diff --git a/camelot/cli.py b/camelot/cli.py
index e978a3c..a1a571e 100644
--- a/camelot/cli.py
+++ b/camelot/cli.py
@@ -43,6 +43,8 @@ pass_config = click.make_pass_decorator(Config)
               help='Split text that spans across multiple cells.')
 @click.option('-flag', '--flag_size', is_flag=True, help='Flag text based on'
               ' font size. Useful to detect super/subscripts.')
+@click.option('-strip', '--strip_text', help='Characters that should be stripped from a string before'
+              ' assigning it to a cell.')
 @click.option('-M', '--margins', nargs=3, default=(1.0, 0.5, 0.1),
               help='PDFMiner char_margin, line_margin and word_margin.')
 @click.pass_context
@@ -68,10 +70,10 @@ def cli(ctx, *args, **kwargs):
 @click.option('-shift', '--shift_text', default=['l', 't'],
               type=click.Choice(['', 'l', 'r', 't', 'b']), multiple=True,
               help='Direction in which text in a spanning cell will flow.')
-@click.option('-l', '--line_close_tol', default=2,
+@click.option('-l', '--line_tol', default=2,
               help='Tolerance parameter used to merge close vertical'
               ' and horizontal lines.')
-@click.option('-j', '--joint_close_tol', default=2,
+@click.option('-j', '--joint_tol', default=2,
               help='Tolerance parameter used to decide whether'
               ' the detected lines and points lie close to each other.')
 @click.option('-block', '--threshold_blocksize', default=15,
@@ -84,6 +86,8 @@ def cli(ctx, *args, **kwargs):
               ' may be zero or negative as well.')
 @click.option('-I', '--iterations', default=0,
               help='Number of times for erosion/dilation will be applied.')
+@click.option('-res', '--resolution', default=300,
+              help='Resolution used for PDF to PNG conversion.')
 @click.option('-plot', '--plot_type',
               type=click.Choice(['text', 'grid', 'contour', 'joint', 'line']),
               help='Plot elements found on PDF page for visual debugging.')
@@ -133,9 +137,11 @@ def lattice(c, *args, **kwargs):
               ' where x1, y1 -> left-top and x2, y2 -> right-bottom.')
 @click.option('-C', '--columns', default=[], multiple=True,
               help='X coordinates of column separators.')
-@click.option('-r', '--row_close_tol', default=2, help='Tolerance parameter'
+@click.option('-e', '--edge_tol', default=50, help='Tolerance parameter'
+              ' for extending textedges vertically.')
+@click.option('-r', '--row_tol', default=2, help='Tolerance parameter'
               ' used to combine text vertically, to generate rows.')
-@click.option('-c', '--col_close_tol', default=0, help='Tolerance parameter'
+@click.option('-c', '--column_tol', default=0, help='Tolerance parameter'
               ' used to combine text horizontally, to generate columns.')
 @click.option('-plot', '--plot_type',
               type=click.Choice(['text', 'grid', 'contour', 'textedge']),
diff --git a/camelot/core.py b/camelot/core.py
index ac63e54..4e5869a 100644
--- a/camelot/core.py
+++ b/camelot/core.py
@@ -13,8 +13,6 @@ import pandas as pd
 # minimum number of vertical textline intersections for a textedge
 # to be considered valid
 TEXTEDGE_REQUIRED_ELEMENTS = 4
-# y coordinate tolerance for extending textedge
-TEXTEDGE_EXTEND_TOLERANCE = 50
 # padding added to table area on the left, right and bottom
 TABLE_AREA_PADDING = 10
 
@@ -55,11 +53,11 @@ class TextEdge(object):
         return '<TextEdge x={} y0={} y1={} align={} valid={}>'.format(
             round(self.x, 2), round(self.y0, 2), round(self.y1, 2), self.align, self.is_valid)
 
-    def update_coords(self, x, y0):
+    def update_coords(self, x, y0, edge_tol=50):
         """Updates the text edge's x and bottom y coordinates and sets
         the is_valid attribute.
         """
-        if np.isclose(self.y0, y0, atol=TEXTEDGE_EXTEND_TOLERANCE):
+        if np.isclose(self.y0, y0, atol=edge_tol):
             self.x = (self.intersections * self.x + x) / float(self.intersections + 1)
             self.y0 = y0
             self.intersections += 1
@@ -74,7 +72,8 @@ class TextEdges(object):
     the PDF page. The dict has three keys based on the alignments,
     and each key's value is a list of camelot.core.TextEdge objects.
     """
-    def __init__(self):
+    def __init__(self, edge_tol=50):
+        self.edge_tol = edge_tol
         self._textedges = {'left': [], 'right': [], 'middle': []}
 
     @staticmethod
@@ -115,7 +114,8 @@ class TextEdges(object):
             if idx is None:
                 self.add(textline, align)
             else:
-                self._textedges[align][idx].update_coords(x_coord, textline.y0)
+                self._textedges[align][idx].update_coords(
+                    x_coord, textline.y0, edge_tol=self.edge_tol)
 
     def generate(self, textlines):
         """Generates the text edges dict based on horizontal text
@@ -359,7 +359,7 @@ class Table(object):
                 cell.left = cell.right = cell.top = cell.bottom = True
         return self
 
