Scanner app for High Sierra

[goodfidelity]

Anyone has good suggestion for OCR scanner app for high sierra? I can use the built in app, but i want to find something more advanced.

Using a HP wifi scanner, but i hate the HP software (that is pure rubbish).

I found the software NAPS2, but it will not run on OSX High Sierra. Anyone has good suggestion for similar software here?

Thanks alot!

 

[ipaqrat]

Hamrick's VueScan has an OCR module. Readdle PDF Expert has an OCR module. I don't have high sierra handy to test, but these are free to download and test.

I bought VueScan to run my [edit - Fujitsu] SnapScan 1500S (for which they would not provide 64-Bit support), VueScan handles the devices and OCR as well as I ever needed. Totally locally, too - it does not ship the file off to a web host to do the OCR. VueScan will also drop the OCR output as a separate text file.

Readdle PDF Expert only recently got OCR features. As a PDF tool, PDF Expert is very good, but not as rich as Adobe Full Acrobat Pro DC - and nowhere near as expensive as Adobe's subscription buy-in. Of course, you'd have to use separate scanning software to acquire the page images as a PDF. [edit - PDF Expert processes OCR locally, too]

It's noteworthy that some OCR engines are more sensitive to certain settings in an imagery scan. HP is not new to the OCR features, they've done their code, and they've licensed code. I've had some HP scanners that aided OCR better at varying resolutions and levels of grey, some did better with long galleys of consistent print (such as book pages), some better with mixed layouts (such as user manuals and business cards.)

 

[gilby101]

Using a HP wifi scanner

What model?

But try VueScan anyway, as suggested by @ipaqrat. It has a list of supported scanners. But you will need a few $$. Lots of $$$ if you need OCR.

Good OCR will not be cheap for an old macOS. I gave never had good results with those based on open-sourced Tesseract https://tesseract-ocr.github.io/. But it may work well for you. There are GUI apps using it, or you can get the command line version with Home Brew.
Recent macOS have OCR built in and there are cheapish apps which make it easy to use.

Readdle PDF Expert only recently got OCR features.

OP is asking about scan and OCR for High Sierra. Current version does not run on HS. Is there an old version which does?

Hamrick's VueScan has an OCR module

VueScan is my go to solution when other things don't work. Latest version should run under HS.

 

[goodfidelity]

My printer / scanner is the HP 282 model, it is color laser with scanner built in. WiFi support so it is hooked up to network.

However i cant seem to make any software work for the OCR, and the HP software is straight out ********. (sorry for language, but i would rather have bulls-**** in my PC than HP software).

The HP software on the WinPC will stretch and look like it is broken because i have 5120x1440 screen and the scanner software cant handle it.

On the mac, everything just worked straight out of the box. Printing/scanning and all, no installs needed.

However, the OCR feature just is not there.

I dont want to pay for any expensive software, i would just like to use the OCR feature that is supposed to be included with the printer.

Anyone have ideas here?

thanks so far for excellent replies

(reason for stuck on HighSierra is that i am using old Numbers app for accounting stuff, and the new numbers app is complete mess. also i like HS better than other OSX versions, it just works, however getting old now)

 

[ipaqrat]

However i cant seem to make any software work for the OCR, and the HP software is straight out ********. (sorry for language, but i would rather have bulls-**** in my PC than HP software).

😆 💯

You obviously put in the wrench time, and it sucks when vendors kick their own products to the curb. HP was infamous for that, even before Apple got in the swing of it, too. Ironically, HP sells some of those wide-body displays that bork their own apps. Got that same stretching issue in HP versions of ArcSight that still linger in some data centers.

Anyway, VueScan is only $120 for a perpetual license. It was well worth the price to keep my SnapScan (fujitsu - I mistakenly called it Epson earlier, will fix momentarily) running for a couple more tax years. I settled on a newer Epson document scanner, but I still use VueScan instead of Epson's own app package. I've always found Epson's software kludgy.

 

[Big Bad D]

Another recommendation for VueScan. Great value purchase with genuine lifetime license, and generally far easier to set up and use than scanner manufacturers own apps.

 

[gilby101]

I dont want to pay for any expensive software, i would just like to use the OCR feature that is supposed to be included with the printer.

In that case, your choice comes down to:
1) Get the HP software working (that is only software included with the printer/scanner); or
2) Use Tesseract for OCR (command line version is free).

If it were me (and others here):
3) Pay for Vuescan which does support your printer/scanner and includes both scanning and OCR.

 

[jlc1978]

Anyway, VueScan is only $120 for a perpetual license.

Vuescan has 3 pricing tiers, 25, 50, and 120 so you can chose based on your needs. For short term stuff they also have a monthly license. I've used it for years and it is great and the developer provides outstanding support.

 

[gilby101]

Vuescan has 3 pricing tiers, 25, 50, and 120 so you can chose based on your needs

The OP has said that OCR is a requirement. Hence 120.

 

[jlc1978]

The OP has said that OCR is a requirement. Hence 120.

I realize that. I posted prices so other readers would not automatically ignore VueScan based on price.

 

[Big Bad D]

I realize that. I posted prices so other readers would not automatically ignore VueScan based on price.

Yes, VueScan has different price tiers depending on feature need and budget.

I share my experience with owning and from time to time using a range of old and newer scanners over many years, that VueScan has probably been my best software investment. It may not appear so cheap initially, but it is my default in place of installing scanner manufacturer's software. And I am sure that I have never paid any upgrade cost over 15 years of usage despite regular updates for improvements, each new OS and covering an increasing range of scanners.

 

[jlc1978]

Yes, VueScan has different price tiers depending on feature need and budget.

I share my experience with owning and from time to time using a range of old and newer scanners over many years, that VueScan has probably been my best software investment. It may not appear so cheap initially, but it is my default in place of installing scanner manufacturer's software. And I am sure that I have never paid any upgrade cost over 15 years of usage despite regular updates for improvements, each new OS and covering an increasing range of scanners.

I fully agree. back when I bought it years ago there was 1 tier and while not cheap it was, and still is, worth the cost. I have used it with various scanners, including a Nikon slide and film scanner that Nikon long ago stopped supporting. It's a great value and I highly recommend it to anyone using a scanner.