Forum Discussion
Ephraimjo
Feb 03, 2026Iron Contributor
What is the Best OCR Software for Windows 11 PC 2026?
I recently started a project that involves digitizing a large volume of documents, ranging from clean digital PDFs to some older, slightly faded physical scans. While I tested a few basic online PDF ...
VirginiaCavalier
Feb 04, 2026Iron Contributor
As a best OCR software for Windows. OCR.space Desktop is a solid choice for handling multi-column text recognition, especially if you want to maintain reading order and automate batch processing. Here's how it aligns with your needs:
Pros:
- Multi-Column Support: OCR.space's OCR engine is capable of recognizing multi-column layouts, minimizing garbled reading order when configured properly.
- Automation: It offers command-line interface (CLI) options, allowing you to script and automate processing of entire folders without manual intervention.
- Batch Processing: You can set up batch scripts to process multiple images or PDFs simultaneously, saving time and effort.
- Free Tier: The free version has limitations, but for moderate use, it may suffice. For extensive batch processing, consider the paid tiers for higher quotas and faster processing.
Considerations:
- Layout Detection: Make sure to enable or select layout detection features and specify multi-column processing modes if available.
- Preprocessing: To improve accuracy, consider preprocessing images (deskewing, noise reduction) before OCR.
- Post-processing: Implement scripts to organize recognized text according to columns, for example, by analyzing bounding boxes or layout metadata provided by OCR.space.
Overall, OCR.space Desktop is best OCR software for Windows that your use case if you are comfortable setting up batch scripts and configuring layout options to handle multi-column documents without garbling the reading order.