How to scan documents to PDF: phone, PC, or store

Phone, scanner, or store: pick how to scan a document

Phones, scanners, and stores differ in effort: a phone needs no cable, driver, or trip, a scanner suits a long document, and a store covers anyone with neither. On a long document, a scanner attached to a computer saves the repeated camera shots a phone would need.

Most of these methods produce a picture of each page, not text. Google Drive is the exception: its help page says it saves searchable PDFs.

Phones, Windows, and Mac cost nothing once the hardware is yours. FedEx Office takes payment based on the number of pages you scan, so ask the counter for the price.

For a signed form or a few receipts, use the phone in your pocket. For a long document, use a scanner connected to a computer. If you have neither, go to a store or library.

How to scan documents on iPhone with Notes or Files

Notes keeps the finished PDF inside a note, while Files asks for a folder before saving. The camera steps are identical in both, so choose the app by where the PDF should end up.

1. Open Notes and pick a note, or start a new one.
2. Tap the Attachment button, then tap Scan Documents.
3. Hold the phone over the page so the whole sheet is in view.
4. In Auto mode, the phone takes the shot as soon as it finds the page. In Manual mode, tap the Shutter button or press either volume button.
5. Drag the corner handles onto the edges of the page, then tap Keep Scan.
6. Scan the next page, or tap Save when the last page is done.

The scan sits inside the note as a PDF. Open it to copy or rename it, or tap Share to attach it to an email or save a copy in Files. Filters and cropping work on scanned PDFs, though not on other PDFs attached to a note.

To scan to PDF on an iPhone straight into a folder you choose, scan from Files. Open Files, tap the More button, then tap Scan Documents. At the end, Files asks for a location before you tap Save, so the PDF lands in that folder and nothing needs moving.

How to scan a document on Android with Google Drive

The Google Drive app has its own scanner, so an Android phone with Drive installed needs nothing else. Drive saves scans as searchable PDFs, so you can search the text later. The one setting to watch is the format, because Drive offers both .pdf and .jpg.

1. Open the Google Drive app and tap Camera at the bottom right.
2. Point the camera at the page. A blue line traces the document and marks where the picture will be cropped.
3. Take the photo, then crop, rotate, or clean up the scan if it needs work.
4. Set the format to .pdf rather than .jpg.
5. Choose a Drive folder if you want one, then save.

A scan saved as .jpg is only a photo and needs converting later, so check step 4 before saving. For weekly scanning, Drive also offers a scan widget for the Home screen, which you add from the phone's widget list.

Windows Scan app won't save PDFs: what to do instead

Microsoft's Windows Scan app lists JPEG, PNG, TIFF, and Bitmap as file types, so it cannot save a PDF. The free app from the Microsoft Store reads pages from a flatbed or a feeder. Unless the Save file to setting points elsewhere, scans land in the Pictures/Scans folder.

There are two ways around it. Check whether the app that came with the scanner or printer can save a PDF directly. Otherwise keep Windows Scan, save every page as JPEG, and build the PDF from the images.

The sakuttoAI JPG to PDF Converter does that second step in the browser without uploading the pages. Drag the images into order, set the page size, and download one PDF. It accepts JPG and PNG but not TIFF, so choose JPEG or PNG in Windows Scan.

Windows can also build the PDF through its print dialog. Combine images into PDF without uploading them walks through that route, which needs no account.

How to scan on a Mac with Preview

Preview on a Mac imports pages from a scanner and opens all of them in one window, ready to save as a single PDF. Unlike Windows Scan, Preview needs no extra step to end up with a PDF.

1. Load the pages into the scanner's feeder, or place one on the glass.
2. In Preview, choose File > Import from Scanner, then pick the scanner.
3. Click Show Details if the options are hidden. Set Kind to Text for a printed document, and turn on Duplex to scan both sides if the scanner supports it.
4. Click Scan. The pages open together in one Preview window, and File > Save writes them as one PDF.

If the scanner is missing from the list, add it in Printers & Scanners settings first. A Mac with no scanner can borrow an iPhone: File > Import from iPhone or iPad > Scan Documents sends the phone's scan straight into Preview.

Apple Support Scan a document or image in Preview on Mac

"Choose Text for black-and-white images with high contrast, such as a text document;" ／ "All the scanned items open in one window." — from the Preview User Guide

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Where to scan documents if you don't have a scanner

FedEx Office self-service copiers scan to PDF, and The UPS Store and libraries are the other places to ask. What each branch offers varies, so check the location before making the trip.

FedEx Office lets you scan at a self-service copier. Start a session on the copier's screen, choose where the files go (email, a USB drive, or supported cloud storage), and save them as PDFs or JPGs.

Payment is pre-authorized based on the number of pages you plan to scan, and the counter can quote the price. The store locator shows whether a branch offers the service.

Many UPS Store locations rent computer workstations; whether one has a scanner attached varies, so call before you go. Libraries are worth a call too. NC State University Libraries, for example, keep scanners that turn paper documents into PDFs, and a local library's website or front desk will say whether it has one.

FedEx Office In-Store Self-Service Scanning

"Scan items at a self-service copier and save your files as PDFs or JPGs to email, a USB drive, or supported cloud storage." ／ "You'll be asked to pre-authorize payment based on the number of pages you plan to scan." — from FedEx Office's scanning services page

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The UPS Store Computer Access and Workstations

"Many of The UPS Store locations offer computer rental workstations." — from The UPS Store's computer access page

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NC State University Libraries

"Both libraries have scanners available to scan paper documents into the PDF format." — from the NC State University Libraries help page

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How to scan multiple pages into one PDF and shrink it

Scan every page in one session so the pages come out as one file, then merge any leftover PDFs and shrink the result before sending. FedEx Office states that it scans single or multiple pages in a single session, and on iPhone every page goes into one note before Save.

Pages scanned in two places leave two files, for example some from a phone and the rest from a store. Joining them first means the recipient opens a single document in the right order. The PDF merge tool runs in the browser and combines separate PDFs into one.

Merge PDF Files Free: Combine PDFs Online walks through reordering pages. Scanned pages are mostly pictures, so the file grows fast, and an email app may reject the attachment or bounce the message.

In that case compress the PDF rather than splitting it across emails. Email Attachment Size Limits: Fit Your PDF covers the limits and the settings, and the PDF compress tool does the shrinking.

FedEx Office In-Store Self-Service Scanning

"You can scan single or multiple pages in a single session." — from FedEx Office's scanning services page

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Scan with what you have, then merge and shrink the PDF

Pick the route for your device, then merge any separate files and compress the PDF before you send it. The route for each device:

• iPhone: scan in Notes, or in Files to land the PDF in a folder.
• Android: scan in Google Drive and set the format to .pdf.
• Windows PC: scan with Windows Scan as JPEG, then build one PDF from the images.
• Mac: scan in Preview and save all pages as one PDF.
• No scanner: use a FedEx Office copier or a library; a UPS Store may have one at its workstations, so call first.

Apart from Google Drive's searchable PDFs, each scanned page is a picture. Merge separate files into one PDF, and compress it if it is too big to attach.