Scanning: Scanning is a technology used to
convert hard copy of the document into a soft/digital copy by
capturing it as an image. Scanning operates similar to a colourful
Xerox machine, but it stores the captured data into a digital
format.
OCR: OCR stands for Optical Character Reader,
it is a technology used to convert hard copy of a document to a
digital/soft copy by reading the document and hence convert into
textual format ideal for copying/pasting/editing the text hence to
put simply it converts the document into editable digital data.
Both the scanners and OCRs have their own utilities and one is
preferred over the other in varying use cases.
Advantages of
Scanning over OCR:
- Since scanner generates the digital copy in image form, hence
it is difficult (not impossible since image can be edited!) to edit
the document and hence scanning can be used in cases where
uneditable digital copy of the document is required whereas in OCR
we can edit the digital textual data easily.
- The document generated after the scanning is exactly same as
the original document unlike OCR where certain changes in
indentation or appearance can occur. Hence, it guarantees 100%
replication of the original document. Whereas in OCR it is
difficult to regenerate 100% identical digital document from the
hard copy of a complex document.
- It is impossible to generate textual digital copy from the
image, hence it remains in the way it is generated, and hence
copying the data becomes difficult. So it is useful in cases where
user wants to prevent the copying of content, whereas in OCR we can
copy the digital textual data easily.
- It can be viewed using a wide variety of image viewers readily
available with the original font size, colours, indentation same as
the hard copy, i.e., it maintains the formatting of the document,
so it comes in handy where design of the document is important to
be conveyed, or in cases where colour, formatting etc is of
importance, like in architecture industry, automobile industry
etc.
Advantages of OCR
over Scanning:
- Editable digital copy of the hard copy of the document can be
easily generated and since it is editable digital format, it can be
used widely in cases where a textual data is to be converted into a
digital format for the purpose of word processing, editing,
copying, etc. unlike scanning in which editing is not
possible.
- The textual copy thus generated lesser in size as compared to
its scanned counterpart by quite a margin, so OCR comes in handy in
cases where data is a constraint.
- One can easily share certain schemas used in databases or data
to be sent to database table directly from a hard copy by scanning
it in OCR. Hence it makes saving the data into the systems an easy
task unlike scanners which rely on reading the data from the image
and generating the insert queries manually.
- Keyboard data entry can result in manual errors which can be
minimized by scanning through the OCR; hence it is useful for
writers and academicians where manual work is generated at the
first place.