OCR v. Scanner/OCR Bundled SW?

[Ravenquille]

Opinions needed on a good OCR under $80 (older versions or used ), versus a new Scanner with Bundled OCR/Desktop File Management/Image Editing Software ( full versions ).
I don't need the maximum OCR capabilities, and don't want to spring the bucks for the latest versions.
Recently bought a Visioneer 5800 which has full versions of ScanSoft TextBridge 9, ScanSoft's version 7 Desktop File Manager ( DeskPro? ), and MGI Photosuite, for $79. This struck me as a good deal. But I am not decided if I will use this or not yet; still in the box.
Any opinions on this product/software, or any other opinions?

 

[brendandonhu]

I would use what you have, TextBridge is a great product.

 

[AbvAvgUser]

You can download a free OCR software from http://www.simpleOCR.com. I just downloaded it, though haven't tried it yet. But I got link from one of the threads at TSG and it was a strong recommendation.

 

[slipe]

The bundled version of OCR software isn’t usually forms capable but is as accurate as the full version. For what you want I think the scanner package looks good. Each version of the OCR is usually more accurate than the preceding one though, and TextBridge is up to version 11.

If you already have a decent scanner and need only the OCR software you might consider TextBridge 11. This is as cheap as I’ve seen the retail pro version: http://www.scantips.com/scansoft.html