And the iOS version of the software sports a feature called BookScan, which lets you digitize books with ease.
What’s more, you can access a set of easy-to-use annotation tools to add signatures and notes to text. The great thing about the app is that it preserves the original document formatting.
FineReader works with 12 file formats, including DOCX, PDF and TXT. The software uses optical character recognition to scan text in 193 languages.Ĭompatible with Android and iOS, the app lets you scan both printed and handwritten text with your mobile device. If you’re looking for something a little more advanced, it’s worth checking out Abbyy’s FineReader PDF. This means you can not only scan into PDF document format, but also edit, annotate, sign and work collaboratively with the documents that you do scan.Įven better, Adobe Scan is a free app to download and use, though there is an in-app subscription available if you want additional features. The biggest advantage of using Adobe Scan is probably its close integration with Adobe's other apps, not least Adobe Acrobat, and Adobe Fill & Sign. There is a preview option to optimize the file dimensions, and you can rotate, crop, and edit the color as required. Adobe Scan is a dedicated scanning app from Adobe, the creators of the PDF file, so expectations are high that this should deliver on most user needs.Īdobe Scan runs as an app on your mobile device, whether it is running Android or iOS and uses your camera to catch a copy of a document to convert into a PDF file.
When it comes to scanning documents for digital file storage, chances are you are going to want to save in a portable document format-a PDF file. This might include document editing and management (opens in new tab) and/or cloud storage (opens in new tab) to help you better manage your digital archives. Some apps offer additional services, often for a small fee, in order to allow you to do even more with your scanned files. This means being able to scan anything from work invoices to receipts, and the beauty of scanning apps is that they don't just create a PDF copy, but also allow you to edit the file as required before saving - that way you really do have only a copy of your documents and the information you need from them. However, for document scanning you don't need to invest in OCR software (opens in new tab) and hardware but can instead simply use apps that are readily available for mobile devices. The best document scanning apps can help you transition to a paperless office, converting paperwork into PDFs for digital or online document storage (opens in new tab). In this day and age, only rarely is physical paperwork a necessity.