-    def set_edges(self, vertical, horizontal, joint_close_tol=2):
+    def set_edges(self, vertical, horizontal, joint_tol=2):
         """Sets a cell's edges to True depending on whether the cell's
         coordinates overlap with the line's coordinates within a
         tolerance.
@@ -376,11 +376,11 @@ class Table(object):
             # find closest x coord
             # iterate over y coords and find closest start and end points
             i = [i for i, t in enumerate(self.cols)
-                 if np.isclose(v[0], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(v[0], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             j = [j for j, t in enumerate(self.rows)
-                 if np.isclose(v[3], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(v[3], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             k = [k for k, t in enumerate(self.rows)
-                 if np.isclose(v[1], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(v[1], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             if not j:
                 continue
             J = j[0]
@@ -427,11 +427,11 @@ class Table(object):
             # find closest y coord
             # iterate over x coords and find closest start and end points
             i = [i for i, t in enumerate(self.rows)
-                 if np.isclose(h[1], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(h[1], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             j = [j for j, t in enumerate(self.cols)
-                 if np.isclose(h[0], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(h[0], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             k = [k for k, t in enumerate(self.cols)
-                 if np.isclose(h[2], t[0], atol=joint_close_tol)]
+                 if np.isclose(h[2], t[0], atol=joint_tol)]
             if not j:
                 continue
             J = j[0]
diff --git a/camelot/io.py b/camelot/io.py
index de2052b..96ffa27 100644
--- a/camelot/io.py
+++ b/camelot/io.py
@@ -40,10 +40,13 @@ def read_pdf(filepath, pages='1', password=None, flavor='lattice',
     flag_size : bool, optional (default: False)
         Flag text based on font size. Useful to detect
         super/subscripts. Adds <s></s> around flagged text.
-    row_close_tol^ : int, optional (default: 2)
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
+    row_tol^ : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to combine text vertically,
         to generate rows.
-    col_close_tol^ : int, optional (default: 0)
+    column_tol^ : int, optional (default: 0)
         Tolerance parameter used to combine text horizontally,
         to generate columns.
     process_background* : bool, optional (default: False)
@@ -59,10 +62,10 @@ def read_pdf(filepath, pages='1', password=None, flavor='lattice',
     shift_text* : list, optional (default: ['l', 't'])
         {'l', 'r', 't', 'b'}
         Direction in which text in a spanning cell will flow.
-    line_close_tol* : int, optional (default: 2)
+    line_tol* : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to merge close vertical and horizontal
         lines.
-    joint_close_tol* : int, optional (default: 2)
+    joint_tol* : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to decide whether the detected lines
         and points lie close to each other.
     threshold_blocksize* : int, optional (default: 15)
@@ -79,6 +82,8 @@ def read_pdf(filepath, pages='1', password=None, flavor='lattice',
         Number of times for erosion/dilation is applied.
 
         For more information, refer `OpenCV's dilate <https://docs.opencv.org/2.4/modules/imgproc/doc/filtering.html#dilate>`_.
+    resolution* : int, optional (default: 300)
+        Resolution used for PDF to PNG conversion.
 
     Returns
     -------
diff --git a/camelot/parsers/lattice.py b/camelot/parsers/lattice.py
index 0ec53bd..50d8e1f 100644
--- a/camelot/parsers/lattice.py
+++ b/camelot/parsers/lattice.py
@@ -50,10 +50,13 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
     flag_size : bool, optional (default: False)
         Flag text based on font size. Useful to detect
         super/subscripts. Adds <s></s> around flagged text.
-    line_close_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
+    line_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to merge close vertical and horizontal
         lines.
-    joint_close_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
+    joint_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to decide whether the detected lines
         and points lie close to each other.
     threshold_blocksize : int, optional (default: 15)
@@ -70,13 +73,15 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
         Number of times for erosion/dilation is applied.
 
         For more information, refer `OpenCV's dilate <https://docs.opencv.org/2.4/modules/imgproc/doc/filtering.html#dilate>`_.
+    resolution : int, optional (default: 300)
+        Resolution used for PDF to PNG conversion.
 
     """
     def __init__(self, table_areas=None, process_background=False,
                  line_size_scaling=15, copy_text=None, shift_text=['l', 't'],
-                 split_text=False, flag_size=False, line_close_tol=2,
-                 joint_close_tol=2, threshold_blocksize=15, threshold_constant=-2,
-                 iterations=0, **kwargs):
+                 split_text=False, flag_size=False, strip_text='', line_tol=2,
+                 joint_tol=2, threshold_blocksize=15, threshold_constant=-2,
+                 iterations=0, resolution=300, **kwargs):
         self.table_areas = table_areas
         self.process_background = process_background
         self.line_size_scaling = line_size_scaling
@@ -84,11 +89,13 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
         self.shift_text = shift_text
         self.split_text = split_text
         self.flag_size = flag_size
-        self.line_close_tol = line_close_tol
-        self.joint_close_tol = joint_close_tol
+        self.strip_text = strip_text
+        self.line_tol = line_tol
+        self.joint_tol = joint_tol
         self.threshold_blocksize = threshold_blocksize
         self.threshold_constant = threshold_constant
         self.iterations = iterations
+        self.resolution = resolution
 
