The disclosed embodiments relate to a system and method for calibrating optical character recognition (OCR) processes for an image captured through a mobile computing device. During operation, the system adjusts the OCR process through pre-recognition functions, OCR functions and/or post-recognition functions with multiple sets of parameter settings. With each of these sets, the system scores the OCR process output against an image with known text. Once the sets are scored, the system sorts the sets of parameters, removes some sets, then mixes and mutates the remaining sets in a process akin to evolutionary biology. By repeating this procedure, the system produces a set of parameter settings that can be used to calibrate OCR processing.

Embodiments of a system and method for sorting and delivering articles in a processing facility based on image data are described. Image processing results such as rotation notation information may be included in or with an image to facilitate downstream processing such as when the routing information cannot be extracted from the image using an unattended system and the image is passed to an attended image processing system. The rotation notation information may be used to dynamically adjust the image before presenting the image via the attended image processing system.

Aspects of the technology described herein provide an activatable postage. The activatable postage is printed on a media, such as an envelope or sticker. Initially, the activatable postage has no postage value and may not have any value until activated. Each instance of activatable postage can include a unique identifier encoded in a machine-readable format. Postage value is added to the activatable postage through an activation process. To activate an individual instance of activatable postage, the unique identifier encoded in the activatable postage needs to be provided to the activation application. At the end of the activation process, a central database is updated to associate the unique identifier with a postal value calculated during activation. When the Postal Service receives an item with activatable postage it validates the activatable postage and then deactivates the activatable postage by updating the central database.