1. A method having scanned intensity information as input for detecting text in a scanned page by observing a very strong contrast in a localized region between a dark side and a light side, the method comprising: pre-processing for stroke width determination; and contrast-based text detection processing; wherein the localized region comprises a substantially sharp edge between the dark side and the light side; and whereby any of black text on white background, black text on color background, and white or light text on a dark background are detected.