OCRmyPDF
OCRmyPDF is an open source command-line program and Python library that applies optical character recognition (OCR) to PDF documents. It takes an existing PDF as input and generates a new searchable PDF as output with an invisible text layer over images.
ocr
pdf
optical-character-recognition
OCRmyPDF: Open Source OCR Software
An open source command-line program and Python library for applying optical character recognition (OCR) to PDF documents, generating a searchable PDF with an invisible text layer.
What is OCRmyPDF?
OCRmyPDF is an open source command-line program and Python library that applies optical character recognition (OCR) to PDF documents. It takes an existing PDF as input and generates a new searchable PDF as output with an invisible text layer over images.
OCRmyPDF is designed to work on entire directories of PDFs at once to make workflows more efficient. It can detect languages automatically and output PDF/A documents for long-term archiving. Some key features include:
- Applies OCR text layer to scanned PDFs using Tesseract OCR engine
- Retains existing PDF text, vector graphics, hyperlinks, bookmarks, metadata
- Compatible with PDF/A for archiving
- Automatic language detection and multi-language OCR
- Command-line interface for batch processing entire directories
- Python library for integration into applications
- Lossless optimizations like object simplification and duplicate image removal
- Open source software written in Python
OCRmyPDF aims to be a one-stop solution for making scanned and image-based PDFs fully searchable. It can be used by individuals, organizations, governments and businesses who need to digitize large numbers of existing paper documents. The command-line interface allows automation through scripts and integration into document processing pipelines.
OCRmyPDF Features
Features
- Adds text layer to scanned PDFs allowing them to be searched
- Retains existing PDF text
- Performs OCR on images and vector graphics
- Generates highly compressed PDFs
- Preserves PDF metadata
- Command line interface and Python library
Pricing
- Open Source
Pros
Free and open source
Works on all major platforms
High performance and scalability
Accurate OCR
Preserves original PDF layout
Wide language support
Cons
Command line only, no GUI
Steep learning curve
Limited documentation
OCR quality depends on input scan quality
Advanced features require Python programming
Official Links
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