     @staticmethod
     def _reduce_index(t, idx, shift_text):
@@ -209,7 +216,7 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
             '-sDEVICE=png16m',
             '-o',
             self.imagename,
-            '-r600',
+            '-r{}'.format(self.resolution),
             self.filename
         ]
         gs = get_executable()
@@ -278,9 +285,9 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
         rows.extend([tk[1], tk[3]])
         # sort horizontal and vertical segments
         cols = merge_close_lines(
-            sorted(cols), line_close_tol=self.line_close_tol)
+            sorted(cols), line_tol=self.line_tol)
         rows = merge_close_lines(
-            sorted(rows, reverse=True), line_close_tol=self.line_close_tol)
+            sorted(rows, reverse=True), line_tol=self.line_tol)
         # make grid using x and y coord of shortlisted rows and cols
         cols = [(cols[i], cols[i + 1])
                 for i in range(0, len(cols) - 1)]
@@ -297,7 +304,7 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
 
         table = Table(cols, rows)
         # set table edges to True using ver+hor lines
-        table = table.set_edges(v_s, h_s, joint_close_tol=self.joint_close_tol)
+        table = table.set_edges(v_s, h_s, joint_tol=self.joint_tol)
         # set table border edges to True
         table = table.set_border()
         # set spanning cells to True
@@ -310,7 +317,7 @@ class Lattice(BaseParser):
             for t in self.t_bbox[direction]:
                 indices, error = get_table_index(
                     table, t, direction, split_text=self.split_text,
-                    flag_size=self.flag_size)
+                    flag_size=self.flag_size, strip_text=self.strip_text)
                 if indices[:2] != (-1, -1):
                     pos_errors.append(error)
                     indices = Lattice._reduce_index(table, indices, shift_text=self.shift_text)
diff --git a/camelot/parsers/stream.py b/camelot/parsers/stream.py
index 5ebd2df..049bc9f 100644
--- a/camelot/parsers/stream.py
+++ b/camelot/parsers/stream.py
@@ -38,23 +38,31 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
     flag_size : bool, optional (default: False)
         Flag text based on font size. Useful to detect
         super/subscripts. Adds <s></s> around flagged text.
-    row_close_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
+    edge_tol : int, optional (default: 50)
+        Tolerance parameter for extending textedges vertically.
+    row_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
         Tolerance parameter used to combine text vertically,
         to generate rows.
-    col_close_tol : int, optional (default: 0)
+    column_tol : int, optional (default: 0)
         Tolerance parameter used to combine text horizontally,
         to generate columns.
 
     """
     def __init__(self, table_areas=None, columns=None, split_text=False,
-                 flag_size=False, row_close_tol=2, col_close_tol=0, **kwargs):
+                 flag_size=False, strip_text='', edge_tol=50, row_tol=2,
+                 column_tol=0, **kwargs):
         self.table_areas = table_areas
         self.columns = columns
         self._validate_columns()
         self.split_text = split_text
         self.flag_size = flag_size
-        self.row_close_tol = row_close_tol
-        self.col_close_tol = col_close_tol
+        self.strip_text = strip_text
+        self.edge_tol = edge_tol
+        self.row_tol = row_tol
+        self.column_tol = column_tol
 
     @staticmethod
     def _text_bbox(t_bbox):
@@ -80,7 +88,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         return text_bbox
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _group_rows(text, row_close_tol=2):
+    def _group_rows(text, row_tol=2):
         """Groups PDFMiner text objects into rows vertically
         within a tolerance.
 
@@ -88,7 +96,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         ----------
         text : list
             List of PDFMiner text objects.
-        row_close_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
+        row_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -104,7 +112,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
             # if t.get_text().strip() and all([obj.upright for obj in t._objs if
             # type(obj) is LTChar]):
             if t.get_text().strip():
-                if not np.isclose(row_y, t.y0, atol=row_close_tol):
+                if not np.isclose(row_y, t.y0, atol=row_tol):
                     rows.append(sorted(temp, key=lambda t: t.x0))
                     temp = []
                     row_y = t.y0
@@ -114,7 +122,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         return rows
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _merge_columns(l, col_close_tol=0):
+    def _merge_columns(l, column_tol=0):
         """Merges column boundaries horizontally if they overlap
         or lie within a tolerance.
 
@@ -122,7 +130,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         ----------
         l : list
             List of column x-coordinate tuples.
-        col_close_tol : int, optional (default: 0)
+        column_tol : int, optional (default: 0)
 
         Returns
         -------
@@ -136,17 +144,17 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
                 merged.append(higher)
             else:
                 lower = merged[-1]
-                if col_close_tol >= 0:
+                if column_tol >= 0:
                     if (higher[0] <= lower[1] or
-                            np.isclose(higher[0], lower[1], atol=col_close_tol)):
+                            np.isclose(higher[0], lower[1], atol=column_tol)):
                         upper_bound = max(lower[1], higher[1])
                         lower_bound = min(lower[0], higher[0])
                         merged[-1] = (lower_bound, upper_bound)
                     else:
                         merged.append(higher)
-                elif col_close_tol < 0:
+                elif column_tol < 0:
                     if higher[0] <= lower[1]:
-                        if np.isclose(higher[0], lower[1], atol=abs(col_close_tol)):
+                        if np.isclose(higher[0], lower[1], atol=abs(column_tol)):
                             merged.append(higher)
                         else:
                             upper_bound = max(lower[1], higher[1])
@@ -183,7 +191,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         return rows
 
     @staticmethod
-    def _add_columns(cols, text, row_close_tol):
+    def _add_columns(cols, text, row_tol):
         """Adds columns to existing list by taking into account
         the text that lies outside the current column x-coordinates.
 
