Janet Ingber
The OneStep Reader and Voice Dream Scanner are two scanning and reading apps specifically developed for people who are blind or visually impaired. Both do a very good job of scanning and reading documents. However, there is a significant price difference between the two apps.
For this article, I used an iPhone 13 Mini running iOS 15.5. Although I am using an iPhone for evaluation, Android links have been included.
OneStep Reader
This app was called KNFB Reader for many years. It was developed by Ray Kurzweil and the National Federation of the Blind. When the portable version came out, it did not work on iOS or Android, and the cost was prohibitive. Once it was available on these two platforms, the price was reduced considerably and it was a game changer for people who are blind or visually impaired. It was the first portable scanning and reading app. Both iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/onestep-reader/id849732663 ) and Android versions are available. Support can be received by E-Mail,, support@onestepreader.com and phone, (+32) 050 39 49 49 (Belgium)
The Home Screen
When the app is launched, there are five tabs at the bottom of the screen: Camera, Read, Files, Settings, and Help. At the top of the screen, the first control is used to choose whether you want to set the flash to automatic, on, or off. Next is a button that is used to choose whether to scan in multi-page or single-page mode. This is an on/off toggle and is off by default. The Tilt Guidance button is the next control. When the button is set to On, you will receive vibrations to help get your camera in the best position. This button is also an on/off toggle. The next control is the Take Picture button. Next is the Field of view report button. If you select it, VoiceOver will say which edges are visible. Next is a button to select your text recognition language. Next is a button to choose whether to scan a single column or multi column page. The final control is a button to have the app take a picture automatically, manually or using a document stand.
Tabs
The Camera tab contains the same information as the Home screen. The Read screen offers options to save the file, switch to PDF view, choose reading voice, reading speed, reading unit, reading self paced, reading continually add a page, remove a page, and image. If you choose self paced for reading, the reader will read by whatever selection you picked from the reading unit control.
The third tab is Files. Your saved files are located here. On the screen is a series of buttons. They are: Sort, Import from camera roll, Add folder, Refresh, and Edit. Options in the Edit menu are Rename, Move, Share, and Delete. Next is the current folder followed by a search box. There is an Edit Options button, but it appears to have the same options as the Edit button. At the bottom of the screen are two tabs: Local and Cloud. Cloud options are Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive.
The Settings tab is the next item. The first control on the screen is used to apply default settings for VoiceOver. The next button is used to apply default settings for all other users. Next are options for Camera settings, Reader settings, and File List settings. Most of the settings are toggle switches.
The Help tab contains a OneStep Reader manual and contact information for support. The manual is not too long and is worth reviewing. Information about support is near the end of the manual.
Voice Dream Scanner
This app is made by Voice Dream LLC. They are the same company who make Voice Dream Scanner and Voice Dream Reader. The app is available on ios and Android. For Android, the app is called Legere Scanner. For receiving help with Voice Dream Scanner, visit the help page
The Home Screen
At the top left of the screen is a menu button. We will explore it shortly. Next is a series of buttons. They are Import Photo, Image Preview, Capture Image, Edge Detection, Flashlight, Batch Mode, and Auto Capture. The bottom four buttons in this list are on/off toggles.
The first option when the Menu button is activated is Language. Auto Detect is selected by default. This feature only works with Latin-based languages such as English, Spanish, and French. There are additional options for non-Latin languages such as Chinese and Japanese.
The next part of the Settings menu is a series of toggle buttons. The first is ScanTone. The app will play a tone that corresponds to the amount of text in the camera’s field of view. The tone will get louder as more text is visible to the camera.
The remaining buttons are Always Enhance Images, Read Text Automatically After Capture, and Show Plain Text After Recognizing.
Next in the menu is information about Voice Dream Reader and Voice Dream Writer. The Help section is below the information about other Voice Dream products. The first item opens a link to email support. This is followed by a list of helpful tips.
Comparison
When scanning a page with either app, make sure the camera lens is pointed at the middle of the page. Hold your phone or device approximately one foot from the page but you still will probably need to adjust the distance.
Photography
If you chose to take a photo automatically, OneStep Reader will prompt you that it is about to take a photo. Voice Dream Scanner will wait for the item to be in focus and take the photo. If the Tone feature is enabled, the tone will continue while the photo is taken. I found it easier and faster to photograph with Voice Dream Scanner. The tone feature is an excellent option. Another way to take photos is by putting your document on a document stand. The stand is especially useful when scanning multiple pages. Both apps did a very good job photographing a single page of print on paper. Voice Dream scanner did better with photographing a page with two columns. This app does not have a separate column detection feature. It automatically recognizes columns.
