Convenient program for scanning to pdf. Free programs for scanning documents

Our selection reviewed a list of the most popular text scanning programs. An important factor for programs in this category is the ability to decipher the text of documents, as well as the quality of scanning - it is necessary that the information is completely readable, and the image scanner clearly transfers every line of the picture into the document.

Some applications have a Russian-language design, which can be another significant factor when choosing the best scanning program. So let's take another quick look at the programs below that can properly recognize text and scan a document into a file:

The ABBYY FineReader 10 Home computer program is one of the most common tools for scanning documents. Can quickly and efficiently find blocks and translate text written in different languages. The advantage of ABBYY FineReader is the presence of an impressive language base. Don't forget about the availability of a Professional version with advanced features.

OCR CuneiForm stands out among its competitors with good grabbing performance for photographed text. It is noteworthy that a photograph can be taken even with a 2MP camera of any rather outdated mobile device. The program boasts a dictionary checking function, which guarantees a high degree of information quality of the finished material.

Scanitto Pro will do an excellent job with more specific work. The application will recognize the text very quickly and will be able to save it in the required document format. It is noteworthy that the program can find a given area of paper and improve the appearance of the material before saving it to the storage medium. There is a function for scanning with one click of a key.

VueScan has a strong database of comparable scanner devices. Among analogues, the program demonstrates the highest connection speed to the scanner. Among the additional pleasant options, it is worth noting the convenience of manually adjusting color rendering.

When choosing free document scanning programs, you should pay attention to PaperScan Free. The utility is quite simple in terms of functionality, on the other hand, it performs all the necessary scanning options, in addition, you will be pleased with the unique compression technology, which can significantly reduce the file size, leaving the original display quality. If you like the Free version, you can always purchase the extended Professional modification with more impressive functionality.

RiDoc is another fairly powerful scanning tool. It is worth noting that Ridoc includes a specialized tool for reducing file sizes without noticeably degrading the display appearance. The information remains readable. If necessary, the RiDoc document scanner will help you export document formats to graphic extensions. The program can install watermarks on finished material and send the document by mail.

Scanning is a common way to digitize paper media, such as documents and photographs. Typically, this is done using a noisy and slow stationary device that cannot be called portable. At the same time, a smartphone in combination with a special application is not inferior to a home scanner. There is only one difference - scanning using a smartphone does not require preliminary preparation and is performed instantly - just point the camera and take a photo. About the best scanner applications in today's selection.

CamScanner, the most downloaded scanner application on Google Play, stands out for its rich and well-thought-out functionality. The scanning process is simplified as much as possible. Thus, a photograph of a document can be imported from the gallery, or taken using the camera’s own interface, supplemented with special functions. Among them: grid, level, flash switch to flashlight mode. Both single-page document scanning and batch scanning are supported. which allows you to take several pictures in a row at once. In addition, presets are available for scanning ID documents and presentations.

After receiving the image, CamScanner automatically detects the boundaries of the document and corrects the perspective. To correct uneven lighting and paper texture, 5 filters and an automatic mode are offered. Manual correction of scan brightness and contrast is available. The finished document can be saved as an image or PDF. The original image is stored in memory and is available for reprocessing. The application also supports text recognition, but the program perceives Russian text disgustingly.

Additionally, the application is equipped with document organization tools: notes, tags, password protection and its own cloud storage for backing up and synchronizing documents between devices. After registration, 200 MB of storage is available, which can be expanded for free by inviting friends to join CamScanner.

The free version of CamScanner adds a "Scanned by CamScanner" footer to PDF documents and displays unobtrusive advertising. The premium version for 212 rubles per month or 2129 rubles per year disables advertising and adds the following functions: editing recognized text, creating collages from multi-page documents, an additional 10 GB in the cloud, support for third-party cloud storage and other additions.

Office Lens is a pocket scanner for smartphones from Microsoft. It uses its own camera interface, which determines the boundaries of the document on the fly - looks impressive! You can import a previously taken photo from the gallery.

I would like to note the good work of automatic detection of the boundaries of the scanned area and the perspective corrector. Office Lens supports four modes: document, presentation board, business card and photo. Moreover, the latter does not imply processing and correction of perspective, but preserves the original image. In general, the filters work correctly, but there are not enough additional settings and B/W presets.

The finished scan can be saved as an image or PDF file in the device’s memory, or exported to OneNote. In addition, Office Lens can upload the result in Word or PowerPoint format directly to the OneDrive cloud. Support for text recognition is also claimed, but the function does not work correctly.

Office Lens is a lightweight, free scanner. There is no built-in advertising; the service was created to popularize other Microsoft products. The functionality of the application may lag behind competitors with a paid subscription, but the interface is not overloaded and the speed is excellent.