@@ -202,7 +210,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
 
         """
         if text:
-            text = Stream._group_rows(text, row_close_tol=row_close_tol)
+            text = Stream._group_rows(text, row_tol=row_tol)
             elements = [len(r) for r in text]
             new_cols = [(t.x0, t.x1)
                         for r in text if len(r) == max(elements) for t in r]
@@ -248,11 +256,10 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         Assumes that tables are situated relatively far apart
         vertically.
         """
-
         # TODO: add support for arabic text #141
         # sort textlines in reading order
         textlines.sort(key=lambda x: (-x.y0, x.x0))
-        textedges = TextEdges()
+        textedges = TextEdges(edge_tol=self.edge_tol)
         # generate left, middle and right textedges
         textedges.generate(textlines)
         # select relevant edges
@@ -294,7 +301,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
         self.t_bbox = t_bbox
 
         text_x_min, text_y_min, text_x_max, text_y_max = self._text_bbox(self.t_bbox)
-        rows_grouped = self._group_rows(self.t_bbox['horizontal'], row_close_tol=self.row_close_tol)
+        rows_grouped = self._group_rows(self.t_bbox['horizontal'], row_tol=self.row_tol)
         rows = self._join_rows(rows_grouped, text_y_max, text_y_min)
         elements = [len(r) for r in rows_grouped]
 
@@ -325,7 +332,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
                     warnings.warn("No tables found in table area {}".format(
                         table_idx + 1))
             cols = [(t.x0, t.x1) for r in rows_grouped if len(r) == ncols for t in r]
-            cols = self._merge_columns(sorted(cols), col_close_tol=self.col_close_tol)
+            cols = self._merge_columns(sorted(cols), column_tol=self.column_tol)
             inner_text = []
             for i in range(1, len(cols)):
                 left = cols[i - 1][1]
@@ -337,7 +344,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
                             for t in self.t_bbox[direction]
                             if t.x0 > cols[-1][1] or t.x1 < cols[0][0]]
             inner_text.extend(outer_text)
-            cols = self._add_columns(cols, inner_text, self.row_close_tol)
+            cols = self._add_columns(cols, inner_text, self.row_tol)
             cols = self._join_columns(cols, text_x_min, text_x_max)
 
         return cols, rows
@@ -353,7 +360,7 @@ class Stream(BaseParser):
             for t in self.t_bbox[direction]:
                 indices, error = get_table_index(
                     table, t, direction, split_text=self.split_text,
-                    flag_size=self.flag_size)
+                    flag_size=self.flag_size, strip_text=self.strip_text)
                 if indices[:2] != (-1, -1):
                     pos_errors.append(error)
                     for r_idx, c_idx, text in indices:
diff --git a/camelot/utils.py b/camelot/utils.py
index c38884f..88564f7 100644
--- a/camelot/utils.py
+++ b/camelot/utils.py
@@ -20,16 +20,16 @@ from pdfminer.layout import (LAParams, LTAnno, LTChar, LTTextLineHorizontal,
 
 stream_kwargs = [
     'columns',
-    'row_close_tol',
-    'col_close_tol'
+    'row_tol',
+    'column_tol'
 ]
 lattice_kwargs = [
     'process_background',
     'line_size_scaling',
     'copy_text',
     'shift_text',
-    'line_close_tol',
-    'joint_close_tol',
+    'line_tol',
+    'joint_tol',
     'threshold_blocksize',
     'threshold_constant',
     'iterations'
@@ -281,14 +281,14 @@ def text_in_bbox(bbox, text):
     return t_bbox
 
 
-def merge_close_lines(ar, line_close_tol=2):
+def merge_close_lines(ar, line_tol=2):
     """Merges lines which are within a tolerance by calculating a
     moving mean, based on their x or y axis projections.
 
     Parameters
     ----------
     ar : list
-    line_close_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
+    line_tol : int, optional (default: 2)
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -301,7 +301,7 @@ def merge_close_lines(ar, line_close_tol=2):
             ret.append(a)
         else:
             temp = ret[-1]
-            if np.isclose(temp, a, atol=line_close_tol):
+            if np.isclose(temp, a, atol=line_tol):
                 temp = (temp + a) / 2.0
                 ret[-1] = temp
             else:
@@ -309,7 +309,12 @@ def merge_close_lines(ar, line_close_tol=2):
     return ret
 
 
-def flag_font_size(textline, direction):
+# TODO: combine the following functions into a TextProcessor class which
+# applies corresponding transformations sequentially
+# (inspired from sklearn.pipeline.Pipeline)
+
+
+def flag_font_size(textline, direction, strip_text=''):
     """Flags super/subscripts in text by enclosing them with <s></s>.
     May give false positives.
 
