Prizmo

Versions

• Do you plan to release Prizmo for other mobile phones?

  Creaceed is specialized in Mac and iPhone development. We started over 12 years ago to work with all Mac-related technologies (Cocoa, Objective-C, OpenGL...), and we think they are great. So, we want to go on this way. We have no plan for an Android version at this time.
  
  

• Is Prizmo also available on computers?

  Yes, it is. You can use Prizmo for Mac on computers supporting OS X 10.7 and 10.8. More information here.
  

Supported Devices

• Will Prizmo work with my iPad?

  Yes, it will. Prizmo 2 is now a universal iOS application, working on both iPhones and iPads, with a dedicated user interface.
  However, Prizmo will only work accurately on the iPad 3, iPad 4, and iPad mini because it needs at least 3-megapixel photos to perform OCR. Of course, there’s a camera on the iPad 2, but the image resolution is too low (under 1 megapixel). You wouldn’t get accurate OCR results with an iPad 2.
  
  
  

• Can I use Prizmo on the iPod touch?

  Yes, if you have a 5th Generation iPod touch (i.e. the latest version which includes a 5-megapixel camera).
  The 4th Generation iPod touch too has a built-in camera, but it is less than 1 megapixel. Therefore, it is too low resolution for performing OCR accurately. 1 megapixel vs. 5 megapixels is indeed a major difference when it comes to image processing.
  
  

Scanning

• I took a picture of a letter but it is upside down. How can I correct that in Prizmo?

  You can rotate the input photograph without any problem in Prizmo. This change is applied to each page separately, so don't worry if some pages of your Prizmo document need to be rotated, and some don't.
  
  

• How can I scan multipage documents?

  There's no limit to the number of pages you can add to a Prizmo document. Import the 1st picture from your album, or take a picture of the 1st page. Then, tap the "+" in the lower left corner for adding the second picture.
  When working with PDF files as input, importing the file into Prizmo will automatically add all pages to the Prizmo document.
  
  
  

• Which character sizes are supported?

  Prizmo can handle many sizes, from quite small to quite big. However, remember that you need a picture of good quality for accurately processing OCR. A blurry shot is not a good starting point for performing OCR.
  
  

• It would be great if I could just use the scan/save feature without the OCR feature on certain items. Is this possible?

  You can select the Image mode for this. You have access to image processing tools like rotation, crop, perspective correction, brightness... but without OCR. The result will be an improved image you can export to any app or service (mail, Dropbox, Evernote...).
  
  

• Is there a way to reduce the file size of the scanned documents?

  You can choose the image quality Prizmo will use by default when exporting PDF and JPEG files. Go to the Settings, select Export Options in the list, and choose between High, Normal and Low. The setting will be applied to all documents created with Prizmo.
  

Export

• Which export options are available?

  There are several export options available for exporting each page individually.
  
  

  	Text Documents	Business Cards	Images
  Copy to Clipboard	X	X	X
  Send by Email	X	X	X
  Open in Another App*	X	X	X
  Save in Photo Album	X	X	X
  Read Text	X
  Add to Contacts		X

  
  * Open in another application installed on your iPhone/iPad like Dropbox, Evernote, Instashare...
  
  

• Which formats are available for export?

  
  

  	Text Documents	Business Cards	Images
  Output Formats	Text Document JPEG Image PNG Image PDF (image) PDF (image + searchable text)	vCard JPEG Image PNG Image	JPEG Image PNG Image PDF (image)

  
  

• Which online services can I export to?

  You can export to any compatible application installed on your iPhone/iPad that accepts either PDF, Text, or vCard file formats. Here are a few examples of these applications: Dropbox, Box, Google Drive and SkyDrive. screenshot
  
  
  
  

• Can I export documents in PDF?

  Yes, PDF export is available when processing text documents and images.
  

Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

• I tried Prizmo's OCR but I got poor results. What can I do?

  We checked the accuracy of the OCR engine in the 40+ available languages. Even with pictures taken in poor circumstances (document on several other documents, picture taken in front of the document rather than above...), we got very good results.
  
  Here are some recommendations for improved OCR results:

  • make sure the picture you've taken is not blurry, as this decreases OCR accuracy.
  • you should be right above the document you want to photograph.
  • use the camera flash when you take a picture.
  • make sure the text to be recognized is parallel to the horizontal sides of the blue cropping rectangle.
  • choose the language of the document in the list (you can recognize a letter in Spanish while using Prizmo in English).
  • optimize the character contrast. Choose the Readability tools, and zoom in to get the text in close-up. Then, play with the slider related to character thickness. You should be able to read the text properly on the whole page.
  • check characters are dark on a light background. If not, update the Text setting available in the Readability tools.

  
  
  Here are some additional recommendations for taking pictures:
  
  

  The text is perspective distorted. As it is not perfectly straight, it will lower OCR accuracy.		The text is tilted. As it is not perfectly straight, it will lower OCR accuracy.		Use the perspective tool to make the picture straight before OCR processing.
  The image is blurry. As a result, OCR will perform badly.		Contrast is poor. You'll get bad OCR results.		For proper results, use the voice command to avoid motion while shooting. Use the flash of your iPhone 4S if lighting is bad.
  If your picture is blurry, you'll get something like this.		A photograph without perspective correction will lead to a poor OCR performance.		With a good shot, you'll get very accurate OCR results.