Scanbot is a good alternative to previous services. The developers went further. In addition to determining the boundaries of the document on the fly, the application gives hints while shooting, for example, that you need to adjust the horizon or move your smartphone closer. The shutter release is also automated - aimed, aligned according to the prompts and got the finished shot! The image can be imported from the gallery, however, we encountered a strange limitation. For multi-page documents, the application does not allow you to shoot part of the documents using the built-in camera interface, and export the second part from the gallery.

The free version offers 4 types of filters: two color and two black and white. There is no way to manually adjust contrast, saturation, or processing intensity. The finished document is saved in PDF or JPG format.

The main advantage of Scanbot is the synchronization of scans between devices using a Google account. In addition, the application can automatically upload documents to cloud storage or note takers. The list of supported services is unexpectedly wide: Google Drive, OneDrive, DropBox, Yandex Disk, Evernote, Todolist, OneNote and many others. Additionally, synchronization with a remote FTP server is available.

An unusual feature is the ability to send faxes directly from the application. One shipment will cost 129 rubles, however, purchasing a subscription helps you save a lot.

Adobe is one of the most competent companies in the creation and promotion of graphic editors. And recently, a team from California has been actively developing mobile platforms, Adobe Scan- one of the latest developments. Just like other scanners in the collection, the application uses its own camera interface. Automatic shooting is supported, however, the document search speed is inferior to competitors such as Office Lens and Scanbot. However, the developers have provided for disabling automatic shooting and added the ability to import ready-made images from the gallery. The quality of automatic document boundary detection is also poor.

Adobe Scan is in perfect order with post-processing - you can feel the company's many years of experience in creating graphic editors. There are 3 modes to choose from: blackboard, automatic color, or black and white. If you wish, you can save the frame with the corrected perspective, but without additional processing. The quality of the filters is excellent, the scans look quite natural. The finished document is saved in PDF format. You cannot add, delete, or rearrange pages of a saved document; the listed actions are only available at the file creation stage.

Like other company products, Adobe Scan uploads documents to its own cloud. You can log in to the system using your Adobe Cloud account, Google account, or Facebook account. After registration, the program will ask you to indicate your date of birth. Be careful, synchronization with the cloud via mobile data is activated by default! To disable this option, you must uncheck the corresponding box in the application settings. The service also supports text recognition. The Russian language is in the list, but the recognition quality is poor - instead of associated text, you get a set of characters. Adobe Scan copes much better with Latin letters - after recognition, it is enough to correct a tolerable number of errors.

Adobe Scan is distributed free of charge, there are no banner advertisements in the application. There is only mention of an application for viewing and editing PDF files, which complements the capabilities of Adobe Scan. For example, it adds the ability to insert comments or highlight text using a virtual marker. It is also possible to sort pages in a finished PDF file, but only with a paid subscription to Acrobat Pro DC for 1,643 rubles per month.

One of the most popular camera scanning apps for Android is Tiny Scanner. Its main advantage is maximum simplicity and only the most popular functions. The built-in camera interface only provides flash control and nothing more. At the same time, Tiny Scanner quite correctly determines the boundaries of the document in automatic mode.

Post-processing modes let you work with images and text in color or grayscale. Text processing filters have five contrast levels. There are no additional sliders for fine-tuning the finished result, however, the automation works as expected. The result is saved in PDF or as images. There are three compression levels to choose from. You can re-sort, add, or delete scanned pages at any time, even after saving the PDF file.

Organization of documents in the application menu is carried out using familiar folders, instead of tags, which are used by other scanners from the selection. The application interface can be protected using a PIN code; there is no support for a fingerprint scanner.

There is no support for cloud services, as well as synchronization between devices. But Tiny Scanner allows you to expand a local disk, which can be opened from the browser of any device connected to the same network. A good bonus for users who do not want to trust important data to cloud storage!

Tiny Scanner is a free application; no built-in advertising was detected during testing. Among the shortcomings is incomplete Russification; the menu contains items in English. There are not many of them, and the meaning is clear without translation, but competitors’ applications have complete and high-quality Russification!

Creating electronic copies of images or documents requires the use of a scanning operation. Equipment and software for this purpose constitute a separate branch of computer technology. By combining printers and scanners, a new class of digital devices was created - multifunctional devices (MFPs). To create a high-quality copy of a photograph and decipher the document received during the scanner operation, you need a scanning program that works with different types of devices and creates the final file in any format required by the user.

What is a scanning program

The software required to work with the scanner should make it easier for the user to work with different types of source materials, support work with all major brands of scanners, MFPs, and provide the choice of the desired format, quality, and size of the final file. Some of these properties are available in standard Windows operating system tools. There are third-party programs that can convert scanned material into graphics or PDF format. Of all the utilities, text recognition programs are the most valuable.

