Re: Need suggestions for a major document conversion task

schuetzen wrote:

> I want to scan these, run them thru an OCR scanner, digitize, store on HDD or on
> CDs.  The handwritten might best be done as interlinear format if possible.
>
> Do I want a scanner to do this? 

  Most scanners are more than half-decent these days. 3000 pages is a lot to
hand-feed, though. If they're A4/letter, a scanner with document feeder
would help.

  Xeroxed copies can make for very 'dirty' scans, with lots of confusing noise.
No way to predict this without seeing them -- you simply have to test.

  As for software ... I like ABBYY FineReader. There are people who swear by
OmniPage Pro. But as you're not asking in general, but for your particular job,
you may be better off talking with someone who can make a few trials and see
how well it works out.

  Anyone can make the scans for you -- and if they're reasonably decent, you
could take over from there.  Again, talk to someone who can assess the quality
of the copies -- if they are very fragile, you may need to hand-feed them
yourself.


  Handwriting is probably out.  There is (or perhaps was) an outfit in the Channel
Islands who did that kind of thing, but it was on site: you sent the material
you wanted transcribed there. The software is/was not available for anyone
outside the company.

--
Anders Thulin     [EMAIL PROTECTED]     http://www.algonet.se/~ath