OCR (Optical Charactor Recognition) is the process of turning a picture of words (such as a scan of a typed letter) into an editable document that you can open and use in your desktop publishing software, word processor, or other text editor. Today's OCR packages contain sophisticated support for multiple languages, PDF and HTML output, and format retention.
1. Nuance OmniPage Pro for Mac
Formerly from ScanSoft, in addition to OCR that retains formating and includes table formating, it allows the conversion of PDF files to various formats or the conversion of paper documents to PDF. Despeckle Mode improves character recognition for poor-quality originals. Includes Voice Read Back, HTML support, and multiple language support. http://www.nuance.com/omnipage/mac/
2. CAD & Graphics Readiris Pro for Mac
Handles paper and PDF documents in over a hundred languages. Includes PDF and HTML output along with text, RTF, and other formats.3. ABBYY FineReader Pro for Mac
They offer a Mac version of their OCR which handles PDF and HTML and retains document formatting. http://www.abbyy.com/