Scanner recommendations?

So, here’s what I’m trying to figure out:
I recently picked up an all-in-one printer with a built-in scanner, and I was wondering if it’s actually possible to scan a document directly to my computer screen—basically, take some text from a physical piece of paper, run it through the scanner, and then pull that exact text into a word processor to format and edit everything before printing it back out?
I really hope I’ve made myself clear enough here, but if any part of that sounds a bit fuzzy, just let me know and I’ll be more than happy to go into much greater detail to explain exactly what I'm looking for.

You aren't going anywhere without some kind of optical character recognition (OCR) software or plugin.
Since this technology isn't science fiction anymore, your scanner probably already includes it. If it doesn't, you can likely find the functionality within Microsoft Office.

Bottom line: if you want to achieve your goal, OCR software is a requirement.

To download something or just read up on how it works, search Google for "optical character recognition software" or "OCR software"...

Usually, when you grab a new device, they toss in some software along with the drivers. You’ll typically get a little control console to manage settings—things like scanning parameters or copy tweaks—plus some basic OCR software like Adobe Acrobat. Is it a pro-level powerhouse? Not really. But hey, it works fine if you just want to see what's possible.
You have to keep in mind whether the software is actually localized for American English, and even then, expect some margin of error. Let's be real: no tool out there is ever 100% accurate when it comes to this stuff.
Localization matters big time too. If the software isn't set up right for our specific characters or punctuation, it might just swap them for weird symbols that you'll end up having to fix manually anyway.
At the end of the day, success depends on a few things: a solid scan (meaning you aren't trying to press a stubborn, curled-up book flat against the glass while light leaks in from the sides), decent print quality on the original (you know, nothing printed on cheap toilet paper where the letters look fuzzy), and finally, just how much work we're talking about. It’s a dream scenario if you’ve got loose sheets that can run through an ADF. Your approach should change based on the volume, too. If it's just a tiny bit of text, isn't it actually smarter and faster to just type it out manually rather than fighting with bad scans and hunting for typos later?

Thanks a million for all the answers!
There’s one specific thing I’m still chewing on.
Let’s say I have Document A and Document B.
If I scan both of them into my computer, I want to do this:
I’ll "cut" the last two lines from Document A and paste them directly into Document B.
Is that actually doable?
Now, I know some of you might suggest that I could just use my keyboard to type whatever is missing into Document B using Microsoft Word. But here’s the catch: I’m dealing with a very specific font style that I haven't been able to match with any of the standard fonts available in modern software. My plan was to simply cut those lines from one file and add them to the other before printing the whole thing out.
The issue is that these characters look exactly like the old-school typewriter print, so I highly doubt anything in the digital world today uses that exact same typeface.

Joshua Hill88 said:Let's say I have document A and document B.
I scan both documents to my computer and then do this:
I "cut" the last two lines from document A and paste them into document B.
Is that even possible?

Not sure what kind of business you've gotten into (document forgery and all that 🙏), but you definitely need decent graphic editing software.

I suggest Adobe Illustrator. Ideally version X6. You'll have a fairly straightforward (user-friendly) program for bitmap graphics (Corel PaintShop Pro for images—exactly what you need right now) and a less user-friendly one, at least initially, for vector graphics (Adobe Illustrator).

I know someone here might advise me that I could just type what's missing in document B using a keyboard in Microsoft Word. However, we are dealing with a specific type of lettering that I couldn't identify with any font or typeface available in modern computer programs. Therefore, I thought it would be better to simply cut that part of the text and add it to the other document before printing.

I don't follow your first question (to which the answer was "OCR")... If you think an OCR program "copies" and then produces a font, you're mistaken. At best, it will select the closest matching font from its library (like Adobe Acrobat, for instance, which is one of the "better" OCR programs).

Essentially, we are talking about characters produced by old typewriters, so I doubt they are used in the digital world today.

Those kinds of characters aren't used on websites or in general online communication for three main reasons (a layman's explanation):
- the receiving device needs to have them installed
- they aren't as legible as modern fonts
- the layout breaks if the receiving device lacks that specific font and has to use a default fallback... for example, if one font fits 40 characters per line and another fits 50, the design gets distorted when the corresponding font is missing...

Non-standard fonts are generally—though things are changing, as pages can temporarily "borrow" required fonts—used only in graphic formats (images like website logos, headers, ads, or movies). "Plain" text stays within "safe" fonts (those included as standard equipment in operating systems).

