What languages does the OCR support?

Over 80 languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Russian, and all major European languages. The PaddleOCR engine handles multiple scripts in a single image.

Can OCR read handwritten text?

PaddleOCR handles clearly written handwriting reasonably well, though accuracy is lower than with printed text. Best results come from high-contrast handwriting on clean backgrounds.

Does the OCR work on photos of signs and documents?

Yes. The scene text detection handles text in photographs (signs, menus, labels) as well as clean document scans. For best results, ensure the text is in focus and well-lit.

Convert AI-Powered

OCR / Text Extraction

Extract text from images using PaddleOCR, supporting 80+ languages including CJK characters, Arabic, and Hindi. Handles printed text, handwriting, and scene text in photographs. Outputs plain text with bounding box coordinates for each detected region.

Deploy with Docker View Source

Features

PaddleOCR engine with 80+ language support
Handles printed text, handwriting, and scene text
Returns text with bounding box coordinates
CJK, Arabic, Hindi, Cyrillic, and Latin script support
Batch OCR across multiple images

What you can do

Digitize text from scanned documents and receipts
Extract data from screenshots and whiteboard photos
Convert signage and labels in photographs to searchable text
Automate data entry from printed forms and invoices

AI that runs on your hardware. No cloud APIs, no usage limits.

Unlike cloud AI services, SnapOtter's OCR / Text Extraction runs the ML model directly on your server. Your files are processed locally with no data sent to external APIs. No per-file fees, no rate limits, no privacy concerns. Deploy once with Docker and use it as much as you need.

Frequently asked questions

What languages does the OCR support?: Over 80 languages including English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Russian, and all major European languages. The PaddleOCR engine handles multiple scripts in a single image.
Can OCR read handwritten text?: PaddleOCR handles clearly written handwriting reasonably well, though accuracy is lower than with printed text. Best results come from high-contrast handwriting on clean backgrounds.
Does the OCR work on photos of signs and documents?: Yes. The scene text detection handles text in photographs (signs, menus, labels) as well as clean document scans. For best results, ensure the text is in focus and well-lit.

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