What is the best OmniPage Pro alternative and replacement for my office?

In This Article:

  • With batch OCR, stability and volume are the key
  • What features should I look for in an OmniPage Pro alternative?
  • Is there an OmniPage Pro replacement that has more powerful routing?
  • Jump to our recommendation »

OmniPage Pro Alternative and Replacement Overview

Looking for an alternative to OmniPage Pro? Then let us walk you through the features and key considerations you should keep in mind as you search. Is there a good all-around choice, that's powerful but cost-effective? Absolutely. And it's FileCenter Automate.

We'll walk you through the issues you need to keep in mind when comparing batch OCR systems, and show you why we recommend FileCenter Automate.

With Batch OCR, Stability and Volume are the Key

If you're familiar with OmniPage Pro, you already know that OCR has become vital in today's offices. Without OCR, scanned documents can't be searched. The issue is how to get those scanned documents searchable with as little effort as necessary. Enter batch OCR. Batch OCR software should run silently on its own, looking around on your hard drive for scanned documents, and as it finds them, perform OCR and convert the document into a searchable PDF file that looks exactly like the original, but now has real text to search.

Many folks use OmniPage Pro for this task. While OmniPage Pro excels at manual, single-document OCR, some have complained that it can get bogged down quickly when trying to do large batches. It is critical that any OmniPage Pro alternative you choose be able to run completely unattended, and be able to digest and convert thousands and thousands of pages a day smoothly and efficiently.

What Features Should I Look For in an OmniPage Pro Alternative?

First and foremost, you want an OmniPage Pro replacement that doesn't need any hand-holding, software that can run independently and reliably. That will mean finding a program that will let you set up "jobs" that tell the software where to look for files, what sort of files to look for, where the converted files should go, how they should be named, etc. The best OmniPage Pro replacements will allow you to set up multiple jobs, and they will give you an easy interface to use. Some software packages require you to type in commands and use manual programming. Avoid these.

A watch folder is a useful feature. With watch folders, the software will monitor a specific folder for new files, and when a new file arrives, immediately grab it and perform OCR. Offices tend to use this feature heavily when they have network scanners.

You should look for an OmniPage Pro replacement that will let you set up separate schedules for when each job will will run. Why? Because during a busy work day, the last thing you want is for your server to get bogged down by intensive OCR. Instead, you would want to set the software to only run at night. You should also be able to run the software on your server as a service, which simply means that it will run behind the scenes without anyone needing to be logged onto the server.

Is There an OmniPage Pro Replacement That Has More Powerful Routing?

If you deal with large volumes of incoming scans, you know that the speed bumps are OCR and manually filing the documents. Ideally, your OmniPage Pro replacement should address both of these issues, not just the OCR. The OmniPage Pro alternatives with the richest features typically offer automatic document separation, automatic document routing, and automatic document naming. What does this look like in practice?

Imagine a large stack of documents that need to be scanned for a client. You place a special cover sheet on top of each document. The cover sheet indicates where the client's files are kept, if the document needs to be automatically placed in a predetermined subfolder, and how the document should be named, including the ability to use dynamic fields in the file name. You now combine all of the documents into one stack, place them on the scanner, and walk away. The software sees the scan arrive in the network scans folder, breaks apart the documents at the cover sheets, and takes care of the task of saving out each one where it needs to go.

Our Recommended OmniPage Pro Alternative and Replacement

FileCenter Automate PDF OCR software goes out of its way to make batch OCR as easy and automatic as possible. It contains all of the power features described in this article, but comes to you at a price point that's just a fraction of what you'd pay for other options. With the ability to not only OCR documents, but convert many kinds of files to fully-searchable PDF, it is the perfect option for offices of any size. Download a free trial today!