[nfbmi-talk] FW: [Chapter-presidents] OCR SOFTWARE

Sat Feb 1 06:25:07 UTC 2014

From: Chapter-presidents [mailto:chapter-presidents-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of NFB Huntington Chapter
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 5:20 PM
To: NFB Chapter Presidents discussion list
Subject: Re: [Chapter-presidents] OCR SOFTWARE

Just goes to show exactly why we have the National Federation of the Blind.
Joy, thanks for that useful up-to-date info. Your perspective of using the
software for study and as a student is especially interesting.

Brad Hodges
On 1/31/2014 1:37 PM, Joy Relton wrote:

Bob and Brad,

I remember when you wrote the article Brad and you did a thorough in-depth
analysis of the two programs at that time. I am a user of Kurzweil 1000,
although I have not been an active user for a couple of years. I can tell
you though that Kurzweil handles PDFs quite nicely. You simply go to the
"open file item on the menu and point to the document and press "Enter". My
experience is that it works very well. Also the user interface and the help
has been changed and  is, I think a bit more user friendly than it once was.
I haven't used OpenBook for a long time but, I'd be surprised if they don't
have a similar function. What I like about Kurzweil is that you have the
ability to create notes, as well as put in bookmarks and create an outline
based on your markup. This makes it, I believe a good tool to use for
studying and researching. I believe that both products also have the ability
to search online for materials to download and read, but I'm more familiar
with Kurzweil, again, on that issue. Check out the ability to download a
free trial and give them both a drive around the block and kick their tires.
Then, decide for yourself what works best for you. Both companies have good
technical support so you can call and obtain assistance if needed. I know
nothing about the third program of which you spoke. So, please share it with
us once you've completed your investigations. 

Happy searching!

Joy

From: Chapter-presidents [mailto:chapter-presidents-bounces at nfbnet.org] On
Behalf Of NFB Huntington Chapter
Sent: Friday, January 31, 2014 12:54 PM
To: NFB Chapter Presidents discussion list
Subject: Re: [Chapter-presidents] OCR SOFTWARE

Bob:

Several years ago I conducted comparisons of Open Book and Kurzweil 1000. I
authored and published the article summarizing that research in Access
World, found at www.afb.org. I also suggest you include Docuscan Plus from
Serotek in any serious investigation of OCR technology.

At the time of my research, our findings were that both Kurzweil and Open
Book worked well. Kurzweil is a very powerful and flexible tool. The
challenge can be for the beginner to come to terms with understanding all
the features on offer, and managing the settings required to recognize
differing kinds of materials. 

The interface offered in Open Book will be very familiar to users of Windows
and MS Office. It integrated smoothly with MS Word. It's out-of-the box
recognition was outstanding. For more refined scanning of difficult or
variable kinds of documents it may not have the power and flexibility in
it's settings as Kurzweil. 

Docuscan Plus is a new comer, offering recognition equal to the legacy
products. From what I have observed it is an exceptionally good value and
amazingly flexible. Among its strengths is handling PDF files which arrive,
all to often, in our in boxes and elsewhere. 

Each program can be obtained for a demonstration period. My personal
experience with Kurzweil and Open Book is several years old, and much can
change over that period of time. I strongly suggest that you gather together
a selection of the kinds of documents you commonly encounter and recognize
each of them with each of the programs. Record your reactions and save the
recognized documents for comparison after the final trial.

Finally, investigate tutorial support, if you desire it, and customer
support experiences of others.

Hope this helps a bit,

Brad Hodges, On 1/31/2014 7:02 AM, Robert Sellers wrote:

Is there documentation comparing ocr software, such as, Kurzweil and Open
Book?

Also, how do others compare the two.

Is there othere ocr software available that is worthwhile other than those
two?

Thans.

Best regards,

Bob Sellers

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