A Guide to Optical Character Recognition

🔍 What is OCR? A Guide to Optical Character Recognition

In today’s digital world, accessing information quickly is key — and that’s where OCR comes in. Whether you're scanning invoices, HR records, or historical archives, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the technology that transforms static scanned images into searchable, editable digital documents.

But what exactly is OCR, and how does it work?

Let’s break it down.

🧠 What Does OCR Stand For?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It’s a software technology that recognises text within digital images — such as scanned paper documents, PDFs, or photos — and converts it into machine-readable text.

Put simply, OCR makes your scanned files searchable, selectable, and useful.

⚙️ How Does OCR Work?

Here’s a simplified overview of the process:

  1. Scan or Photograph the Document
    The document is captured as an image — often in PDF or TIFF format.

  2. Image Processing
    OCR software enhances the image by removing noise, straightening text lines, and improving contrast.

  3. Text Recognition
    Using pattern recognition and AI, the software analyses the image and identifies shapes that match letters and numbers.

  4. Text Conversion
    The recognised characters are converted into text that can be searched, copied, indexed, and edited.

🖨️ What Types of Documents Can OCR Process?

OCR works on a wide variety of document types, including:

  • Invoices and receipts

  • Contracts and legal files

  • Medical records

  • Handwritten forms (with ICR technology)

  • Historical archives and books

  • Technical drawings (combined with metadata capture)

OCR is especially useful when digitising large volumes of archived documents — turning filing cabinets into fully searchable digital libraries.

💡 Benefits of OCR for Your Business

OCR offers several practical advantages:

✅ Searchability – Instantly find keywords, phrases, or reference numbers in multi-page files
✅ Space Saving – Replace paper archives with efficient digital storage
✅ Time Efficiency – No more manual searching through physical files
✅ Accessibility – Documents can be accessed from anywhere via cloud systems
✅ Compliance – Easier to meet GDPR and audit requirements with structured, searchable files
✅ Integration – OCR’d documents can be uploaded into systems like SharePoint, DocuWare, or your internal DMS

🧾 OCR vs Non-OCR Scanning: What’s the Difference?

Feature Non-OCR Scanning OCR Scanning
Searchable Text ❌ No ✅ Yes
Editable Content ❌ No ✅ Yes
Indexing Capability 🔍 Manual only 🔍 Automatic via metadata
Software Compatibility Basic image viewer only Integrates with document software
Ideal for Large Archives? 🚫 Limited use ✅ Highly recommended

🔐 Is OCR Secure?

Yes — when handled by a trusted scanning provider, OCR is fully secure. At Data Solutions Group, for example, we carry out OCR within a GDPR-compliant and ISO 27001-certified environment. Sensitive files like medical records or legal documents are processed with strict confidentiality and quality checks.

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📂 Real-World Example: NHS OCR Scanning in Manchester

We recently worked with an NHS trust in Greater Manchester to digitise thousands of patient records using OCR. By turning paper files into searchable PDFs, the hospital was able to:

  • Speed up patient data retrieval

  • Reduce physical storage needs

  • Improve information governance

🔗 Read the full NHS case study here

📥 Ready to Go Paperless?

At Data Solutions Group, we include OCR as standard with most scanning services. Whether you're looking to digitise financial records, school files, or legal archives, our team ensures your files are searchable, secure, and ready to use.

🎁 Ask about our free sample scanning offer to see OCR in action.

📞 Call 01625 400250
📩 Or get in touch with our team for a no-obligation quote