Original Message -----
From: "epigram" <>
Newsgroups:
microsoft.public.word,microsoft.public.word.docmanagement,microsoft.public.word.general
Sent: Tuesday, March 29, 2005 5:51 PM
Subject: Word, OCR and Epson 1250 Scanner

I've got an Epson Perfection 1250 and I need to scan some text documents
and then edit them in Word. I downloaded the Windows XP drivers for this,
but couldn't find any actual software that I would use to scan documents.
I can use, what appears to be, the built-in support XP has for scanners,
but I can only scan to image files basically. I really need a way to scan
using OCR to create text files that I can edit (e.g. in Word 97). Any
ideas how to do this, or do I have to go buy software to accomplish my
goal?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

"Most" scanners, (including your Epson) come with their own OCR software
http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/ProductQuickSpec.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oid=6464128&category=

As a rule, Word will not allow the integration of the scanning software from
most scanners.
WordPad however, will work just fine.
Open WirdPad and under FILE,
select ACQUIRE.
Scan and OCR your text, then save as RTF.
Close WordPad, Open Word and contiue as your desire.

 

[Graham Mayor]

If your scanner did not come with an OCR software option, you will have to
add one, which means buying software. OCR is quite a challenge for software
so the perfect OCR product doesn't exist. Finereader is as good as it gets.
With lesser products, you would probably be best advised to scan as plain
text and re-edit in Word.

--
<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>
Graham Mayor - Word MVP

My web site www.gmayor.com

<>>< ><<> ><<> <>>< ><<> <>>< <>><<>

 

[lostinspace]

"f your scanner did not come with an OCR software"

Hey Graham,
I've had three scanners (one even ran on DOS) over as
twelve year period. NONE came without OCR software.

The problem with all these scanner inquiries is that Word fails to accept
or recognize the scanners OCR software. Word97 did not have this problem and
installed the OCR option from two of the previous scanners. Word2000 would
NOT install either of the two latest scanner OCR options.

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

I don't know what OCR software came with my HP scanner. I found it
surprisingly accurate (at the editable flowed text setting), but I
apparently have to direct the output to WordPad and then paste into Word.
<sigh>

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[lostinspace]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Suzanne S. Barnhill" <>
Newsgroups: microsoft.public.word.docmanagement
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 9:11 AM
Subject: Re: Word, OCR and Epson 1250 Scanner

I don't know what OCR software came with my HP scanner. I found it
surprisingly accurate (at the editable flowed text setting), but I
apparently have to direct the output to WordPad and then paste into Word.
<sigh>

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup
so
all may benefit.

Hey Suzanne,
Scanning a bit off-topic for this Word NG, however
there are so many scanning inquires as to how Word users are looking for
editable text in their scans rather than the "images that Word accepts",
some discussion and links are loooonnnngggg overdue.

I'm not sure how many articles and documents that I've scanned? It easily
exceeds 10,000.
My most recent scanner a $50 purchase and works just fine. Omnipage 9.0 came
with this scanner and I find it quite effective.

I have found that regular cleaning of the glass on both sides (even when
brand new there was a foggy residue on the underside of the glass) make
OCRing more effective.
The quality of the paper you are scanning determines effective OCR as well.
I've found on some bad quality and older papers that if you go to an office
supply that had good quality copy machines and make photo copies, than your
scans are more effective than from the older originals.

There has been a really good website about scanning that has existed for at
least eight years:
http://www.scantips.com/
http://www.scantips.com/basics04.html
http://www.scantips.com/basics4c.html

Wayne Fulton has done a superb job in providing assitance for others.
There is also a good NG for scanning, where folks are quite experienced.


comp.periphs.scanners

Those archives may be viewed at
http://groups-beta.google.com/group/comp.periphs.scanners

 

[Suzanne S. Barnhill]

Thanks for the reminder about ScanTips, which I haven't looked at in
years--probably need to again now that I'm more experienced in scanning. My
first experience with OCR (with my first scanner and some "lite" version of
OmniPage IIRC) was so ludicrous that I never tried again (I'm a very fast
typist). I have definitely found, though, that photocopying can often
improve the accuracy of scanned images, some of which don't show up at all
when you try to scan the original (especially if it has a colored
background). The fogging under the glass bothers me but so far hasn't seemed
to make much difference in the quality of the scanned image, so I haven't
gotten around to doing anything about it.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA

Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

 

[lostinspace]

"The fogging under the glass bothers me"

It should )
The fogging residue is actually caused by the decomposition of the plastic
case )

 

[Rob graham]

I've got an Epson Perfection 1250 and I need to scan some text documents
and then edit them in Word. I downloaded the Windows XP drivers for this,
but couldn't find any actual software that I would use to scan documents.
I can use, what appears to be, the built-in support XP has for scanners,
but I can only scan to image files basically. I really need a way to scan
using OCR to create text files that I can edit (e.g. in Word 97). Any
ideas how to do this, or do I have to go buy software to accomplish my
goal?

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks!

The scanner should have its own software, which will probably include Abby
OCR. Doesn't yours? There should be a disk.

Rob Graham

 

[Guest]

If your scanner did not come with an OCR software option, you
will have to add one, which means buying software. OCR is quite
a challenge for software so the perfect OCR product doesn't
exist. Finereader is as good as it gets. With lesser products,
you would probably be best advised to scan as plain text and
re-edit in Word.

Correct

 

[mpt]

This fellow says OCR capability is included with the scanner.

Reviewer: Lee Hower (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my
reviews
I'm quite pleased with the Epson 1250, I've primarily used the scanner for
archiving old photos. For a scanner (in that price range), it provides
excellent image quality at 1200x2400 dpi. Setup w/ Epson software and USB
connection was a breeze, literally taking about a minute. The included
software is quite good for most beginner to intermediate users. In addition
to TWAIN capture software it includes OCR capability (text recognition), an
image editor, and web picture hosting. More advanced users will make better
use of Photoshop and other software, but you still can't beat the scan
quality at this price point. Also, hardware seems to be fairly rugged and
the scanner has small footprint and very slim profile. I compared various
scanners in a retail store, the only ones that have a slimmer profile are
the Canon CanoScan models (which cost about twice as much for 1200x2400 scan
resolution).

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005M25A/002-0907174-8917605?v=glance