Iris Readiris Pro 10

Optical character recognition (OCR) is a process that uses a scanner to read text in printed documents, and convert it into a text file that can be stored on your computer's hard disk.

You can then edit that text file with an ordinary word processor, such as Microsoft Word, or search through it to locate specific pieces of text.

Most OCR software is aimed at businesses which have stacks of old printed documents that they want to store electronically. These users can buy the expensive corporate edition of ReadIris Pro 10, which costs almost £300.

However, OCR can also be useful for small businesses, students and home users, so this basic version has been released for just £104.

The most important requirement of any OCR program is that it can scan documents accurately, so that you don't have to spend time removing errors from the resulting text.

IRIS claims that ReadIris Pro 10 is now at least 99 per cent accurate and, as long as the documents you're scanning are clear and easy to read, it should reach 100 per cent accuracy. Our test scans didn't reveal any major errors.

OCR software normally works only with printed text, but this version now has a limited ability to scan handwriting as well. It can't cope with cursive (joined up) writing, so you'll have to print in nice clear capital letters.

Other new features include the ability to grab all the text and graphics from Acrobat PDF files and convert them into editable text documents. You can also scan product bar codes to extract their coded information.

OCR work is still fairly specialised and many of us will never need to use this sort of software. But if you do, Readiris Pro 10 is one of the most reliable programs available.