1. A method of preprocessing an image for optical character recognition (OCR), wherein the image comprises a plurality of columns, each column of the plurality of columns comprising at least one of Arabic text and non-text items, the method comprising: determining a plurality of components associated with at least one of the Arabic text and the non-text items of the plurality of columns, wherein a component comprises a series of connected pixels; calculating a line height and a column spacing associated with the plurality of components; associating at least one component of the plurality of components with a column of the plurality of columns based on at least one of the line height and the column spacing; calculating a first set of characteristic parameters for each column of the plurality of columns; and merging the plurality of components of each column of the plurality of columns based on the first set of characteristic parameters to form at least one of at least one sub-word and at least one word.