@@ -319,6 +324,9 @@ def flag_font_size(textline, direction):
         List of PDFMiner LTChar objects.
     direction : string
         Direction of the PDFMiner LTTextLine object.
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -344,13 +352,13 @@ def flag_font_size(textline, direction):
                 fchars = [t[0] for t in chars]
                 if ''.join(fchars).strip():
                     flist.append(''.join(fchars))
-        fstring = ''.join(flist)
+        fstring = ''.join(flist).strip(strip_text)
     else:
-        fstring = ''.join([t.get_text() for t in textline])
+        fstring = ''.join([t.get_text() for t in textline]).strip(strip_text)
     return fstring
 
 
-def split_textline(table, textline, direction, flag_size=False):
+def split_textline(table, textline, direction, flag_size=False, strip_text=''):
     """Splits PDFMiner LTTextLine into substrings if it spans across
     multiple rows/columns.
 
@@ -365,6 +373,9 @@ def split_textline(table, textline, direction, flag_size=False):
         Whether or not to highlight a substring using <s></s>
         if its size is different from rest of the string. (Useful for
         super and subscripts.)
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -416,14 +427,15 @@ def split_textline(table, textline, direction, flag_size=False):
     grouped_chars = []
     for key, chars in groupby(cut_text, itemgetter(0, 1)):
         if flag_size:
-            grouped_chars.append((key[0], key[1], flag_font_size([t[2] for t in chars], direction)))
+            grouped_chars.append((key[0], key[1],
+                flag_font_size([t[2] for t in chars], direction, strip_text=strip_text)))
         else:
             gchars = [t[2].get_text() for t in chars]
-            grouped_chars.append((key[0], key[1], ''.join(gchars)))
+            grouped_chars.append((key[0], key[1], ''.join(gchars).strip(strip_text)))
     return grouped_chars
 
 
-def get_table_index(table, t, direction, split_text=False, flag_size=False):
+def get_table_index(table, t, direction, split_text=False, flag_size=False, strip_text='',):
     """Gets indices of the table cell where given text object lies by
     comparing their y and x-coordinates.
 
@@ -441,6 +453,9 @@ def get_table_index(table, t, direction, split_text=False, flag_size=False):
         Whether or not to highlight a substring using <s></s>
         if its size is different from rest of the string. (Useful for
         super and subscripts)
+    strip_text : str, optional (default: '')
+        Characters that should be stripped from a string before
+        assigning it to a cell.
 
     Returns
     -------
@@ -495,12 +510,12 @@ def get_table_index(table, t, direction, split_text=False, flag_size=False):
     error = ((X * (y0_offset + y1_offset)) + (Y * (x0_offset + x1_offset))) / charea
 
     if split_text:
-        return split_textline(table, t, direction, flag_size=flag_size), error
+        return split_textline(table, t, direction, flag_size=flag_size, strip_text=strip_text), error
     else:
         if flag_size:
-            return [(r_idx, c_idx, flag_font_size(t._objs, direction))], error
+            return [(r_idx, c_idx, flag_font_size(t._objs, direction, strip_text=strip_text))], error
         else:
-            return [(r_idx, c_idx, t.get_text())], error
+            return [(r_idx, c_idx, t.get_text().strip(strip_text))], error
 
 
 def compute_accuracy(error_weights):
diff --git a/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_1.png b/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_1.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f7f7a67
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_1.png differ
diff --git a/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_2.png b/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_2.png
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a5ec743
Binary files /dev/null and b/docs/_static/png/edge_tol_2.png differ
diff --git a/docs/user/advanced.rst b/docs/user/advanced.rst
index a36ea2c..ca40bb8 100644
--- a/docs/user/advanced.rst
+++ b/docs/user/advanced.rst
@@ -316,10 +316,87 @@ You can solve this by passing ``flag_size=True``, which will enclose the supersc
     "Madhya Pradesh","27.13","23.57","-","-","3.56","0.38","-","1.86","-","1.28"
     "...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","..."
 
-Control how text is grouped into rows
--------------------------------------
+Strip characters from text
+--------------------------
 