/a few different "typewriter" and "vintage typewriter" fonts/

The idea you mentioned in your first post is actually totally doable, so if you're looking to take a physical paper document, scan it, and turn that text into something you can actually edit in Microsoft Word, you'll definitely want to grab Adobe Acrobat.

coppersailor28 said:I honestly have no idea what kind of racket you've decided to get yourself into, especially when we're talking about forging documents and stuff like that. 🙏)

Look, we aren't even talking about document forgery here, so let's get that straight right off the bat. I could certainly sit down and walk you through the specifics of what actually happened, but if I’m being perfectly honest, I highly doubt any of you would find the whole ordeal particularly riveting since it involves nothing more than the kind of tedious, mundane details that would bore a saint. Not to mention, it would probably take me at least an hour of non-stop typing just to hammer out a coherent explanation of all those incredibly dull matters.

coppersailor28 said:I’m still a bit lost regarding the context of your first question—the one where you suggested "OCR" as the answer. If you’re under the impression that an OCR program actually "copies" something and then goes through the process of generating a custom font from scratch, you’ve got it wrong. In a best-case scenario, the software is simply scanning the characters and selecting the closest matching font from its existing library, much like how Adobe Acrobat handles things when it’s performing one of its better OCR tasks.

Alright, let's assume the actual shape of the font isn't going to be an issue here. But if I’ve actually managed to grasp what you're getting at, you're essentially saying it's totally doable to just snip out a specific chunk of text from one document and slap it right onto another, provided I understood your point correctly?
On top of everything else, I’m also trying to figure out how to move a specific image from one document over to another.

Joshua Hill88 said:This isn't even an issue of forgery.

Alright, joke's on you. You don't actually think those questions of yours make you look like someone capable of fooling anyone with a little Photoshop tinkering, do you? 🙂

Fine. Let's assume the font shape won't be an issue.

Slow down. You need to answer the question below—otherwise, there's no point in continuing:
What is your actual goal?
a) To get a document that looks identical to the original, just with one part of the text changed (the edit must be invisible)?
b) To get a document where the sole purpose is to display correct (modified for that purpose) content?

No, if I understood correctly, it is definitely possible to cut a specific part of the text from a document and attach it to another, provided I understood what you wrote?

Since it's unclear what you're actually planning (an image, an image plus OCR, or just text), the basic answer is: yes, that can be done.

coppersailor28 said:Let's slow things down for a second here. Before we can even make sense of this conversation, you really need to give me a straight answer to the question below, because without it, we're basically just spinning our wheels:
What is your actual goal here?
a) To end up with a document that looks identical to the original, with nothing but a specific section of text swapped out (where the edits are totally invisible)?
b) To simply get a document where the main purpose is just displaying the correct (modified) information?

The answer is actually incredibly straightforward—it’s exactly what you described in option a)
And yeah, it would definitely be ideal if the editing was seamless, though I suppose that isn't the absolute dealbreaker.

coppersailor28 said:Even though I'm not entirely sure what your workflow looks like—whether it's an image, an image paired with OCR, or just raw text—the bottom line is this: yes, it can be done.

Since we are dealing with a document dating all the way back to 1979, the image I mentioned is actually a flag, specifically the seal of a former republic.

Joshua Hill88 said:Since we're dealing with a document from 1979, the image I mentioned is actually a flag—specifically, the emblem of a former state.

If you're asking about overlaying one image onto another... that's the basics. It's the easiest part regarding whether "it's even possible to do this?" You just copy and paste.
(To actually process it—meaning "masking" the surroundings of the added image—you'll need some practice.)

I purposely made the image below "complicated." Just to make the process clearer for you.

Basically, below are Image A (left) and Image B (right). Whether there is a house drawn on them, letters, or anything else is irrelevant. Digital images are just data; they are processed according to how computers process images.

- You could simply cover/replace the woman's image with another one and be done with it.
- But let's say the new image is smaller than the woman's photo (or whatever—say, it's "transparent").
- In that case, you first cover the woman's image with a layer that mimics the background of her photo.
- Then, you paste the desired image onto that background imitation.

Regarding what you mentioned under point a)
And yes, it would be ideal if the edit wasn't noticeable, though it isn't strictly critical.

The image above shows a sentence from your post pasted in (using the method described earlier).
Similarly, I have the font used in the image from the internet, so I typed the sentence in that "original" font. If I didn't have it, a typical example of document editing would probably involve just swapping the positions of two lines...

I don't know what else to add besides repeating this:
...copy, paste, "mask"...

When it comes to digital image processing, believe me, there are no limits.
But... BUT!!!

There is a massive difference between a digital file of a $100 bill (even a high-res master for printing currency) and a photo of that same bill printed on standard paper through a home printer.
The same applies to "old documents." On a screen, it might look like an original document, but once printed, it will only ever look like a photocopy (at least to anyone with common sense, working eyes, and a sense of touch—for instance, printed wrinkles or specific paper textures of vintage documents won't look convincing).

My computer finally got back from the repair shop today, which means I’ve officially reached the stage where I need to start downloading all my word processing software again.
I was wondering if anyone here could give me some solid recommendations for programs that handle text editing and formatting well, specifically stuff I can just grab online. One of the guys on this forum already threw a few suggestions my way, but I’d really love to get a second opinion to see if there's a better way to go.