Reading Scanned Text
Both apps have controls on the screen along with whatever has been scanned. On a page of scanned text, OneStep Reader has many more controls that Voice Dream Scanner. The first option is used to save a file. The file can be a single page or more. The next control is for changing the view to PDF. This is followed by the selected VoiceOver voice and reading rate. These can be adjusted from this screen. You can select a reading unit such as by line or sentence. Next is a button to choose whether you want VoiceOver to read the reading unit you selected or to read continuously. Next is a button to add a page followed by a button to remove a page. Next is the image button. Selecting it brings up the text before it is processed.
Near the bottom of the screen are additional controls. The first is Go to page. Select it and enter the page you want. Next is a button to Go to the Previous line. Next is the Play button followed by Next line.
Voice Dream Scanner has fewer controls. At the top of the screen are options to Crop Image and Enhance Image. Next is a control to View Text or Image. If Text is selected, the above two buttons aren’t available. Next is the Voice Settings control. This is where you change speech rate, language, and voice. At the bottom of the screen are three controls: Play, Discard, and Keep. Importing PDF Files OneStep Reader can import PDF documents. For example, if you receive a PDF in an email, select the Share button and choose OneStep reader to open it. Using Apple Mail, I needed to go through all the options until I found the More button. Once it was activated, I found OneStep Reader and selected it. My document was in the Files section. At this time, Voice Dream Scanner does not have the ability to import PDF documents. The following is from their website: “Scanner only works on images, not PDFs. To OCR a scanned PDF document, open it in Voice Dream Reader.” At this time, Voice Dream Reader costs $24.99.
Batch Scanning
Both apps offer Batch scanning. In this mode, the camera automatically scans pages and then, when scanning is finished, converts them. Using a document stand will make the process smoother. This mode is particularly good of you have many pages to scan.
The Multi Page Mode button for OneStep Reader is the second button on the top of the camera screen. When finished scanning, activate the Process Multi Page button near the top of the screen. There is also a Cancel button.
Voice Dream Scanner’s Batch Mode is at the bottom of the Camera screen. When finished scanning, select the Save button on the screen. See below for saving the file.
Saving Files
Both apps let you save in the Cloud. In OneStep reader, there is a Save File button that is present when the Read tab is activated. When activated, a new screen opens with the following options: Previous folder, Add folder, Save current file, and Close current file without saving. Selecting the Save current file button opens a new screen. By default, the file name is the time and date. Double tap on the Edit box and enter a name for your file. The next option on the page is whether to save the file in OneStep Reader’s OSR format or as a PDF. If you save it to a folder on your device, that option will be listed on the screen.
If the New Folder option is selected, you will be asked to enter a name of the folder. You can also link OneStep Reader to your Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive. Go to the Settings tab and choose File List Settings and make your selection. Now when you save a file, your selected cloud service will be listed as a save option.
Voice Dream Scanner has a Keep button at the bottom right of the screen when a document is present. Selecting it brings up the camera to add another page. If you do not want to add additional pages, select the Save button on the screen. If you want to add more pages, photograph them. When you are done, activate the Save button. Whether you have finished scanning and activated the Save button or you have finished your batch scanning, the same dialogue box will open.
The first controls are used to choose whether you want to save your document as a PDF or text file. Next is an option to Copy the text. The final control is a Cancel button. If you have chosen a PDF or test format, an edit box will open to name your file.
You can export the document on the next screen, which contains a list of people and apps. This is similar to activating the Share button in photos. Voice Dream Reader suggests choosing Save to Files, which is near the bottom of the list. You will have several options available. I chose iCloud Drive. After making that selection, the different folders in my iCloud Drive were available. After making your selection, activate the Save button in the upper right corner of the screen.
Conclusion
Both of these products work well. I have them on my iPhone but I usually use Voice Dream Scanner. The price difference is something to consider when purchasing. If you need to read PDFs, buying Voice Dream Reader to go with Voice Dream Scanner is still less than OneStep Reader. On the other hand, OneStep Reader has all controls displayed on the screen and is more customizable. It also supports braille output and can import PDF files.
This article is made possible in part by generous funding from the James H. and Alice Teubert Charitable Trust, Huntington, West Virginia.
