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 software packages contain sophisticated support for multiple languages, PDF and HTML output, and format retention.
1. ScanSoft OmniPage
Comes in Office and Standard editions. Turn scanned documents into editable word processing docs and spreadsheets. Also turns PDF files into editable documents, with formatting in place. Convert documents to PDF. http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/
2. ScanSoft TextBridge Pro
It retains page layout, allows output as Web pages, retains color in photos or graphics, has spreadsheet and table recognition, integrates with Microsoft Office, and is Windows XP-certified. This is a low-cost OCR option. http://www.scansoft.com/textbridge/3. ABBYY FineReader OCR
Choose from Home edition, Pro, and Corporate editions. Supports over 100 languages, has built-in spell-checker, handles PDF and HTML and retains document formatting. http://www.abbyy.com/finereader7/?param=1605