diff --git a/defines.h b/defines.h
index 23fe525..2578b24 100644
--- a/defines.h
+++ b/defines.h
@@ -111,6 +111,7 @@
 #define PRINT_INFO (1<<5)
 #define ADJUST_GRAY (1<<6)
 #define DEBUG_OUTPUT (1<<7)
+#define ASCII_ART_SEGMENTS (1<<8)
 
 /* colors used by ssocr */
 #define SSOCR_BLACK 0
diff --git a/help.c b/help.c
index ef9f687..65568c8 100644
--- a/help.c
+++ b/help.c
@@ -103,6 +103,7 @@ void usage(char *name, FILE *f)
   fprintf(f, "         -g, --adjust-gray        use T1 and T2 as percentages of used values\n");
   fprintf(f, "         -l, --luminance=KEYWORD  compute luminance using formula KEYWORD\n");
   fprintf(f, "                                  use -l help for list of KEYWORDS\n");
+  fprintf(f, "         -S, --ascii-art-segments print recognized segments a ASCII art\n");
   fprintf(f, "\nCommands: dilation                dilation algorithm (with mask of 1 pixel)\n");
   fprintf(f, "          erosion                 erosion algorithm (with mask of 9 pixels)\n");
   fprintf(f, "          closing [N]             closing algorithm\n");
diff --git a/ssocr.1.in b/ssocr.1.in
index c08b67a..d53f410 100644
--- a/ssocr.1.in
+++ b/ssocr.1.in
@@ -142,6 +142,10 @@ the used formula.
 The default of
 .I Rec709
 should work well in most cases.
+.SS -S, --ascii-art-segments
+Prints the recognized segments, i.e. the display as seen by
+.BR ssocr ,
+as ASCII art to standard error.
 .SH COMMANDS
 .SS dilation
 Filter image using dilation algorithm.
diff --git a/ssocr.c b/ssocr.c
index 03c99fd..286dcbc 100644
--- a/ssocr.c
+++ b/ssocr.c
@@ -178,9 +178,10 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
       {"print-info", 0, 0, 'I'}, /* print image info */
       {"adjust-gray", 0, 0, 'g'}, /* use T1 and T2 as perecntages of used vals*/
       {"luminance", 1, 0, 'l'}, /* luminance formula */
+      {"ascii-art-segments", 0, 0, 'S'}, /* print found segments in ASCII art */
       {0, 0, 0, 0} /* terminate long options */
     };
-    c = getopt_long (argc, argv, "hVt:vaTn:i:d:r:m:o:O:D::pPf:b:Igl:",
+    c = getopt_long (argc, argv, "hVt:vaTn:i:d:r:m:o:O:D::pPf:b:Igl:S",
                      long_options, &option_index);
     if (c == -1) break; /* leaves while (1) loop */
     switch (c) {
@@ -333,6 +334,13 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
           lt = parse_lum(optarg);
         }
         break;
+      case 'S':
+        flags |= ASCII_ART_SEGMENTS;
+        if(flags & DEBUG_OUTPUT) {
+          fprintf(stderr, "flags & ASCII_ART_SEGMENTS=%d\n",
+                  flags & ASCII_ART_SEGMENTS);
+        }
+        break;
       case '?':  /* missing argument or character not in optstring */
         usage(argv[0],stderr);
         exit (2);
@@ -1222,7 +1230,7 @@ int main(int argc, char **argv)
    *  | |  |  _| _| |_| |_  |_   | | | |_| |_|
    *  |_|  | |_  _|   |  _| |_|  |   | |_|  _|
   */
-  if(flags & DEBUG_OUTPUT) {
+  if(flags & (DEBUG_OUTPUT | ASCII_ART_SEGMENTS)) {
     fputs("Display as seen by ssocr:\n", stderr);
     /* top row */
     for(i=0; i<number_of_digits; i++) {