How to scan a document to a searchable PDF on your phone

Steps

1. Put the page on a flat, contrasting surface with even light. Avoid a lamp that casts your hand's shadow across the paper.
2. Open LumenScan and point the camera at the page. Auto-capture detects the edges and corrects the perspective for you.
3. Pick a filter: Enhanced for text pages, B&W for forms, Grayscale for photos. The magic clean-up filter removes shadows and uneven lighting.
4. Add more pages for multi-page documents, then reorder or crop if needed.
5. Let on-device OCR run so the PDF becomes searchable. It reads English, Hindi, Tamil and Telugu on iPhone.
6. Export to PDF (or JPEG, PNG, or Word on Pro) and share it.

Scanning an ID safely

For an Aadhaar or PAN card, scan the front and back onto a single page, then use on-device masking to blur the number before you send it anywhere that does not need the full number. Keep the unmasked original in the Face ID vault.

Scanning invoices for GST

Scan a GST invoice or receipt and LumenScan reads out the GSTIN, amount and vendor so you are not retyping them. This is a Pro feature. Always check the extracted numbers against the paper before filing.

Tips for sharper scans

• Hold the phone parallel to the page; let auto-capture do the rest.
• Use daylight near a window rather than a yellow bulb.
• Flatten creased pages under a book first.
• Scan at least once with airplane mode on if you want to confirm nothing needs the internet.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make a scanned PDF searchable?

Run OCR (text recognition) on the scan. LumenScan does this on your device and writes a text layer into the PDF so you can search for words inside it.

Can I scan without an internet connection?

Yes. LumenScan's scanning and OCR are on-device and work offline.

How do I scan multiple pages into one PDF?

Keep capturing pages in the same session, reorder them if needed, then export once. All pages are saved into a single PDF.