best OCR scanner??

[Gary Kline]

On Fri, Sep 02, 2005 at 03:21:03PM +0700, Roger Merritt wrote:
> At 08:07 PM 9/1/2005 -0700, Gary Kline wrote:
> >        People,
> >
> >        I want to scan ~400 pp of an out-of-print and out-of-copyright
> >        book (from 1913) and need to know what the best scanner is
> >        and if there has been substantial improvement in OCR
> >        software in recent years.  This book has few footnotes
> >        or different typefaces, so it should make things easier.
> >
> >        Oh, an if there is something that plugs into DOS/DOZE
> >        and just works, super.  I'lll use my W2K box.  (Hopefully,
> >        something that plugs into COM0 or COM1. USB okay too.)
> >
> >        thanks for any clues; I've never used a scanner before!
> >        --yea, no kidding:-)
> 
> I happen to have some recent experience on a Windoze machine that may be 
> useful. Of the several programs that Google found for me the one that met 
> my needs best was Textbridge. The others put every paragraph into a 
> separate text box, made correcting layout and formatting a nightmare. 
> Textbridge (at least the current version) seems to do a good job as long as 
> the print is reasonable clear. All the OCR programs I tried had problems 
> putting pictures in the right place. I don't know what's available for 
> FreeBSD, since I use my boxen for gateways, not even connected to printers. 
> I should warn you, though, scanning isn't quick -- figure about two minutes 
> per page (YMMV) plus any formatting fixup you have to do afterward. There 
> are industrial-strength applications out there, but they cost.
> 
> Can't offer advice about hardware -- I've got an Epson flatbed, pretty 
> inexpensive but works good.

	Doesn't sound very encouraging... :(

	-gary

> 
> -- 
> Roger
> 
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-- 
   Gary Kline     kline at thought.org   www.thought.org     Public service Unix