Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and Accessible Documents

Summary

Reviews steps for scanning physical materials into digital documents that are accessible for text-to-speech tools and screen readers.

Body

If you have physical materials that you need to make accessible, the great news is that Elon University has Canon scanner/copier/printers available for faculty and staff that can do this job. 

To convert physical materials into an accessible format, follow these steps: 

1. At a Canon scanner/copier/printer, scan your Phoenix ID as usual and select the Scan and Send option. You can select the destination at this time as well. 

2. On the main screen on the right side, find the option that typically reads by-default “PDF (Compact)” and press it. 

Printer screen with PDF (Connect) circled in orange.

3. On the following screen, you will see a number of options for the file format. Again on the right side, locate the option that reads “Compact” and DESELECT that option.

4. Then, find the option that reads “OCR (Prioritize Precision)” and SELECT that option. 

Printer screen with OCR (Prioritize Precisiom) circled.

5. Press OK to save your selection. 

6. Press the Start button to begin the scanning. 

Best practices for scanning printed materials: 

  • Use a copy that is as clean as possible and/or is the original 
  • Try to make sure that whatever you are scanning is flush/flat against the glass or scanned using the automatic feed tray, if possible. For scanning entire textbooks, for example, we usually have to cut the entire binding off the textbook in order to make the pages flat and scanning process easier. 

Details

Details

Article ID: 152106
Created
Fri 7/12/24 4:33 PM
Modified
Thu 7/25/24 9:52 AM
Internal or External
External

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