Scan to PDF
Take a photo of each page, or choose photos you already have. The page finds the edges of the paper, straightens it as if it were scanned flat, cleans it up in colour, greyscale or black and white, and saves all the pages as one PDF.
- Camera to PDF, on your phone
- Free, no sign-up
Put the page on a darker surface and fill most of the photo with it. The edges are found automatically; drag the four corners if one is off.
Runs in your browser. Nothing you type or open is uploaded. Free to use, no account. More pdf tools
How to use it
- Press Take a photo of a page, or choose photos.
- Check the outline on each page and drag a corner if it missed the edge.
- Reorder or remove pages, and pick the look and page size.
- Press Save as PDF. Then Make it searchable opens OCR PDF with the file.
How the page is straightened
The paper is usually lighter than the table under it, so the page looks for the largest light area in the photo and takes its four corners. It then corrects the perspective, so a page photographed at an angle comes out as a straight rectangle, and crops away the background. Black and white compares each pixel with its neighbourhood, which removes shadows and makes text crisp; greyscale and colour stretch the contrast.
Edge finding works best with the whole page in view on a darker, plain surface. On a white desk, or with a hand covering a corner, drag the corners yourself or press Use the whole photo. The PDF holds pictures of the pages, so its words cannot be searched until you run OCR PDF on it.
Private by design
Privacy
The photos stay in this tab. They are not uploaded or saved, and the camera is only used when you press Take a photo.
This page also shows Google ads, which can use cookies. Privacy and cookies explains how.
Questions
Does it work on my phone?
Yes. Take a photo of a page opens the camera on Android and iPhone. On a computer it opens a file picker instead.
What if the edges are wrong?
Drag the four corner handles onto the corners of the paper, or press Use the whole photo to keep the photo as it is.
Which look should I pick?
Black and white for printed text and forms: it removes shadows and makes small files. Colour for photos, stamps and signatures in colour.
Can I make the scan searchable?
Yes. After saving, press Make it searchable. OCR PDF opens with the scan already loaded, and reads English or Hindi in your browser.
Are my photos uploaded?
No. The straightening, the clean-up and the PDF all happen in this tab.