Logo
TEXT SCANNER

How to Improve OCR Results

Improving OCR accuracy starts with understanding how text recognition works and how image quality affects the final output. Whether you're scanning documents, capturing text with your phone, or uploading screenshots, the following techniques will help you achieve cleaner, more reliable OCR results.

1. Why OCR Accuracy Varies

OCR engines like Tesseract identify shapes (characters) in an image and convert them into digital text.
Accuracy depends on several factors:

  • Image quality
  • Lighting conditions
  • Font type
  • Text alignment
  • Noise, blur, distortion
Improving these elements dramatically boosts recognition quality.

2. Remove Noise, Blur, and Artifacts

Blur, smudges, and digital noise reduce OCR accuracy.

Avoid:
  • Motion blur
  • Digital zoom on mobile phones (move closer instead)
  • Dust or smudges on document edges
OpenCV preprocessing helps with:
  • Noise removal
  • Sharpening
  • Adaptive thresholding

3. Use High-Resolution Images

OCR performs best when text is clear, sharp, and highly detailed.

Recommended settings
  • 300 DPI or higher for scanned documents
  • Phone photos should be taken in good lighting and at the highest resolution
  • Avoid compression-heavy formats that introduce artifacts
Why it matters:
Low-resolution images cause characters to blend together, making them harder for Tesseract to interpret.

4. Use Clean, Standard Fonts

OCR performs best with:

  • Printed text
  • Sans-serif fonts
  • Standard, non-decorative fonts
OCR struggles with:
  • Handwriting
  • Decorative or script fonts
  • Curved or stylized text
If possible, choose clear, simple typography.

5. Improve Lighting and Reduce Shadows

When taking photos of documents:

  • Use even, soft lighting
  • Avoid harsh shadows, glare, and reflections
  • Keep the camera steady to prevent blurring
  • Place the document on a flat, well-lit surface
Pro tip:
Natural daylight works best. If using artificial light, avoid direct angles that create glare.

6. Increase Text Contrast

OCR loves high contrast:

  • Dark text on a light background
  • Avoid translucent or low-opacity text
  • Clean up faded or washed-out documents
Try this:
If the text is too light, boost contrast using any editing tool.

7. Align and Straighten Your Image

Skewed text is difficult for OCR engines to interpret.

  • Hold your phone or camera parallel to the document
  • Avoid capturing images at an angle
  • Crop away unnecessary background
  • Rotate the image if needed so the text is horizontal
Why it matters:
Tesseract expects characters to be upright; angled text is more likely to be misread.

8. Avoid Photos Taken at Extreme Angles

Perspective distortion makes characters appear stretched.
Fix it by:

  • Holding the camera straight above the document
  • Avoiding side angles
  • Cropping out warped edges
If needed, use perspective-correction tools before running OCR.