imagetotext.info is an essential tool for extracting data from bank receipts, handwritten notes, printed documents, etc., to make them editable in digital form.
However, nowadays, there’s an oversaturation of such tools in the market, making it difficult for the user to identify the real deal.
That’s why I came up with this post to deeply explore all the features of this tool, its working, and pricing to conclude if it’s worth it or not. So, let’s get started.
What is Imagetotext.info?
It is a free online tool that allows you to extract text from pictures and scans of various types using OCR technology.
The tool supports various file formats like PNG, PDF, JPG, JPEG, TIFF, BMP, and JIF and provides output in a TXT file for easy edits.
How Does the Tool Work?
Just like all the other OCR-embedded tools, imagetotext.info works in three major parts:
A) Pre-processing, B) Character Recognition, and C) Post-Processing.
- Preprocessing
In this step, the tool starts to clean the image. Meaning that it removes noises, grains, or speckles from your file to make it easily recognizable for the system. All of this is done by various algorithms that also correct the image file for any orientation error.
When the axes of the scan are fully aligned and noise/brightness issues are resolved, it is time that we move on to the main deal.
- Character Recognition
Character recognition is all about brightness-level variations. Imagetotext.info looks at each letter’s brightness and decides if it’s a text or not by judging the contrast between the background and the character.
- Post-Processing
Post-processing is the final polishing of the content. This is where Imagetotext.info matches the words that it recognized with its built-in dictionary to present you the text that makes sense. This also includes tallying mathematical/scientific symbols from the backend datasets to avoid misspelling or messing up any variables in the picture.
Features
Enough about the working of the tool, let’s understand some features and benefits that it has to offer to you.
- Snappy, Simplistic User Interface
I have tried many image to text converters during my testing and the smoothness I get with this one is unparalleled. It feels like I have paid a premium to use it even though the tool is completely free to use.
With no annoying pop-ups to sign up/sign in, it is safe to say that the image to text converter has a clutter-free working experience and feels simple to use even for an average Joe.
- Quick Functionality
I tried many images at a time with imagetotext.info and I wasn’t disappointed by the speed at which it converted my images to text form. There were barely any delays, however, CAPTCHA did take some time for an odd reason.
- Multiple Ways to Upload Images
With the image to text converter, you get the convenience of directly picking photos from any webpage using the ‘link’ feature. This adds to the overall user experience as you no longer have to store and submit files through your laptop, computer, smartphone, etc., for the conversion to proceed.
- Supportive Tools Available
Besides the main tool, there are a plethora of other ones also available on this platform. For instance, PDF to Word, JPG to Word, Image to PDF, Image Translator, and QR Code Scanner to name a few.
While I haven’t checked these converters personally, it is good to know that these are available to the user if they choose to utilize them for their work-based activities.
Possible Shortcomings
There isn’t any tool on this planet that is all sunshine and roses, and imagetotext.info is no exception. It does have its shortcomings, which I’d like to discuss in this section.
- Misses out On Technical Symbols and Words
Sometimes, when you are extracting text from an image that contains highly technical jargon and/or mathematical, or scientific symbols, the tool likely fails to recognize them.
To be fair, this isn’t exactly a deal-breaker since OCR technology, on the whole, needs improvement in this department. So, it’s not only imagetotext.info that rarely misses out on such stuff, it is also a majority of other image to text converters on the market as well.
- No Image-Cropping Option
This is an area where I feel imagetotext.info lags behind others. There are tools like jpgtotext.com that allow users to crop and rotate the image as they like, kind of performing a portion of the pre-processing of images themselves.
Using this feature, users can truncate/verify the region from which they want the text, adding to the overall functionality of the tools.
- No Option to Directly Capture Images
Imagetotext.info does not offer any integrated option to directly capture the image of the document, receipt, or handwritten notes from your device. However, there are tools in this competitive space that are already providing this option.
Pricing
After we’ve discussed the tool’s working, features, and possible downsides, it’s time to talk about price.
To be honest, the prices are reasonable for the weekly, monthly, and yearly plans. However, what I want to critique is that the maximum file size only jumps from 5MB in the free version to 10 MB in the paid one.
This isn’t enough for individuals or professionals who like to extract text from chunky files, especially heavy BMPs.
Although the free version provides only 3 submissions at once, the paid plan pushes its limit to 50. This is a nice addition by the developers to support people who want to batch-convert images to editable text.
Final Thoughts
Imagetotext.info is a free online, OCR-based tool offering fast command extractions and support for multiple languages and file types.
However, it lacks certain features, such as image cropping and direct image capture, and may struggle to recognize technical symbols.
That said, every downside discussed can’t technically be counted as a deal-breaker. So, after due consideration, I can recommend its use for daily tasks to boost productivity and digitize documents quickly.