OCR not working on HP printer

[DavidT60]

It's simply not acceptable to post a solution to this that involves having to completely uninstall all drivers and replace with other versions. HP need to provide an update that re-instates OCR as part of the download.

Those of us who are not so IT savvy will not attempt this 'fix'.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @DavidT60,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd like to help!

Save scans as editable text with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in HP Scan for Windows.

NOTE:

HP Scan is included with the Full Software and Drivers downloaded from 123.hp.com/setup, and it is not included with the HP Smart app.

For HP print drivers downloaded after June 2022, the HP Universal Scan software is required to enable the Save as Editable Text (OCR) shortcut in HP Scan. HP print drivers downloaded before June 2022 do not need to install HP Universal Scan.

Install HP Universal Scan (Windows)

Install the HP Universal Scan software to enable saving scans as editable text with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) in HP Scan.

On your computer, go to HP Software and Driver Downloads.

Select Printer, and then enter and select your printer name.

On the software and drivers webpage, look for Universal Scan Driver in the list.

If Universal Scan Driver is in the list, select it, click Download next to HP Universal Scan, and then follow the prompts to install the software.

If Universal Scan Driver is not in the list, your printer does not support it. For more information about other scan options, go to How to scan with an HP printer.

Save a scan as Editable Text (OCR)

Use HP Scan for Windows to save scan files as editable text with Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Place the original on the scanner glass or into the automatic document feeder (ADF).

CAUTION:

Do not load photos into the ADF to prevent damaging them or the printer.

In Windows, search for and open HP Scan.

From HP Scan, select Save as Editable Text (OCR) in the list of shortcuts, and then change any desired scan settings.

Click Scan.

The printer scans the original and a preview of each page displays.

In the Destination field, choose how you want to save the editable text using the File Type drop-down.

To save the text with the original formatting, select Rich Text (.rtf) (default).

To save the text only without the original formatting, select Text (.txt).

Click Save.

When prompted, choose where you want to save the file on the computer, and then click Save.

HP Scan saves the file to the computer.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance.
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