how to convert a scanned page from a book (looks like photo of page) to clean text? - Page 2

neuvivlio · 11-23-2012, 08:33 PM

what seems to me so far, to give a really nice result, it to save the scans as an rtf with abbyy fine, then convert the rtf to a pdf in foxit phantom.

the only thing is with this method, the pages arent properly used, it turns out with too little text per each page. thoughts anyone?

seems i have a new obsession ;(

rkomar · 11-23-2012, 09:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neuvivlio

ok, so, i ran the original scans through abbyy fine. deskewed all pages, then saved the pdf.

If you OCR'd the text, why would you need to deskew? Does ABBYY somehow save the text to match the skew of the original picture? I've never used ABBYY Finereader, so I'm just curious about how it works.

neuvivlio · 11-23-2012, 09:51 PM

i dont know - all i know is that after it ocr'd everything, i selected one page and clicked deskew, and it did straighten the page (this was an old book that i scanned in kinda crooked)
so then i selected all pages and deskewed

i just started using it myself

Toxaris · 11-24-2012, 02:36 AM

Why save it as PDF again? Clean up the text in Word and create an ePUB or something like that.

HarryT · 11-24-2012, 05:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neuvivlio

what seems to me so far, to give a really nice result, it to save the scans as an rtf with abbyy fine, then convert the rtf to a pdf in foxit phantom.

Why on Earth would you want to convert it back to PDF? PDF is not an eBook format. It's the last format on Earth that anyone should be using for an eBook!

neuvivlio · 11-24-2012, 05:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why on Earth would you want to convert it back to PDF? PDF is not an eBook format. It's the last format on Earth that anyone should be using for an eBook!

well honestly, i'll normally just sit at my computer and read them as a pdf, is that weird? or maybe print out a chapter or 2 at the time and read it on paper.

i don't have a kindle or any mobile reading device yet. im still working on mastering the use of them on my computer hehe

neuvivlio · 11-24-2012, 05:43 AM

also, when i commented about getting good results by converting the original scans to rtf, and then creating a pdf from that, i found that i got the same result by choosing the saving mode option in abbyy fine "text and pictures only" so 2 steps weren't necessary afterall.

i was using the option "text under the page image" which saves the entire page as an image, i guess that explains why i wasn't getting that nice digital text i wanted

anyway, i dunno, i guess the only way to learn is to screw around with it for 10 years.

i have managed to make a pretty decent ebook from a scanned-in rough, but i dont like the table of contents that abbyy made, anyone know, of another program i can use to generate a table of contents for the book i made?

thanks

HarryT · 11-24-2012, 05:45 AM

Convert your book to ePub (a proper eBook format

). You can then use an ePub editor such as Sigil (a free download) to create a TOC, or tweak your book in any way that you wish.

In all honesty, ePub is what you should be using here. It's the industry standard for eBooks, and there are lots of very good ePub viewers for the PC if that's what you use to read on.

neuvivlio · 11-24-2012, 05:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by neuvivlio

the only thing is with this method, the pages arent properly used, it turns out with too little text per each page. thoughts anyone?

i resolved this by going into abbyy's settings , under save/pdf, and changing the default paper size from auto to 'same as original source" now the page has as much text as the original scans

neuvivlio · 11-24-2012, 06:14 AM

alright guys thanks for the recommendations, i'm creating an epub presently from the finished pdf i made a bit ago. ive never heard too much about epub honestly, i thought pdfs were the standard. i've been so used to just using foxit reader with pdfs, i havent looked any further afield ..

well now that the epub is created it's funny to see that it's only 500 kb in size, the optimized pdf i made was only 5 mb in size, and the original scans of the book are 60 mbs...

the epub looks ok, but the layout didn't stay true to the original pdf, like the optimized pdf i made did.

maybe had i, created an epub straight from the original scans in abbyy, it wouldve came out better. rather than converting from a pdf. it still looks ok though, readable

HarryT · 11-24-2012, 10:38 AM

You really shouldn't convert from PDF; you won't get good results that way. If you have the book saved as RTF, convert that to ePub.

DSpider · 11-24-2012, 11:26 AM

FineReader doesn't do layout. If you rely on it to look good, you're going to get disappointed sooner or later. Think of this program as an extraction tool, because that's really what it's good for. Then you need to come in and redo the layout (InDesign, Word) after matching the fonts, cleaning up the graphics (maybe vectorizing some of them), etc. Don't expect to simply export as ePub and look good. It's not there yet.

