How to scan documents with your phone
A phone camera can make scans as clean as an office scanner if you follow a few simple habits.
Tools for this: Scan to PDF OCR PDF Compress PDF
1. Set up
Put the paper on a darker surface (a wooden table works well) so the page edges stand out. Use daylight or a ceiling light and avoid the camera flash.
2. Choose what you are scanning
Document for letters and forms; ID card for both sides of a card on one A4 page; Book to split two facing pages; Receipt for long bills; Whiteboard for boards and posters.
3. Let it capture
Hold the phone straight above the paper. The scanner finds the edges and captures by itself when the page is steady. Turn to the next page and it captures again.
4. Fix and order
Drag a corner if the edge is off, retake a blurred page, and use the arrows to change the order. Pick a look: Clean document, Greyscale, Black & white, Original colour or Whiteboard.
5. Save the right size
Choose "Under 200 KB" or "Under 500 KB" for online forms. Tick "Make the text searchable" to run OCR after saving, so you can search and copy the words.
Questions people ask
Do the scans go to a server?
No. The camera pictures and the PDF stay on your phone.
More: How to reduce a PDF's size for an online form · How to make a passport or Visa photo at home · How to sign a PDF on your phone · How to convert a scanned PDF to editable Word