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Optical Character Recognition and High-Volume Book-Scanning

By Van Gerven, Clara; Braille Monitor, Vol. 51, No. 10, pp. 835-837
Publication Date: November 2008

Review of 4 commonly used optical character recognition (OCR) packages used for converting print to text readable by a text-to-speech engine, the primary way for blind and low vision readers to access and edit print. Products reviewed are Freedom Scientific’s Open Book 8, Kurzweil 1000 version 11, and ABISee’s Eye-Pal and Zoom-Twix. OpenBook 8 and Kurzweil 1000 are both software solutions which work with mainstream flatbed scanners, offer powerful editing and the choice of 2 OCR engines, and can save files as audio. They also enable downloading books from sources such as Bookshare.org. Kurzweil 1000 opens files from a range of sources and saves its audio as DAISY files. OpenBook 8 allows users both to open and save files to sources such as PAC Mate, Braille Lite, and Braille ‘n Speak. Eye-Pal and Zoom-Twix use a combination of custom hardware and software. The Eye-Pal, with its Braille support and JAWS compatibility, is aimed at blind users, whereas the Zoom-Twix, featuring an extra camera for distance viewing, is intended for the low vision user. Their basic hardware is a small camera on fold out legs connected by USB cable to a computer. The ABISee software has an automatic book scanning function and enables saving files as text; however, it does not have an editing function. The author recommends Kurzweil 1000 and OpenBook 8 to those who need to edit files extensively, whereas the ABISee products are a good choice for those who want fast scanning.

Assistive Products Discussed: OPENBOOK
PAC MATE BNS
PAC MATE TNS
KURZWEIL 1000
BRAILLE LITE MILLENNIUM (SERIES M20)
BRAILLE LITE MILLENNIUM (SERIES M40)
BRAILLE 'N SPEAK
BRAILLE 'N SPEAK SCHOLAR (MODEL 1-07320-01)
EYE-PAL
ZOOM-TWIX
Published by: National Federation of the Blind   (Website:http://www.nfb.org)

Link to text: http://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Publications/bm/bm08/bm0810/bm081010.htm
Link to audio: https://www.nfb.org/images/nfb/Audio/Braille_Monitor/2008/November/10_Optical_Character_Recognition_And_High_Volume_Book_Scanning.mp3
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