[gemini11]

Is the canoscan LIDE 35 scanner just for scanning photos, or can I scan a form and type in that form? Each time I scan a form in comes up in a picture format, and I cannot type in it.

[vanillag1rl]

THat's because it only copies the IMAGE. It's taking a picture of it, like a camera. or like a photo copier

[amnent]

If you wish to scan documents then you need to use the Scansoft Omnipage software included on the CD

[acraftylady]

I have found that good OCR software is pricey and the cheaper ones I tried I had to correct to many mistakes it made when scanning the text it. A few years ago hubby needed a lot of documents scanned it to edit so since I can type very fast and accurate I just did it all by hand. Check and see if you might have gotten a light version of read iris pro or something with your scanner, we did with our HP. Also if you have MS office there is a document scanner with it but I have not tried it yet to know how it is.

[slipe]

I have found that the OCR programs have gotten quite accurate – even those included with scanners. The newer the better. But you need the special version to scan a form and have it come out anything like the original. Forms capable OCR is pricey.

I just scan forms and open them in Photoshop. Once I get the right sized text selected it is as easy as typing in Word – type what you want and adjust it perfectly in the box. Use Courier if you want it to look like you typed it. Any image editor with text should work fine.

If you don’t have an image editor and don’t want to even mess with a free one, you can scan directly into Word if you have the Microsoft image editor from the Office or Word CD installed. You can use text boxes to fill out the form. I prefer the image editor but Word does work fine.