Scanner & OCR Software for Mac - Any tips?

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I have a huge pile of documents that I want to digitize. I think it should be a relatively simple process, but I’d like to get some recommendations, starting with scanners.

I see a lot of Epson scanners in the $100-$150 price range. These should be good enough to scan images and text, right? I’m assuming the more expensive models include features like self-feeding. That would be out of my price range; plus, many of my documents are booklets, brochures, etc.

It looks like OCR software is all over the map - $50-$500. In fact, I’m not even sure if I need to buy a separate OCR program, as I just learned that some scanners include “Document Capture Software.” Are these built-in OCR programs pretty good, or do you think I’ll need to buy a separate OCR program?

I’ve seen OCR software programs that include the ability to scan tables. That sounds especially cool, if it’s in my price range. If not, I’m hoping that might be a service available in local libraries (or Kinkos?).

Anyway, I’m hoping I can get an appropriate scanner and OCR software for $100-$200. It will be a tedious project, but it should be relatively simple. I want to scan everything twice - as text and as an image to serve as a back up in case my text scan doesn’t properly convert all the text.

Thanks for any tips.

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Most scanners do come with scanning software, which includes OCR conversion features.

However, there are document scanners, which allow you do scan documents more quickly (you can feed it a stack of documents) than a traditional flat-bed single-page scanner.

Epson and Canon each make various models, depending upon what you’re looking for in terms of price and features.

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I actually experimented with OCR software years ago, when the technology was in its infancy. So I’m guessing it will work about 700% better today. I wasn’t even aware that it was commonly included with scanners. Thanks for the tip.