Adobe Unveils 'Adobe Scan' Optical Character Recognition App

Adobe today announced the launch of Adobe Scan, a new Optical Character Recognition (OCR) app that's able to scan documents and convert printed text into digital text in a matter of seconds.

Unlike most OCR apps on the market, Adobe Scan is free to use, with no watermarks or page limits, and it's optimized for capturing multi-page documents.


The app works by capturing a picture of what a user wants to scan, from notes and forms to receipts and business cards. Adobe Scan detects the edges of a document, captures and cleans the image, fixes perspective, removes shadows, and then uses image recognition to detect and convert printed text.

Scans are converted into Adobe PDFs that can be searched, highlighted, copied, edited, marked up, and shared with other users.

"Adobe Scan represents a radical reimagination of how to capture your most important document content," said Bryan Lamkin, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Media at Adobe. "Adobe invented PDF creation for PCs, and with Adobe Scan we're doing the same for a mobile-first world. As part of Adobe Document Cloud, new apps like Adobe Scan integrate with services in Adobe Sign andAcrobat DC, offering a modern document experience with unprecedented value to our customers."

Adobe Scan is powered by the company's Adobe Sensei image processing technology. Scans captured by the app are stored in the Adobe Document Cloud, also free to use, and are accessible across desktop and mobile devices, and it works with Acrobat DC and Adobe Sign.

Adobe Sign is also gaining new features, including cloud-based digital signatures, cross-device signature capture, customizable email templates, and more.

Adobe Scan is available for download starting today on iOS and Android devices. [Direct Link]