Configuring scanning options

Recognition quality largely depends on the quality of the scanned image. The image quality can be regulated by configuring the basic scanning options: image type, resolution, and brightness.

When you scan images via ABBYY FlexiCapture, there are two possible ways in which the program can interact with scanners via the TWAIN or ISIS drivers:

  • Via ABBYY FlexiCapture interface:
    in this case, scanning options are configured with the help of the ABBYY FlexiCapture dialog box Scanner settings; scanning options can be configured when creating an import profile with the Scanner specified as the import source.
  • Via the interface of the TWAIN or ISIS driver of the scanner:
    the dialog box of the relevant scanner driver is used to configure scanning options. This dialog box opens automatically when you select Scan Images... from the dropdown menu of the import button.

Basic scanning options

  • Color mode scanning in grayscale (256 shades of gray) is the optimum mode for the recognition system. When you scan in grayscale mode, the program selects the brightness level automatically.
    Black and white The black-and-white image type ensures a faster scanning speed at the expense of some letter information, which may affect recognition quality of documents with average and low quality print.
    Full color If you need color elements of the document (pictures, color letters and color background) to be rendered in the electronic document with the color preserved, you need to select the color image type. In other cases use the Grayscale (optimal for OCR) image type.
  • Brightness values have to be selected so as to, first, preserve the anchor blocks and, second, make the images of blocks intended for recognition as clear and definitive as possible.
    In most cases the average brightness value of 50% is suitable.
    You may need to configure brightness additionally when scanning some documents in the black-and-white mode.
  • Resolution the recommended resolution for processing forms filled out by hand is 300 dpi. The resolution of scanned forms must match the resolution of the template image.

Note:

  1. Scanning with a resolution of 400-600 dpi instead of 300 dpi, or scanning in gray or in color instead of black-and-white can take considerably more time. With some scanner models, scanning with a resolution of 600 dpi takes 4 times as long as scanning with a resolution of 300 dpi. Scanning with a resolution below 200 dpi is not recommended.
  2. When you use the dialog box of the scanner driver, the options for configuring scanning settings can have different names depending on the scanner model. For example, brightness can be called threshold or be marked with a sun or black-and-white circle. The meanings of options are described in the documentation that comes with your scanner.

Tip.

  1. Scanning color background forms with a monochrome scanner. For the background to disappear during scanning, you need to equip the scanner with an appropriate light filtering lamp: for pink forms a Red-Lamp, for green forms a Green-Lamp.
  2. Scanning color background forms with a color scanner. For the background to disappear during scanning, you need to configure the filtration mode for the relevant color in the scanner settings.
  3. Scanning color background forms of light shades. If you are processing color forms of light shades, because of low color strength the background may disappear when you scan with a white lamp even without software filtration of color. As a rule, the method of scanning forms is chosen at the form development stage.

Tip.

  1. A scanned image must be readable (to view a scanned image, open it in the document window).
  2. If in the scanned image the letters are torn, light or thin:
    • Reduce brightness, increase contrast (make the image darker) or
    • Try to scan it in grayscale (in this case brightness will be selected automatically).
  3. If the scanned image has a dirty background; deformed, smeared or fused characters; dark, thick letters:
    • Increase brightness (make the image lighter) or
    • Try to scan it in grayscale (in this case brightness will be selected automatically).

12.04.2024 18:16:02

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