Hi Tmsbw,
May I start by saying thank you for putting your trust in our service.
Having quite a long experience as a computer graphic artist in various
publishing companies, I believe I can recommend to you the right tools
that you need to get the job done. I'll base my recommendations on
what I currently use and have used. However, I'll also give you other
brands that you can try based on one reliable source -- CNET Reviews.
I trust CNET for their reviews. Whenever I'm going to buy a computer
peripheral, I always try to base my decision from their reviews. For
ease of browsing, simply press the "Shift" key before clicking on a
link so it will open a new window or right-click on the link and
choose "Open in New Window" for your convenience.
With regards to the products, including the product description, etc.,
I'm in no way representing any product or company in this answer. The
material serve only to inform you and help you to make your decision.
Having said this, we can now continue on this matter.
In my experience, when scanning pages of text for OCR, the highest
resolution I've used so far is 1,200dpi for 4 points text. In actual
application, any scanner with a maximum of 2,400dpi scan resolution
will enable you to get the job done. 300dpi is generally a good
resolution to use, but you can even use lower resolutions for bigger
font sizes. Regarding compatibility with Agfa Scanwise, OCR programs
are directly related to the scanner output, not the scanner itself. So
if for example, you got a universally compatible type of scanner for
all OCR programs, if the output cannot be recognized by the OCR
program, you still won't able to accomplish your task.
It seems that there are only a few OCR software for the Mac OS. For
the software, I'd go for Omnipage Pro from ScanSoft, Inc. I've been
using this OCR tool since 1996 and I'm still satisfied with its
performance. Over the years, the software has improved particularly in
word and sentence recognition. If you're after accuracy, this is the
right tool for you. Check out the review so that you'll have an idea
of how good this product is:
CNET Networks, Inc. - ZDNet
OmniPage Pro 12.0 Office - Editor's Choice
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4505-3514_16-20442119.html
Omnipage is rated "Excellent" and it is. As with all software
products, nothing is perfect, it also has some shortcomings and that's
one thing you have to understand and consider. Omnipage has improved
over the years and is still improving. You can view the details for
the Mac version of Omnipage through this link:
OmniPage Pro X
http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/mac/
OmniPage Pro X
System Requirements
http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/mac/sysreqs.asp
Another good product to consider is ABBYY FineReader Professional. I
haven't tried this one yet but having seen the reviews at ZDNet, I
believe it's a fine product.
CNET Networks, Inc. - ZDNet
ABBYY FineReader Professional
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/4505-3514_16-20162658.html
Check out the product's website:
ABBYY Software House
ABBYY Fine Reader 5 Pro for Mac
http://www.abbyy.com/ocr_products.asp?param=1617&from=leftcom1
ABBYY Fine Reader 5 Pro for Mac
System Requirements
http://www.abbyy.com/ocr_products.asp?param=2232
Other products you can try:
Readiris Pro 9
(Please read product specifications - system requirements)
http://www.irislink.com/opt/uk/products/readiris/mac/index.html
AccuSoft Corporation
ImageGear Professional Edition - imaging Toolkit with OCR
http://www.accusoft.com/imaging/imagegear/igp_about.asp
Additional reading:
LowEndMac Reader
OCR Software for the Mac
http://www.lowendmac.com/misc/01/1127.html
You may find other OCR software for the Mac through the last link
below.
Search strategy:
Personal knowledge plus specific searches in CNET Networks, Inc.'s
ZDNet.com Reviews and specific product website searches.
mac ocr - in Google Web search
://www.google.com/search?num=100&hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&newwindow=1&safe=off&q=mac+ocr&btnG=Google+Search
I hope this helps you. Should you have any comments/questions, please
feel free to post your clarification before rating this and I'll
attend to you as soon as possible. Thanks for asking.
Best regards,
Feilong |