Standard Windows tools

The Windows operating system has built-in functions for working with scanning devices. It contains standard drivers for most of these devices from different manufacturers. The choice of your model is made when accessing the scanning utilities. You can check its presence by opening “Device Manager”, section “Image processing devices”. If your device is not in the list of available devices, its driver must be downloaded from the Internet and installed. To switch to scanning mode you must:

Click Start->Control Panel->Scanners and Cameras;
click on the icon of your device or the corresponding driver name;
The Digital Camera or Scanner Wizard window will open, click “Next”;
if you need fine-tuning, you can click “Adjust” to select brightness, contrast, image resolution;
select the image type and click View to preview the result;
after clicking “Next” in the new window, select the name of the final file and its location;
The next click on the “Next” button will start the scanning process.

Starting with Windows 7, the standard functionality of the scanning device program has been improved and combined with fax printing. To start the work, you need to select “Device Manager” -> “Imaging Devices” -> “Faxes and Scan” -> “New Scan”. Further steps for setting up, previewing, running the process and saving the results are similar to those indicated above.

Programs for scanning documents into a simple graphic file

Specialized scanning programs aim not only to obtain high-quality copies of originals, but also to make it easier for users of varying levels of understanding with computers to work with them. To get a simple copy in the form of a graphic file, you need to:

download, install and run the program;
select the model of your MFP, insert the original image into it;
click the “Scan” button;
The program will prompt you in dialog mode to select the type of graphic file, save location and options for further actions with the result obtained.

Program for scanning to pdf and digitizing documents

Existing programs are capable of not only scanning an image, but also performing all the necessary actions to process it. At the same time, it is possible to manually configure fast automatic feeding of a large number of pages and save them in PDF format. The convenience of this format is explained by the wide range of possible manipulations with digitized documents, including:

automatic page orientation;
scaling and positioning;
document counter;
creating a password;
changing order, improving quality
desired output file size;
group corrective operations – trimming, contrast and other operations.

Photo scanning utility

Professional photo processing requires tools with a large number of settings for resolution, color rendering, and shades. One of the best interfaces for scanning photographic materials is the ControlCenter utility. It provides the ability to process photographs, one- and two-sided documents, and save them in JPEG, PDF format. This utility works with all versions of Windows. It is possible to send the result by email directly from its interface.

How does the scanner program work?

The principle of operation of the scanner is based on the difference in the light flux reflected by the scanned surface from a strong light source. The reflected signal through the prism hits the photosensitive element, which determines the image characteristics of this point. The higher the resolution, the better the quality of the copy. The scanner program receives a signal about each point of the scanned image, converts it into a digital code, and stores the data for each point in the computer's memory.

Scanning Interfaces

To standardize image recognition processes for scanners, the TWAIN (English “two”) standard was proposed in 1992. It provides excellent coordination between the computer and scanner functions. Since 2000, a standard for their interaction with the Windows operating system was introduced, which was called WIA (Windows Image Acquisition). It differs from TWAIN in that it supports basic scanning and preview functions. Its advantage is that it supports all types of scanning devices and versions of Windows.

Professional industrial scanners use the ISIS (Image and Scanner Interface Specification) graphical interface, which includes additional effects. The Linux operating system uses a simplified dialogue with the ability to access the MFP over a network based on the SANE standard (Scanner Access Now). When working with a regular scanner or MFP, the TWAIN interface is more suitable; when working with a camera, it is more convenient to use the WIA standard.

Which application is better for scanning documents?

The choice of application for working with the scanner depends on your needs. Simple copying of documents and saving in PDF format or sending by mail can be done by any free scanning program. There are many free OCR systems based on Tesseract with text recognition. If you need to process a document that has complex formatting while maintaining its structure, removing unnecessary shadows or errors, you will need a powerful FineReader level system.

ABBYY FineReader 10 Home Edition

The most famous, widespread and powerful program for scanning and text recognition is ABBYY FineReader 10 Home Edition. With its help the following tasks are solved:

transfer of any materials into electronic form while maintaining the appearance and structure;
sending work results by email or publishing on the Internet;
receiving an image from a scanning device, MFP, digital camera or mobile phone with a built-in camera;
accurate recognition, preservation of document formatting;
digital image recognition;
high quality recognition, saving it in a text format convenient for you;
support for 178 languages, including Cyrillic;
The program is paid, but after registration there is a trial period.