-You can pass ``row_close_tol=<+int>`` to group the rows closer together, as shown below.
+You can strip unwanted characters like spaces, dots and newlines from a string using the ``strip_text`` keyword argument. Take a look at `this PDF <https://github.com/socialcopsdev/camelot/blob/master/tests/files/tabula/12s0324.pdf>`_ as an example, the text at the start of each row contains a lot of unwanted spaces, dots and newlines.
+
+::
+
+    >>> tables = camelot.read_pdf('12s0324.pdf', flavor='stream', strip_text=' .\n')
+    >>> tables[0].df
+
+.. tip::
+    Here's how you can do the same with the :ref:`command-line interface <cli>`.
+    ::
+
+        $ camelot -strip ' .\n' stream 12s0324.pdf
+
+.. csv-table::
+
+    "...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","..."
+    "Forcible rape","17.5","2.6","14.9","17.2","2.5","14.7","–","–","–"
+    "Robbery","102.1","25.5","76.6","90.0","22.9","67.1","12.1","2.5","9.5"
+    "Aggravated assault","338.4","40.1","298.3","264.0","30.2","233.8","74.4","9.9","64.5"
+    "Property crime","1,396 .4","338 .7","1,057 .7","875 .9","210 .8","665 .1","608 .2","127 .9","392 .6"
+    "Burglary","240.9","60.3","180.6","205.0","53.4","151.7","35.9","6.9","29.0"
+    "...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","...","..."
+
+Improve guessed table areas
+---------------------------
+
+While using :ref:`Stream <stream>`, automatic table detection can fail for PDFs like `this one <https://github.com/socialcopsdev/camelot/blob/master/tests/files/edge_tol.pdf>`_. That's because the text is relatively far apart vertically, which can lead to shorter textedges being calculated.
+
+.. note:: To know more about how textedges are calculated to guess table areas, you can see pages 20, 35 and 40 of `Anssi Nurminen's master's thesis <http://dspace.cc.tut.fi/dpub/bitstream/handle/123456789/21520/Nurminen.pdf?sequence=3>`_.
+
+Let's see the table area that is detected by default.
+
+::
+
+    >>> tables = camelot.read_pdf('edge_tol.pdf', flavor='stream')
+    >>> camelot.plot(tables[0], kind='contour')
+    >>> plt.show()
+
+.. tip::
+    Here's how you can do the same with the :ref:`command-line interface <cli>`.
+    ::
+
+        $ camelot stream -plot contour edge.pdf
+
+.. figure:: ../_static/png/edge_tol_1.png
+    :height: 674
+    :width: 1366
+    :scale: 50%
+    :alt: Table area with default edge_tol
+    :align: left
+
+To improve the detected area, you can increase the ``edge_tol`` (default: 50) value to counter the effect of text being placed relatively far apart vertically. Larger ``edge_tol`` will lead to longer textedges being detected, leading to an improved guess of the table area. Let's use a value of 500.
+
+::
+
+    >>> tables = camelot.read_pdf('edge_tol.pdf', flavor='stream', edge_tol=500)
+    >>> camelot.plot(tables[0], kind='contour')
+    >>> plt.show()
+
+.. tip::
+    Here's how you can do the same with the :ref:`command-line interface <cli>`.
+    ::
+
+        $ camelot stream -e 500 -plot contour edge.pdf
+
+.. figure:: ../_static/png/edge_tol_2.png
+    :height: 674
+    :width: 1366
+    :scale: 50%
+    :alt: Table area with default edge_tol
+    :align: left
+
+As you can see, the guessed table area has improved!
+
+Improve guessed table rows
+--------------------------
+
+You can pass ``row_tol=<+int>`` to group the rows closer together, as shown below.
 
 ::
 
@@ -337,7 +414,7 @@ You can pass ``row_close_tol=<+int>`` to group the rows closer together, as show
 
 ::
 
-    >>> tables = camelot.read_pdf('group_rows.pdf', flavor='stream', row_close_tol=10)
+    >>> tables = camelot.read_pdf('group_rows.pdf', flavor='stream', row_tol=10)
     >>> tables[0].df
 
 .. tip::
diff --git a/tests/data.py b/tests/data.py
index 246a711..c223227 100755
--- a/tests/data.py
+++ b/tests/data.py
@@ -312,6 +312,63 @@ data_stream_flag_size = [
     ["ALL STATES", "513.38", "436.02", "-", "25.57", "51.06", "14.18", "-", "8.21", "11.83", "11.08"]
 ]
 
+data_stream_strip_text = [
+    ["V i n s   a u   Ve r r e", ""],
+    ["Les Blancs", "12.5CL"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes du Rhône", ""],
+    ["Domaine de la Guicharde «  Autour de la chapelle » 2016", "8 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Vacqueyras", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Montvac  « Melodine » 2016", "10 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Châteauneuf du Pape", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Beaurenard 2017", "13 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côteaux du Languedoc", ""],
+    ["Villa Tempora « Un temps pour elle » 2014", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes de Provence", ""],
+    ["Château Grand Boise 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["Les Rosés", "12,5 CL"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes du Rhône", ""],
+    ["Domaine de la Florane « A fleur de Pampre » 2016", "8 €"],
+    ["Famille Coulon (Domaine Beaurenard) Biotifulfox 2017", "8 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Vacqueyras", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Montvac 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Languedoc", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Joncas « Nébla » 2015", "8 €"],
+    ["Villa Tempora « L’arroseur arrosé » 2015", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes de Provence", ""],
+    ["Château Grand Boise « Sainte Victoire » 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["Château Léoube 2016", "10 €"]
+]
+
+data_stream_edge_tol = [
+    ["Key figures", ""],
+    ["", "2016"],
+    ["(all amounts in EUR)", ""],
+    ["C\nlass A", ""],
+    ["N\net Asset Value at 31 December", "5,111,372"],
+    ["N\number of outstanding units at 31 December", "49,136"],
+    ["N\net Asset Value per unit at 31 December", "104.03"],
+    ["C\nlass B", ""],
+    ["N\net Asset Value at 31 December", "49,144,825"],
+    ["N\number of outstanding units at 31 December", "471,555"],
+    ["N\net Asset Value per unit at 31 December", "104.22"],
+    ["T\notal for the Fund", ""],
+    ["N\net Asset Value at 31 December", "54,256,197"],
+    ["N\number of outstanding units at 31 December", "520,691"],
+    ["I\nnvestment result", ""],
+    ["Direct result", "-"],
+    ["Revaluation", "2,076,667"],
+    ["Costs", "(106,870)"],
+    ["T\notal investment result for the period1", "1,969,797"],
+    ["I\nnvestment result per unit2", ""],
+    ["Direct result", "-"],
+    ["Revaluation", "3.99"],
+    ["Costs", "(0.21)"],
+    ["T\notal investment result per unit", "3.78"],
+    ["1 The results cover the period from inception of the Fund at 8 April 2016 through 31 December 2016.", ""],
+    ["2 The result per unit is calculated using the total number of outstanding unit as per the end of the", ""],
+    ["period.", ""]
+]
+
 data_lattice = [
     ["Cycle \nName", "KI \n(1/km)", "Distance \n(mi)", "Percent Fuel Savings", "", "", ""],
     ["", "", "", "Improved \nSpeed", "Decreased \nAccel", "Eliminate \nStops", "Decreased \nIdle"],
@@ -485,49 +542,49 @@ data_lattice_shift_text_right_bottom = [
 ]
 
