OMR Software Review

The three main types of OMR solutions available in the market include:

OMR Scanners

Traditional machine–based solution for reading OMR sheets – requires manual attendance
Expensive and poses dependency on thick paper quality and color dropping
Results and outputs are generated using software solutions
Evolved over two decades ago, and was considered the best available technology in the market.

Older Versions of OMR Software

Slow reading speeds; calibration takes a long time
Pose dependency on high end ADF scanners
Basic versions come with a very few predefined sheet designs
Require separate add-on feature modules for sheet designing, sheet reading, and generating test results
Modifications of older software versions are available today, posing no competition to Addmen and offering considerably lesser features. Evolved three years ago

Addmen OMR Scanning Software

Conveniently priced with additional, optional modules for form reading and question paper generation
No dependency on high end ADF scanners and OMR checking machines
Simplified design process, with an easy drag and drop interface
Automatically calibrates any misalignment while reading the scanned sheets
No dependency on paper quality; OMR sheets can be printed on regular A4 size copier paper
Reports are generated in no time, with graphical illustrations if necessary
Evolved 12 years ago, with original and ingenious ideas from our developers, considering various user needs.

New OMR Software Versions Vs the Older Versions

When software solutions were first put in place for OMR reading and processing, they still needed high-end document scanners that produced high-quality scans. This is in contrary to the newer versions of the software which can efficiently read feeble scans, and thus the user need not necessarily use high-end scanners for processing. A simple, low-priced flatbed scanner can do the job. But flatbed scanners are not advised for bulk processing, obviously because flatbed scanners can only scan one sheet at a time and hence demand manual operation.

OMR Software Review – Sheet Scanning

Newer versions of the software offer a wider range of form or sheet design templates, as compared to the introductory versions. The older versions also do not support single-color printing, and functioned optimally only when thicker sheets were used. The recent versions, on the other hand, can read perfectly the scans from thin paper sheets, and offer better calibration of option bubbles to be scanned and alignment of tilted scans, thus preventing unwanted rejections.

OMR Software Review – Sheet Design and Printing

OMR software solutions allow for convenient defining of test parameters and the answer key. The need for specially designed papers of specific color, thickness, and quality is banished with the arrival of OMR software solutions. It is a known requisite for machine based OMR solutions (namely OMR scanners) that the OMR sheets be printed on thick paper, which puts limitations to the scanning process and allows for form/sheet rejections, which can be otherwise avoided using the OMR software. Easy drag & drop in the printing utility makes it easy even for beginners, so the need for outsourcing the printing activity is easily eliminated.

Accuracy in Report Generation

Besides, the newer versions come integrated with an interface to generate reports in form of statistical lists or graphical representations, which come as paid upgrades in the older versions of the software. Accuracy is maintained throughout the process, with smart customizations that allow for seamless reading, collection, correlation, statistical analysis, and speedy processing of data collected from the scanned OMR forms and sheets.

Use of OMR software for facilitating IIT JEE

Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Exam (IIT JEE) is known for its complexity and need for tactical scoring systems. Also, aspiring engineers from across the country participate in these exams, and of late, they used Addmen OMR Answer Sheet Checker to process their answer sheets. Over 300,000 sheets were read and processed within a short span of just 36 hours. Note that the evaluation project was handled by advanced professionals who are expert users of the OMR software. Needless to say, the results were generated well before the publishing time, which allowed for required rechecking and generation of intricate statistical reports.