Final answer:
Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is the process of converting images of hand-written or printed text into a digital text format. This technology takes advantage of developments in computerized typesetting, printing, and xerography, enabling easy reproduction and digitization of textual information.
Step-by-step explanation:
The process of converting images of hand-written or printed text into computer-readable text is known as Optical Character Recognition (OCR). This technology is an essential part of the digitization process, as it allows physical documents to be transformed into digital formats. With advancements in computerized typesetting and printing, such as automated typesetting and direct to plate technology, texts and images can now be easily transferred to digital mediums. Similarly, xerography, which is an electrostatic process, has made the reproduction of documents much more efficient. OCR leverages these kinds of technological progressions to analyze the written characters and translate them into a digital text format that computers can understand and manipulate.
With OCR, industries have evolved from relying solely on paper and print-based media to utilizing electronic formats, such as e-books. This shift in publishing not only affects how we disseminate information but also how literacy is perceived in the digital age. The combination of typesetting, which arranges content, and printing, which applies ink to paper, has revolutionized through computer integration ensuring that information remains easily accessible.