ICR vs. OCR: Why it matters.

Learn the difference between ICR vs. OCR and how they “read” scanned texts.

Character recognition technology revolutionizes how businesses manage, store, and process documents. Manually inputting data is a thing of the past thanks to technology that can scan and extract important details from paper documents. It can gather details like client names, addresses, and invoice numbers and even read intricate handwriting or text in images.

There are two types of technology, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR), each with its own merits. As the technology becomes sophisticated and reaches a higher level of accuracy, how do you know if you need OCR vs. ICR?

Whether you’re a software development firm or simply streamlining your company’s document management process, you can learn the difference between ICR vs. OCR and make the most informed decision for your company.

What does character recognition technology do?

Character recognition technology simplifies extracting details from important paper documents, like forms, invoices, contracts, and other legal documents. Instead of manually extracting images, text, and other exact details, character recognition technology digitizes the paper documents for you. So, it removes the pounds of paperwork from your office and cuts down on storage space and the tedious energy you spend extracting the data manually.

There are a few ways to get text from a physical piece of paper into your computer, but the only way to transform printed text into computer-editable text is with ICR or OCR software.

What is OCR?

OCR stands for optical character recognition. OCR software can scan and read text from images or handwritten text — like the kind found in printed sheets, books, and magazines, to name a few — and translate them into machine-encoded text that you can edit in your favorite word processor.

OCR software is available for just about anything that scans documents, including a device-based PDF scanner like the Adobe Scan mobile app.

What is ICR?

ICR stands for intelligent character recognition. Technically, ICR is a type of OCR, but it’s slightly more specific. ICR works with a self-learning neural network system in order to improve its capabilities and character recognition abilities.

Instead of transforming just typewritten letters, ICR software can translate different fonts and even handwritten text. That’s where we get the “intelligent” part. It’s smart enough to understand how to read differently printed letters and, over time, can even learn to improve accuracy. Basically, it’s just a smarter OCR.

Comparing the differences between OCR vs. ICR.

The differences between ICR and OCR include budget, wider technology capabilities, and the type of paperwork that needs to be digitized.

OCR efficiently reads various printed texts and excels at specific tasks like document verification.

• OCR can extract printed text with high accuracy.
• OCR is better for clearer print and structured paperwork, like scanned image files or PDF files.
• OCR is a less expensive technology, so it’s a better fit for companies with a limited budget.

ICR is a more advanced form of character recognition technology and can handle more complex tasks.

• ICR can recognize both printed and handwritten text.
• ICR can interpret and process unstructured paperwork, like handwritten letters.
• ICR can read and extract difficult handwriting styles, like cursive.
• ICR can process context and variations within paperwork, improving accuracy over time.

Which option is best: ICR vs. OCR?

When it comes to ICR vs. OCR, determining which is best is relatively easy. Overall, ICR software will have more comprehensive applications than OCR programs. You can use it to translate more documents into editable files.

The only factor that may impact your decision is cost. Typically, ICR software is more expensive than OCR. So, if you don’t need to convert handwriting to text, perhaps an OCR is a better use of your funds. Either way, ICR and OCR software make it easy to transform printed text into digital text. You can’t go wrong with either.

Transform your workflow beyond ICR and OCR.

You can streamline your company’s document management system beyond character recognition technology. Explore everything you can do with Acrobat online services today. Discover OCR PDF tools to extract text from images, edit the text with a PDF editor, use an AI Assistant to help you summarize and share information from your PDF, and more.