 data_arabic = [
-    ['ً\n\xa0\nﺎﺒﺣﺮﻣ', 'ﻥﺎﻄﻠﺳ\xa0ﻲﻤﺳﺍ'],
-    ['ﻝﺎﻤﺸﻟﺍ\xa0ﺎﻨﻴﻟﻭﺭﺎﻛ\xa0ﺔﻳﻻﻭ\xa0ﻦﻣ\xa0ﺎﻧﺍ', '؟ﺖﻧﺍ\xa0ﻦﻳﺍ\xa0ﻦﻣ'],
-    ['1234', 'ﻂﻄﻗ\xa047\xa0ﻱﺪﻨﻋ'],
-    ['؟ﻙﺎﺒﺷ\xa0ﺖﻧﺍ\xa0ﻞﻫ', 'ﺔﻳﺰﻴﻠﺠﻧﻻﺍ\xa0ﻲﻓ\xa0Jeremy\xa0ﻲﻤﺳﺍ'],
-    ['Jeremy\xa0is\xa0ﻲﻣﺮﺟ\xa0in\xa0Arabic', '']
+    ["ً\n\xa0\nﺎﺒﺣﺮﻣ", "ﻥﺎﻄﻠﺳ\xa0ﻲﻤﺳﺍ"],
+    ["ﻝﺎﻤﺸﻟﺍ\xa0ﺎﻨﻴﻟﻭﺭﺎﻛ\xa0ﺔﻳﻻﻭ\xa0ﻦﻣ\xa0ﺎﻧﺍ", "؟ﺖﻧﺍ\xa0ﻦﻳﺍ\xa0ﻦﻣ"],
+    ["1234", "ﻂﻄﻗ\xa047\xa0ﻱﺪﻨﻋ"],
+    ["؟ﻙﺎﺒﺷ\xa0ﺖﻧﺍ\xa0ﻞﻫ", "ﺔﻳﺰﻴﻠﺠﻧﻻﺍ\xa0ﻲﻓ\xa0Jeremy\xa0ﻲﻤﺳﺍ"],
+    ["Jeremy\xa0is\xa0ﻲﻣﺮﺟ\xa0in\xa0Arabic", ""]
 ]
 
