Image PDF versus searchable PDF
An image-only PDF is a container of page pictures. It can be viewed and printed, but searching for a phrase may return nothing. A searchable PDF includes an invisible text layer aligned with the visible scan.
That text layer makes the document easier to retrieve later and more useful to recipients. It does not turn every layout into an editable word-processing file, and OCR errors remain possible.
- Preserves signatures, stamps, formatting, and page appearance
- Allows search in compatible PDF readers
- Makes text selectable and copyable
- Improves document archive retrieval
Build the text layer locally
DocSnap recognizes page text on the iPhone. The page image and OCR result can then be combined during PDF export without uploading the original document.
Check the output in the PDF reader your recipient uses. Search for a distinctive phrase, select a line, and confirm that the page order and orientation are correct before sending an important file.
How it works
- 1
Scan or import pages
Start with clear, correctly ordered page images.
- 2
Recognize the text
Run on-device OCR and review important names and numbers.
- 3
Choose searchable PDF
Export the document with its OCR text layer.
- 4
Verify the file
Open the exported PDF and test search and selection before sharing.