I'd say you have a lot to learn. Judging from your posting style (lack of capitalization and punctuation), you probably don't have an eye for detail. This isn't mIRC, you know.

pholy · 11-24-2012, 11:11 PM

Quote:

This isn't mIRC, you know.

Well, then, what is mIRC ?? All I can get magnetic Ink Rsomething Csomething

Puzzled pedantics want to know...

yekim54 · 11-24-2012, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Well, then, what is mIRC ?? All I can get magnetic Ink Rsomething Csomething

Puzzled pedantics want to know...

I don't mean to be overly pedantic, but shouldn't it be "puzzled pedagogues want to know..."

jbacelar · 11-25-2012, 03:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pholy

Puzzled pedantics want to know...

mIRC is a popular Internet Relay Chat client used by millions of people, and thousands of organizations, to communicate, share, play and work with each other on IRC networks around the world. Serving the Internet community for over a decade, mIRC has evolved into a powerful, reliable and fun piece of technology. You can learn about mIRC here.

http://www.mirc.com/

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11-23-2012, 08:33 PM	#16
neuvivlio Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: none	what seems to me so far, to give a really nice result, it to save the scans as an rtf with abbyy fine, then convert the rtf to a pdf in foxit phantom. the only thing is with this method, the pages arent properly used, it turns out with too little text per each page. thoughts anyone? seems i have a new obsession ;(

11-23-2012, 09:51 PM	#18
neuvivlio Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: none	i dont know - all i know is that after it ocr'd everything, i selected one page and clicked deskew, and it did straighten the page (this was an old book that i scanned in kinda crooked) so then i selected all pages and deskewed i just started using it myself

11-24-2012, 02:36 AM	#19
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Why save it as PDF again? Clean up the text in Word and create an ePUB or something like that.

11-24-2012, 05:43 AM	#22
neuvivlio Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: none	also, when i commented about getting good results by converting the original scans to rtf, and then creating a pdf from that, i found that i got the same result by choosing the saving mode option in abbyy fine "text and pictures only" so 2 steps weren't necessary afterall. i was using the option "text under the page image" which saves the entire page as an image, i guess that explains why i wasn't getting that nice digital text i wanted anyway, i dunno, i guess the only way to learn is to screw around with it for 10 years. i have managed to make a pretty decent ebook from a scanned-in rough, but i dont like the table of contents that abbyy made, anyone know, of another program i can use to generate a table of contents for the book i made? thanks

11-24-2012, 05:45 AM	#23
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Convert your book to ePub (a proper eBook format ). You can then use an ePub editor such as Sigil (a free download) to create a TOC, or tweak your book in any way that you wish. In all honesty, ePub is what you should be using here. It's the industry standard for eBooks, and there are lots of very good ePub viewers for the PC if that's what you use to read on.

11-24-2012, 06:14 AM	#25
neuvivlio Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2012 Device: none	alright guys thanks for the recommendations, i'm creating an epub presently from the finished pdf i made a bit ago. ive never heard too much about epub honestly, i thought pdfs were the standard. i've been so used to just using foxit reader with pdfs, i havent looked any further afield .. well now that the epub is created it's funny to see that it's only 500 kb in size, the optimized pdf i made was only 5 mb in size, and the original scans of the book are 60 mbs... the epub looks ok, but the layout didn't stay true to the original pdf, like the optimized pdf i made did. maybe had i, created an epub straight from the original scans in abbyy, it wouldve came out better. rather than converting from a pdf. it still looks ok though, readable

11-24-2012, 10:38 AM	#26
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	You really shouldn't convert from PDF; you won't get good results that way. If you have the book saved as RTF, convert that to ePub.

11-24-2012, 11:26 AM	#27
DSpider Evangelist Posts: 450 Karma: 343115 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Romania Device: PW2 2014	FineReader doesn't do layout. If you rely on it to look good, you're going to get disappointed sooner or later. Think of this program as an extraction tool, because that's really what it's good for. Then you need to come in and redo the layout (InDesign, Word) after matching the fonts, cleaning up the graphics (maybe vectorizing some of them), etc. Don't expect to simply export as ePub and look good. It's not there yet. I'd say you have a lot to learn. Judging from your posting style (lack of capitalization and punctuation), you probably don't have an eye for detail. This isn't mIRC, you know.

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