What is a Scanned PDF?
A scanned PDF is created by photographing or scanning a physical paper document. The result is a PDF that contains images of text — not actual text data. This means you cannot:
- Search for words with Ctrl+F
- Copy and paste text
- Edit the content
- Have screen readers read it aloud
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology solves this by reading the images and generating a hidden, searchable text layer.
How to OCR a PDF with OmniPDF
- Go to OmniPDF OCR
- Upload your scanned PDF
- Select the language of your document
- Choose quality (300 DPI recommended)
- Click Run OCR & Download
- The result is a searchable PDF — the original appearance is preserved with a hidden text layer
Supported Languages
OmniPDF OCR supports: English, French, German, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arabic, and Chinese (Simplified). More languages coming soon.
How Accurate is OCR?
OCR accuracy depends on the quality of the scan:
| Scan Quality | OCR Accuracy |
|---|---|
| High-quality scan (300+ DPI, clean) | 95–99% |
| Medium quality (150–300 DPI) | 85–95% |
| Low quality / skewed / handwritten | 50–80% |
After OCR: Edit the PDF
Once your PDF is searchable, you can use our PDF Editor to edit the recognised text, or convert it to Word for full editing capability.
OCR vs PDF to Word — Which Should I Use?
- Use OCR if you want to keep the PDF format but make it searchable and copy-able
- Use PDF to Word (after OCR) if you need to fully edit the content in Microsoft Word
FAQ
Does OCR work on password-protected PDFs?
No — you need to unlock the PDF first before running OCR.
Will OCR change how my document looks?
No. The original page appearance (layout, fonts, images) is preserved exactly. OCR only adds an invisible text layer underneath.