Scan documents to PDF

Scan a paper document to PDF with your phone camera or photos. Pages are straightened and cleaned up, up to 30 in one PDF. Free, and nothing is uploaded.

What this tool does

Turn photos of paper into a clean PDF. Use your phone camera or photos you already have. The tool looks for the page, straightens it, evens out the light and puts up to 30 pages in one PDF. It does not always find the edges, so check each page and drag the corners if one is wrong. Turn or reorder pages, choose Auto, Black and white, Grey or Original, and keep the file under a size limit. Nothing is uploaded.

How it works

  1. Use the camera to take a photo of each page, or choose photos you already have.
  2. Check each page: drag the corners if an edge is wrong, turn pages, put them in order and pick a look.
  3. Choose Auto, A4 or US Letter, add a size limit if a form needs one, and download one PDF.

Questions and answers

How do I scan a document with my phone camera?

Press "Use the camera" and point it at the page. The rear camera is used first. A live outline shows the page it has found. It turns green when it thinks it has found the page, so still check each page. Take one photo for each page, then press Done. The camera needs a secure page (an address that starts with https) and your permission. If it is blocked, or your device has no camera, choose photos you already took.

How do I get a clear scan?

Light and background matter most. Put the page flat on a plain surface that is a different colour from the paper. Use even daylight, with no shadow of your hand or phone on the page, and hold the phone straight above it so the whole page is in view. Auto evens out light shadows, but it cannot bring back text that is lost in a dark one. The camera in the page asks for a picture of about Full HD size (1920 × 1080 pixels), which is enough for most pages. For very small print, take the photo with your phone's own camera app and add it with "Choose photos". Scan a document with your phone goes through it step by step.

What if it does not find the page?

There are three cases. When the tool is confident, it says nothing. When it is unsure, it says "We found an outline, but please check the edges." When it finds nothing, it says "We could not find the page. We kept the whole photo, so drag the corners onto the page." In every case you can press Adjust corners and drag the four corners onto the page. A page that fills the whole frame, or runs past it, should be dragged to fit. A two-page spread, such as an open book, is outlined as one page.

How many pages can I scan? Can I put two on one page?

Up to 30 pages in one PDF. You can turn, reorder and remove pages, and drag the corners of any page. For the front and back of an ID card, tick "Put two scans on one page" on the last step.

Which look should I choose?

Auto gives a clean colour scan with even light and white paper. Black and white makes the smallest file and suits text. Grey keeps stamps and photos readable. Original leaves the page as photographed, only straightened. You choose one look for all pages, and can give a single page its own.

How big is the PDF, and can I search its text?

You can choose No limit, or keep it under 200 KB, 500 KB, 1 MB or 2 MB. Without a limit, pages are saved at 200 DPI, or 150 DPI when there are more than 10 pages. Each page is a picture, so the text cannot be selected or searched.

Is my document uploaded?

No. Pages are found, straightened and saved on your own device. The live camera view is not recorded or sent anywhere, and the camera turns off when you press Done or Close, and when you leave the page.

Which phones and browsers does it work on?

Works on current versions of Chrome, Safari, Firefox and Edge on phones and computers; older phones may not offer the camera.

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