Scan documents with OCR technology

Here are some tips if you are scanning documents with optical character recognition (OCR) technology:
  • Scan the documents at 300 or 600 DPI.
  • Scan documents with 10-point text size or larger.
  • Use gray-scale instead of black and white.
  • Verify that the lines of text are parallel with the page.
  • Documents should be on clean paper, without lines or ink blotches.
  • Screen captures don’t scan well with OCR.

Troubleshooting

If the OCR technology can't read the document, it may be because:
  • The document was scanned at a low resolution and the words are blurry. Scan documents at a higher resolution.
  • The document was scanned upside down or sideways.
  • The document has lines that cross out or stains that cover the scanned words.
  • The font spacing in the scanned document is tight and the letters run together.