How to Extract Text From Images With OCR

Turn screenshots, receipts, and scanned pages into copyable, searchable text.

KPM Editorial · Guides · 2026-10-12 · 5 min read

What OCR can do for you

Optical character recognition reads text inside pictures so you can copy lecture slides, digitize receipts, and make scanned pages searchable and editable. Our OCR tool recognizes printed English text plus numbers and punctuation, outputting editable UTF-8 text you can paste into notes, documents, spreadsheets, and translation apps without retyping a single line.

Step-by-step: extract text

1. Open the image to text tool and upload a sharp screenshot, photo, or scan of the page.
2. Select the correct language if prompted, since matching the language greatly improves accuracy.
3. Start recognition and wait a few seconds while the engine processes the image locally on your device.
4. Review the extracted text side by side with the image and fix any misread characters or broken line breaks.
5. Copy the result to your notes app, document, or spreadsheet for further editing and searching.
6. For long documents, process one clear page at a time rather than a blurry multi-page photo.
7. Save the cleaned text with a meaningful filename so it stays findable alongside the original image.

Tips for the best results

• Shoot straight: flat, well-lit, high-contrast images produce far fewer errors.
• Crop tightly: trim borders and irrelevant areas so the engine focuses on the text.
• Boost resolution: at least 300 DPI or 1500 pixels wide works best for small fonts.
• Proofread numbers: always double check invoices and codes since similar glyphs can confuse OCR.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Angled phone snaps: perspective distortion and shadows slash accuracy compared to flat scans.
• Handwriting expectations: cursive and stylized scripts recognition remains unreliable, so verify every word.
• Skipping proofreading: one misread digit in a bill or phone number can cause real world trouble.

Privacy note

Recognition runs in-browser with no uploads and nothing is stored. Receipts, IDs, and private screenshots are processed only on your device and never sent to any server.