  
  
  

• Is the quality of my images good enough to perform OCR?

  Image quality is a major issue indeed. OCR results will most likely be disappointing if the input image quality is poor. Here are a few examples of what should be avoided:
  
  

  • The image is blurry. Check you are able to read the text on the picture. You can't in this example. Please take a new picture of better quality.
    
    
  
  
  • The ticket is crumbled.
    
    
  
  
  • It is a double-sided document. Characters, lines and colors which are printed on the other side could hinder OCR.
    
    
  
  

• Are you going to add new languages for OCR? Japanese, Chinese, Arabic,...?

  Yes, we would like to support additional languages, but we need a reliable OCR technology in these languages first. We are investigating...
  
  

• Is OCR performed on the iPhone itself or on your servers?

  As stated in the App Store description, OCR is performed on the iPhone/iPad. No data is sent to our servers, everything stays on your device.
  
  

• Can I recognize handwritten notes?

  No, Prizmo’s built-in OCR engine is only for typewritten texts and documents. There’s currently no reliable OCR engine for handwriting (remember sometimes it’s even difficult to read someone else’s handwriting, and our brain is a much more powerful engine than any OCR technology). But you can definitely scan it with Prizmo as an image, and use the image enhancement techniques.
  

Text-to-Speech (TTS)

• Can I purchase several voices?

  There's no limitation whatsoever. You can purchase either several voices in a single language, or one voice in several languages.
  
  

• Do I need an Internet connection for purchasing voices?

  Text-to-Speech voices are available in Prizmo through In-App Purchases only. Therefore, you need an Internet connection for purchasing and downloading the voice from iTunes. Once the voice is installed on your iPhone, no Internet connection is required for actually reading texts out loud.
  

Accessibility

• I am a blind iPhone user. Can you tell me if Prizmo works with the VoiceOver screenreader on the iPhone?

  Yes, the user interface is compatible with VoiceOver.
  
  Prizmo 2 also features automatic page detection with voice guidance. It will instruct how to move your iPhone while shooting to get the entire page. Text orientation (left/right/up/down) can also be automatically determined if the corresponding switch is enabled in Prizmo settings.
  
  Besides, there’s another feature which might be really useful for you: text-to-speech. There are 65 male and female high-quality voices available in 20 languages as in-app purchases ($2.99 or 2,69€ each). With a voice installed on your iPhone/iPad, Prizmo will read the text out loud for you. You can even choose the speaking rate.
  
  
  

Updates

• Is the upgrade to Prizmo 2 for iOS free? Even if I want to install it on my new iPad?

  Yes, the upgrade is free for all users who downloaded Prizmo 1 from the App Store. Prizmo 2 is now a universal application, meaning you can install it on your iPhone AND iPad without being charged a second time.
  

Issues

• I can’t see some buttons/icons in the application although they should be there. What should I do?

  Your copy might have been corrupted for an unknown reason. Please delete it, and download a fresh copy from the App Store. You won’t be charged a second time if you use the same iTunes account. If the issue persists, try again and restart your iPhone before downloading Prizmo from the App Store.
  
  

• I tried to take a picture of a text on my iPad 4 screen with my iPhone 5 and it didn't detect the text.

  Unfortunately, it is not the best way to use Prizmo. Taking a picture of a screen (either from an iPad or a computer) will lead to a picture of poor quality. On such a picture, the OCR magic won’t happen, and as a consequence, you will get inaccurate results.
  
  Using a screenshot of the iPhone/iPad screen that is made on the device itself (using the Home and Lock buttons) is supported, and typically leads to good results on devices with Retina displays.
  
  

• I'd like to scan passages from my French textbook but it doesn't work properly. What can I do?

  The current version of Prizmo supports 40+ languages. Before taking the picture, you can choose the OCR language. Tap the button in the upper right corner of the camera view, and select the language in the list.
  
  If you've already taken the picture, you can change the OCR language afterwards, when processing the page (the OCR language button is next to the Recognize button in the top toolbar).
  
  
  
  

• I couldn’t purchase a voice in the store. I even tried to restore purchases but unsuccessfully so far.

  The voice is around 20 MB, and it starts downloading after clicking the Buy button. Please try again with your iPhone/iPad connected to a Wi-Fi network. The server or the connection might have been unavailable the 1st time you tried to download the voice. Don’t worry, you won’t be charged a second time.
  
  

• When I open Prizmo, I see a pop-up asking for my password in order to connect to my iTunes account. Why?

  You probably tried to purchase a voice but it wasn’t fully downloaded on your iPhone. Prizmo notices that issue, and wants to fix it asap by resuming the download. Please make sure you are connected to a Wi-Fi network, and allow a few minutes for the voice to be downloaded.
  
  

• I processed a business card but I can't save the entry. The Next button is unresponsive.

  This is because you need to have either a person name or a company name for the contact to be valid. You can manually add that field. Then, the Next button will be enabled.
  
  

• I bought the iPhone version and imported the saved image onto my 2G iPod touch. It did not recognize the text.

  Pay attention to how you import images on the iPod touch. Using iPhoto and iTunes for transferring images will convert them into much smaller images (and as a result, OCR will perform poorly). You should rather import an image using Safari or send it by email. Then, tap the image and hold until you are asked to save the image in the album. Image quality will be preserved this way.
  
  

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