Scanned PDFs are the digital versions of real-world files by processing printed paper with a scanning machine. The final digital document is stored in PDF format, which is widely used for sharing and storing. However, large file sizes of scanned PDF files can make them challenging to deal with and share, especially when doing so by email or social media sharing. As a result, optimizing scanned PDFs entails lowering their file size while keeping the document's quality. That way, you can easily share, store, and edit them without worrying about the loading time and file size. So as a Thesis Statement: Scanned PDFs must be optimized to reduce their file size and make them accessible using OCR technology. Furthermore, optimizing scanned PDFs needs a reliable PDF optimizer that guarantees to preserve the file's original quality. To learn how to optimize scanned PDF, check all the information you need to know in the next part.
Understanding Scanned PDFs
Scanned PDFs are created using a scanner to capture an image of a physical document. The scanner typically consists of a flatbed or Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) where the paper document is placed and a scanning head that moves across the page to capture an image. After scanning the printed document, the digital version is saved in PDF format. Nevertheless, you must know that scanned PDFs are copies of the original files and are image-based; they don't have editable text or data. As a result, you must utilize Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to turn scanned PDFs into editable text if you want to change the content and add some new elements. Moreover, OCR technology helps make scanned documents simpler to deal with and extract information with minimal time and effort. However, before you optimize PDF size, you must also acknowledge some of the common issues you might encounter with scanned PDFs. See these below so you can be aware of them.
- Large file size. Large-sized scanned PDFs can make them challenging to share, and opening the file will take a while.
- Poor image quality. Scanned PDF files can have poor image quality, especially if the original document was printed on poor-quality or messy paper.
- No text recognition. Scanned PDF documents are just images, making searching for or editing the content hard. This can be very challenging for files that need updating or revising.
- Incorrect page orientation. The OCR software cannot correctly read and convert the file if your scanned PDFs are saved in the wrong page orientation.
The Top PDF Optimizer For Optimizing Scanned PDFs
1. AcePDF
Pricing Plan: $59.95 for a lifetime license
AcePDF is an all-in-one tool that can optimize, edit, and convert your scanned PDFs. With its “Compress PDF” feature, you can quickly reduce the file size of your scanned and image-based PDFs. What makes it worth a try is you can do the process in batch to compress multiple files in one click. Besides that, the tool has an OCR feature that you can use to change the compressed scanned PDFs to editable formats, like editable PDF, Word, Excel, PPT, and others. Furthermore, its OCR feature has an “Enhanced Mode” to ensure that all the scanned PDF details will be converted accurately. Follow the tutorial below to learn how to reduce PDF size with AcePDF.
Try it for Free
Step 1 Install the Scanned PDF Optimizer
With the help of any of the “Download” buttons displayed above the step, install AcePDF on your Windows PC or Mac computer. After that, go along with the details on the setup box till you completely store the program on your computer. Once completed, launch the software and continue with the following steps below.Step 2 Start to Compress Scanned PDF
Click “Batch Compress” on the left panel and select “Compress PDF.” Next, drag the scanned PDF you like to optimize into the tool and let it appear. Then, tick the “+Add file(s)” button to optimize more files simultaneously. Afterward, select between “Prefer Quality” and “Prefer compression.” Since we are reducing the file size, hit the “Prefer compression” button and specify the output folder. Lastly, hit the “Compress” button to start the PDF optimization software.Step 3 Locate the Compressed Scanned PDF
Once the compression process ends, the optimized version will be transferred to the output folder you have set. You can quickly locate it as "Compress" is on the file name. As you can see in the image below, the original file has a "150 KB" file size, while the compressed version now has a file size of "144 KB" only. Meanwhile, right-click the compressed scanned PDF and select "Edit with AcePDF" if you prefer to convert the file into an editable format with the OCR feature.2. Adobe Acrobat Pro DC
Pricing Plan: $19 per month and no annual or lifetime plan
Another PDF scanner software that can optimize your image-based PDFs is Adobe Acrobat Pro DC. This professional software allows you to select different settings to optimize the file size of your scanned PDFs. For instance, you can modify the compression rate, quality, image settings, and more on the “Advanced Optimization” mode. Meanwhile, its “Optimize Scanned Pages” allows you to optimize a specific page are set a page range. You can also adjust the compression rate or only use the default settings. However, remember that Adobe Acrobat Pro DC doesn’t allow you to optimize in batch unlike AcePDF. Nevertheless, the guide below is presented to help you with the process.
Step 1 Launch the Optimizer and Import File
Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro DC on your Windows or Mac devices and drag the file directly into the software to import it. Afterward, locate the “Optimized PDF” under the “Tools” section, and the optimization feature will appear on the upper ribbon. Once done, hit the “Optimize Scanned Pages” from the menu.Step 2 Begin to Optimize Scanned PDF
A setting window will allow you to modify the optimization settings. For example, you can optimize all the pages, the current page, or a specific page range. Also, you can apply filters or alter the compression rate. Then, tick the “Recognize Text” option on the bottom to convert the file into an editable one automatically. Finally, hit the “OK” button to begin the PDF scanner optimization process.3. IlovePDF Compress PDF Files
Pricing Plan: $48 per year
If you prefer to do a PDF optimization process over the web, you can use ILovePDF Compress PDF Files. This online PDF optimizer allows you to compress scanned PDF files while in various levels. It has three different compression levels, including “Extreme,” “Recommended,” and “Less” compression. The “Extreme Compression” offers a high compression rate but lesser output quality. On the other hand, the “Recommended Compression” has a reasonable compression rate with good quality output. Meanwhile, you can use the “Less Compression” mode to maintain a high-quality result but at a lesser compression rate. Find out how this great online scanned PDF optimizer works using the steps beneath.
Step 1 Add the Scanned PDF Files
Launch ILovePDF Compress PDF Files on your web browser and click the “Select PDF files” in the middle to open your file menu. Then, locate the scanned PDF file and add it to the tool. You can also drop the file or get it from your Google Drive or Dropbox.Step 2 Initiate the Compression Process
Once you have successfully added the file, hit the “+” icon to add more files depending on your liking. After that, select your preferred compression level on the right panel. Again, you can pick the level that best suits your requirements. Later, hit the “Compress PDF” at the bottom to begin. When the process ends, you will be prompted to download the file or save it directly on your Google Drive or Dropbox.Comparison of the Best 3 Tools
Tools | AcePDF | Adobe Acrobat Pro DC | ILovePDFCompress PDF Files |
---|---|---|---|
System Requirements | For CPU-1GHz Intel processor or later/ For HDD-100 MB or more/ For RAM-1GB or higher is suggested | For CPU-Intel or AMD processor and above/ For RAM-2GB or above/ For HDD-4.5GB and higher | The web browser you are using must be in its updated or latest version. |
Free Trial | It comes with a 30-day free trial on all of its features. | It has a 7-day free trial on all its features. | You can use the tool with limited file processing on the free version. |
Other Features | You can edit the file after compressing it to add new pages, content, and more. | It allows you to merge multiple PDFs to create one huge file. | The tool allows you to add digital signatures after you optimize the documents. |
Batch Process | Available | Not available | Available |
Techniques for Optimizing Scanned PDFs
Many techniques, including image compression, OCR, text recognition, and others, can be employed to optimize PDF for web sharing. These techniques can help you to make your image-based files easier to manage and improve the final output. A summary of various optimization tips for scanned documents is provided below.
1. Image Compression
Various kinds of image compression exist, including "lossless" and "lossy." The "lossy compression" can dramatically reduce file size but will compromise the quality of the file. Meanwhile, the "lossless compression" preserves image quality while decreasing file sizes. This tip applies to scanned PDFs containing images; you want to convert them to PNG or JPEG format. You can use both compression methods depending on the requirement you are trying to achieve.
Advantage:
- The process can be applied easily with the right image editor.
- You can preserve the image's original quality or compromise it to have a lesser file size.
Disadvantage:
- The compression level applied can affect the readability of the text in the image.
2. OCR
With OCR (Optical Character Recognition) technology, text from scanned PDFs may be extracted and converted into editable digital text. In addition, your OCR software allows you to convert them to Excel, PPT, Word, editable PDF, plain text, and more. As a result, OCR technology can help improve the accessibility and editing of scanned PDFs.
Advantage:
- It can help you save time in dealing with many scanned PDFs.
- OCR can help you make your image-based PDFs more accessible and easily edited.
Disadvantage:
- It sometimes needs to work better with handwritten text or unique font styles.
- OCR software is expensive and requires extra skill to use effectively.
3. Text Recognition
Like OCR, text recognition focuses on reading text in scanned PDF documents. Therefore, this method can be helpful when working with PDFs that include text and images. In addition, you can use this technique if your file has many text data you need to extract.
Advantage:
- It is helpful in extracting text from graphs, tables, and charts.
- You can use it if you are working as a data analyst to minimize your work in data entry.
Disadvantage:
- The accuracy will depend on the quality of the scanned PDF and the language used.
Tips and Tricks You Can Keep in Mind
You can consider many things in using a PDF shrinker, but there are also other details you must learn along the process. Below are the common tips and tricks you can keep in mind in optimizing scanned PDFs. By following them, you can reduce the file size of your scanned PDF files without much effort and demands.
- How to maintain image quality while reducing file size. Suppose you want to keep the image quality of your scanned PDFs while reducing file size. In that case, you need to alter the compression level. Use a compression rate that can decrease the file size but still maintain the quality of the file. As you know, the higher the compression rate, the lower the quality result. So if you are not required to shrink the file too much, be careful with the compression level you will use.
- How to make scanned PDFs searchable and editable. OCR software like AcePDF is the ultimate solution to make your scanned PDFs searchable and editable. As you know, OCR technology reads, analyzes, and converts your image-based documents to editable PDF, plain text, and other formats. Making your scanned PDFs editable can give you the advantage of enhancing your existing file.
- How to batch process multiple scanned PDFs. If you are working with many scanned PDFs, you can get a scan to PDF optimization tool that supports the batch process. This can help you save time instead of optimizing them one at a time. Meanwhile, suppose your PDF optimizer doesn't have a batch process. You can merge all your scanned PDFs into one huge file and optimize it afterward. Once the optimization completes, you can split the file into its original status.