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Re: are OCR files bigger?

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From: Duff Johnson
Date: Feb 18, 2020 8:57AM

> hello: i have been asked to help with an RFP for printers and scanners.and
> phodocopyers i ask to help the scanners and copyers to have the ocr feature
> turn on by default and got a big push back. the response is that ocr files
> are larger and so large that they can't be emailed and therefore would be
> brocking apart. is this true.

It is NOT generically true.

OCR processes vary, as does image-handling post-OCR. Some OCR processes can result in a reduced file-size (e.g., if JBIG2 compression is used, or formatted text replaces the image), some can result in large sizes for a variety of reasons (usually relating to other-than-ideal OCR software).

If files are expanding massively in size (like, by more than 10-20%) then the choice of software or software settings is almost always to blame…. not the mere fact of performing OCR.

> i always thought ocr files were smaller.

It all depends on software choices and settings.

> one other push back was that they are scanning spred sheets and if they
> were ocr'ed it would brake the spred sheets.

Well, scanned spreadsheets aren't getting any more accessible if they are left as raster images without OCR!

Yes… it might mean significant work to make a scanned spreadsheet accessible.. but it's certainly not impossible.

Duff.