OCR CuneiForm – converting scanned material into a printed file

One of the best utilities in the OCR (Optical Character Recognition) family is CuneiForm. It is a system for recognizing text and text fragments in graphic files. A huge advantage is the ability to work with any type of printed products, typewritten documents, bad photocopies. The program uses unique algorithms and has a built-in test editor that will provide the user with the opportunity to:

working with tables of any format, structure or hierarchy;
automatic or manual fragmentation of texts;
identifies more than 20 most common languages;

Scanner program for high-quality text decoding Scanitto Pro

Among the programs for working with scanned material there are utilities whose focus is clearly indicated. The proposed Scanitto Pro program has simple settings, a clear interface, and works with many scanner models. It has the ability to save the work result in any format such as PDF, BMP, JPG, TIFF, JP2 or PNG. But its main purpose is to decipher complex texts into DOCX, RTF, TXT formats. This utility is implemented on the TWAIN driver of the scanning device, which ensures high quality of the final material.

ScanLite for high volume documents

To work with a large number of monotonous documents that require processing with the same settings, there is the ScanLite utility. It has more than 25 settings, access to which is in one window. To start the process, you need to click on the “Scan documents” button and select a location to save the work results. It is possible to automatically adjust the quality and size of files, and reduce their size for sending by email.

Free PaperScan program

The PaperScan utility is free to download, free of charge, and has good functionality. It does not require a powerful computer, is small in size, and supports a large number of scanner models and MFPs. The program works with equipment on TWAIN and WIA interfaces and provides high quality scanning. Its main features are:

automatic feeding;
erasing traces of punching;
black and white mode and color modes for processing photographs and pictures;
editing brightness, contrast and other characteristics;
There is a gallery of effects for images.

Windows-compatible WinScan2PDF utility

For fast work in any version of Windows, the portable and free utility WinScan2PDF is suitable. It works quickly and converts documents directly into PDF files. Its main advantages are:

automatic scanning and conversion of data into multi-page PDF format;
saving all pages into one file.
the ability to create documents from a large number of source pages.

VueScan with a large number of supported scanner models

The VueScan utility can use all the capabilities of scanning devices. It will provide the opportunity to make hardware settings for scanning parameters, color correction, and batch scanning. VueScan's interface supports over 100 film types, making it easy to work with negatives and slides. Direct mask selection and manual adjustment of color components are provided. You can create an individual profile and save all the necessary settings. VueScan can work with multiple scanners simultaneously using centralized management.

RiDoc with the ability to convert documents into image format

With RiDoc it is possible to scan and adjust the result to a preset size, which is convenient when compiling large catalogs. This utility works perfectly with HP and Canon scanners and is capable of:

work with the submission of paper documents in automatic mode;
create galleries of scanned materials;
exporting documents to graphic formats using the RiDoc virtual printer;
adding a watermark;
save results in graphic formats tiff, bmp, jpeg, png;
export electronic versions to MS Word and PDF file.

Multilingual program for the NAPS2 scanner

The NAPS2 utility is a completely free application and does not contain intrusive advertising or unwanted software modules that many free products have. It will provide one-click operation with easy configuration of profiles for different devices. Its advantages are:

saving function with a choice of PDF, JPEG, PNG, multi-page TIFF and others;
compatible with WIA and TWAIN standards;
easy setting of all necessary parameters - DPI, page size, color depth.
glass plate reading, automatic document feeder (ADF), duplex support;
optical character recognition (OCR) in any of 100 languages.

Scan Corrector A4

Often in business there is a need to copy or save digital copies of A4 documents. In this case, it is convenient to use the Scan Corrector A4. If the source file is of low quality, then the page must be cleaned before decryption. This utility will do all this without using a graphic editor. In addition, the utility has:

saving and printing scanned images;
the possibility of sequentially obtaining several copies;
high scanning speed and saving documents in any format;
choice of natural colors or shades of gray;
image adjustment.

Pros and cons of document and photo scanning programs

ABBYY FineReader 10 Home Edition is the flagship scanning software and has many settings. This professional program has its pros and cons. The downside is the paid version with a trial period of two weeks or a limit of 55 scanned pages. Pros:

recognizes texts in pictures;
supports automatic batch mode;
clear interpretation of texts;
recognizes any languages;
allows you to scan pictures, texts, low-quality photos.

The program for working with the OCR scanner CuneiForm has the following advantages:

The utility is free;
the text is corrected using dictionaries;
deciphers low-quality images;
preserves the structure and formatting of texts.

there are errors in the texts;
support 24 languages.

A special program for Windows, WinScan2PDF, has one drawback - the text is saved only in document format. Pros:

fast decoding of texts;
minimalist, user-friendly interface.

The free SimpleOCR utility has a minus - there is no Russian-language support. Pros:

correct functioning with high accuracy;
removes noise from graphics;
editing received texts.

Freemore OCR is a free, easy-to-use utility, with the downside that it requires a language download to decrypt Russian texts. There are several advantages: