How to Extract Text from a Scanned PDF Using OCR — Free
Scanned documents look like PDFs but contain no actual text — they're just images. OCR (Optical Character Recognition) reads those images and converts them to actual text you can copy, search, and edit. PDFBro's OCR tool extracts all text from scanned PDFs and delivers it as a downloadable .txt file.
Free Online Tool
OCR PDF
Extract text from scanned PDFs using OCR
How to Extract Text from a Scanned PDF in 3 Steps
- 1
Upload the scanned PDF
Upload the image-based or scanned PDF. Files up to 100 MB are supported.
- 2
Run OCR
PDFBro processes each page using OCR technology to recognize characters and words.
- 3
Download or copy the text
Copy the extracted text directly from the screen, or download the full content as a .txt file.
What Affects OCR Accuracy
OCR accuracy varies based on several factors:
Scan resolution: 300 DPI or higher gives the best results. Scans below 150 DPI often produce garbled output.
Image clarity: Skewed text, bleed-through from the reverse side of thin paper, and coffee stains all reduce accuracy.
Font type: Standard printed fonts (Times New Roman, Arial) achieve 97–99% accuracy. Unusual decorative fonts, script, or handwriting achieve much lower accuracy.
Language: OCR works best with Latin-alphabet languages. Non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Chinese, etc.) require specialized OCR engines.
What to Do After OCR Extraction
Once you have the extracted text as a .txt file:
Convert to Word: Import the .txt into Microsoft Word or Google Docs for full document formatting.
Convert to PDF: Use Text to PDF tool to create a searchable PDF from the extracted text.
Edit and reformat: The text may have line breaks where the page wrapped. A quick Find & Replace in Word (find double newlines, replace with single) cleans this up.
Pro Tips
- 1
For multi-column layouts (newspapers, academic papers), OCR may mix up column order. Manually rearrange paragraphs after extraction.
- 2
If you need a searchable PDF (not just extracted text), consider using an OCR-enhanced PDF instead of plain text export.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is OCR and how does it work?
OCR (Optical Character Recognition) analyzes images of text and identifies individual characters, converting them to machine-readable text that can be copied, searched, and edited.
Can OCR handle handwritten text?
Modern OCR handles print clearly, but handwriting accuracy is much lower. Results vary significantly based on handwriting clarity.
Is OCR 100% accurate?
Not guaranteed. For clear, high-resolution scans of standard fonts, accuracy typically reaches 95–99%. Poor scans or unusual fonts can produce more errors.
Can I make the PDF text-searchable after OCR?
The Text to PDF tool can create a new PDF from the extracted text. For an overlay approach, that requires dedicated desktop software.