What is Catalan OCR & Developer API?
Developer API & RAG Docs →Catalan OCR is the automated process of converting scanned multi-page PDFs up to 1GB and documents into editable, searchable Catalan text while preserving accents, complex ligatures, and native character shapes. FastOCR delivers industry-leading recognition accuracy (up to 99.8% on printed text) and generates full-text searchable PDFs with selectable text overlays at near-instant speed. For engineering teams building RAG pipelines, vector search databases, or automated document ingestion, FastOCR also provides a high-speed Catalan OCR REST API at api.fastocr.org with 50 free pages included upon allowlist approval.
Geminated L support
Correctly handles the geminated l·l (pela de punt volat) unique to Catalan.
Accent & cedilla recognition
Supports à, è, é, í, ï, ò, ó, ú, ü, and ç characters.
Regional document processing
Handles Catalan administrative, legal, and academic texts.
Searchable PDF output
Creates PDFs with invisible text layer for full-text search.
Translate after extraction
Extract Catalan text then translate to English, Spanish, or any language.
Why Catalan OCR Is Challenging
- Preserving the interpunct dot in geminated l·l without turning it into regular l or dropping the dot
- Differentiating grave (è, ò) and acute (é, ó) accents in Catalan orthography
- Handling Catalan-Spanish bilingual documents in a single pass
How to Extract Catalan Text from a PDF & Images
- Go to fastocr.org
- Upload your Catalan image or PDF. Language is detected automatically.
- Wait for processing — images take seconds, PDFs show a progress bar.
- Download results: searchable PDF, raw text file, or copy text directly.
Tips for Better Catalan OCR Accuracy
- Scan at 300 DPI to preserve the punt volat dot between double LLs (l·l)
- Check accent orientation on e and o after OCR
Common Use Cases for Catalan OCR
- Digitizing Catalan legal agreements, contracts, and municipal records
- Extracting text from Catalan literary works, newspapers, and academic journals
- Processing business invoices from Catalonia, Valencia, and the Balearic Islands
FastOCR vs Standard OCR Apps for Catalan
| Capability | FastOCR Dedicated Cloud AI | Standard Online OCR Tools |
|---|---|---|
| Catalan Script Recognition | ✅ Full native cloud recognition for Catalan (complex alphabets and diacritics) | Limited character sets or unhandled accents |
| Multi-Column & Table Layouts | ✅ Preserves proper paragraph and table alignment | Merges unrelated columns together |
| Searchable PDF/A Output | ✅ Dual-layer searchable PDF with coordinate-aligned text overlay | Plain unformatted text dump only or unsupported |
| Instant Web Access | ✅ Zero software installation (runs in mobile & desktop browser) | Requires local CLI libraries or complex desktop setup |
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Catalan OCR recognize the l·l (geminated l) correctly?
Yes. FastOCR preserves the interpunct dot in Catalan l·l characters with 98% accuracy on clean printed text.
Is Catalan OCR free?
Image OCR is free with no registration. PDF processing requires a free account.
Explore Specialized OCR Workflows
FastOCR provides dedicated AI text recognition engines optimized for complex document types and formats:
Free for images. No registration required.
Related Articles & Resources
Free Catalan OCR
Upload & Extract TextLast updated: July 24, 2026