 data_stream_layout_kwargs = [
-    ['V i n s   a u   Ve r r e', ''],
-    ['Les Blancs', '12.5CL'],
-    ['A.O.P Côtes du Rhône', ''],
-    ['Domaine de la Guicharde «  Autour de la chapelle » 2016', '8 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Vacqueyras', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Montvac  « Melodine » 2016', '10 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Châteauneuf du Pape', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Beaurenard 2017', '13 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Côteaux du Languedoc', ''],
-    ['Villa Tempora « Un temps pour elle » 2014', '9 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Côtes de Provence', ''],
-    ['Château Grand Boise 2017', '9 €'],
-    ['Les Rosés', '12,5 CL'],
-    ['A.O.P Côtes du Rhône', ''],
-    ['Domaine de la Florane « A fleur de Pampre » 2016', '8 €'],
-    ['Famille Coulon (Domaine Beaurenard) Biotifulfox 2017', '8 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Vacqueyras', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Montvac 2017', '9 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Languedoc', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Joncas « Nébla » 2015', '8 €'],
-    ['Villa Tempora « L’arroseur arrosé » 2015', '9 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Côtes de Provence', ''],
-    ['Château Grand Boise « Sainte Victoire » 2017', '9 €'],
-    ['Château Léoube 2016', '10 €'],
-    ['Les Rouges', '12,CL'],
-    ['A.O.P Côtes du Rhône', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Dionysos « La Cigalette »', '8 €'],
-    ['Château Saint Estève d’Uchaux « Grande Réserve » 2014', '9 €'],
-    ['Domaine de la Guicharde « Cuvée Massillan » 2016', '9 €'],
-    ['Domaine de la Florane « Terre Pourpre » 2014', '10 €'],
-    ['L’Oratoire St Martin « Réserve des Seigneurs » 2015', '11 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Saint Joseph', ''],
-    ['Domaine Monier Perréol « Châtelet » 2015', '13 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Châteauneuf du Pape', ''],
-    ['Domaine de Beaurenard 2011', '15 €'],
-    ['A.O.P Cornas', ''],
-    ['Domaine Lionnet « Terre Brûlée » 2012', '15 €']
+    ["V i n s   a u   Ve r r e", ""],
+    ["Les Blancs", "12.5CL"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes du Rhône", ""],
+    ["Domaine de la Guicharde «  Autour de la chapelle » 2016", "8 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Vacqueyras", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Montvac  « Melodine » 2016", "10 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Châteauneuf du Pape", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Beaurenard 2017", "13 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côteaux du Languedoc", ""],
+    ["Villa Tempora « Un temps pour elle » 2014", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes de Provence", ""],
+    ["Château Grand Boise 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["Les Rosés", "12,5 CL"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes du Rhône", ""],
+    ["Domaine de la Florane « A fleur de Pampre » 2016", "8 €"],
+    ["Famille Coulon (Domaine Beaurenard) Biotifulfox 2017", "8 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Vacqueyras", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Montvac 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Languedoc", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Joncas « Nébla » 2015", "8 €"],
+    ["Villa Tempora « L’arroseur arrosé » 2015", "9 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes de Provence", ""],
+    ["Château Grand Boise « Sainte Victoire » 2017", "9 €"],
+    ["Château Léoube 2016", "10 €"],
+    ["Les Rouges", "12,CL"],
+    ["A.O.P Côtes du Rhône", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Dionysos « La Cigalette »", "8 €"],
+    ["Château Saint Estève d’Uchaux « Grande Réserve » 2014", "9 €"],
+    ["Domaine de la Guicharde « Cuvée Massillan » 2016", "9 €"],
+    ["Domaine de la Florane « Terre Pourpre » 2014", "10 €"],
+    ["L’Oratoire St Martin « Réserve des Seigneurs » 2015", "11 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Saint Joseph", ""],
+    ["Domaine Monier Perréol « Châtelet » 2015", "13 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Châteauneuf du Pape", ""],
+    ["Domaine de Beaurenard 2011", "15 €"],
+    ["A.O.P Cornas", ""],
+    ["Domaine Lionnet « Terre Brûlée » 2012", "15 €"]
 ]
diff --git a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_grid_plot.png b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_grid_plot.png
index 4487eb3..3b835f5 100644
Binary files a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_grid_plot.png and b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_grid_plot.png differ
diff --git a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_joint_plot.png b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_joint_plot.png
index 934aa74..e9e40ec 100644
Binary files a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_joint_plot.png and b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_joint_plot.png differ
diff --git a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_lattice_contour_plot.png b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_lattice_contour_plot.png
index 57b3962..a8d3326 100644
Binary files a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_lattice_contour_plot.png and b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_lattice_contour_plot.png differ
diff --git a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_line_plot.png b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_line_plot.png
index a7ac276..e8099ce 100644
Binary files a/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_line_plot.png and b/tests/files/baseline_plots/test_line_plot.png differ
diff --git a/tests/files/edge_tol.pdf b/tests/files/edge_tol.pdf
new file mode 100755
index 0000000..c4f43cd
Binary files /dev/null and b/tests/files/edge_tol.pdf differ
diff --git a/tests/test_common.py b/tests/test_common.py
index 34ae94f..83c436b 100644
--- a/tests/test_common.py
+++ b/tests/test_common.py
@@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ def test_stream_columns():
 
     filename = os.path.join(testdir, "mexican_towns.pdf")
     tables = camelot.read_pdf(
-        filename, flavor="stream", columns=["67,180,230,425,475"], row_close_tol=10)
+        filename, flavor="stream", columns=["67,180,230,425,475"], row_tol=10)
     assert df.equals(tables[0].df)
 
 
@@ -102,6 +102,22 @@ def test_stream_flag_size():
     assert df.equals(tables[0].df)
 
 
+def test_stream_strip_text():
+    df = pd.DataFrame(data_stream_strip_text)
+
+    filename = os.path.join(testdir, "detect_vertical_false.pdf")
+    tables = camelot.read_pdf(filename, flavor="stream", strip_text="\n")
+    assert df.equals(tables[0].df)
+
+
+def test_stream_edge_tol():
+    df = pd.DataFrame(data_stream_edge_tol)
+
+    filename = os.path.join(testdir, "edge_tol.pdf")
+    tables = camelot.read_pdf(filename, flavor="stream", edge_tol=500)
+    assert df.equals(tables[0].df)
+
+
 def test_stream_layout_kwargs():
     df = pd.DataFrame(data_stream_layout_kwargs)
 
@@ -188,7 +204,7 @@ def test_repr():
     tables = camelot.read_pdf(filename)
     assert repr(tables) == "<TableList n=1>"
     assert repr(tables[0]) == "<Table shape=(7, 7)>"
-    assert repr(tables[0].cells[0][0]) == "<Cell x1=120.48 y1=218.42 x2=164.64 y2=233.89>"
+    assert repr(tables[0].cells[0][0]) == "<Cell x1=120.48 y1=218.43 x2=164.64 y2=233.77>"
 
 
 def test_arabic():