How do I make sure the text in my scanned loan package is recognized correctly?

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best clarity. Choose the correct language for the text before you start the OCR process. Check the scanned document for any blurry areas before running OCR.

What is the difference between a regular PDF and a searchable PDF created by OCR?

Feature Regular PDF (image-only) Searchable PDF (with OCR). Text Search Cannot search for words Can search for words Text Select/Copy Cannot select or copy text Can select and copy text Content Type Just an image of pages Image with a hidden text layer

◆ Acrobat · convert

Scan Loan Package

Scan the lender's signed loan form, the condition report, and the courier invoice into a single PDF package labeled [l…

2ready prompts

1real task

3roles

See the prompt↓More convert workflows

When to use it

real situations

You have a paper contract and need to find words in it.
You want to save old paper records as searchable computer files.
You get a scanned document and need to copy text from it.

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Scan the lender's signed loan form, the condition report, and the courier invoice into a single…+

Scan the lender's signed loan form, the condition report, and the courier invoice into a single PDF package labeled [label=Loan 2026-Davidson Museum], and save a copy in the registrar folder so registrar and lender have identical records.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”Before sending, assemble the loan package into one PDF in this order: signed loan form,…+

Before sending, assemble the loan package into one PDF in this order: signed loan form, condition report, courier invoice; run OCR for legibility, add a one-page cover listing package contents and contact ([contact=Registrar Anna Morales]), and save copies for both lender and registrar.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open the scanned PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Go to the Tools menu.
3
Select Scan & OCR from the tools list.
4
Click Recognize Text and choose In This File.
5
In the settings panel, ensure PDF Output Style is set to Searchable Image.
6
Click Recognize to start the OCR process.
7
Save the PDF after OCR is complete.
Best practiceFor best OCR accuracy, scan your documents at 300 dpi and ensure the images are clear before running OCR.

In the appWith the API

After OCR completes, you can search, copy, and highlight text in your previously scanned PDF.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

OCROCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is technology that turns images of text into real text you can search and copy.ExampleAfter scanning a paper invoice, OCR allows you to copy the vendor's name from the image.

DPIDPI means dots per inch, and it tells you how clear an image is when it is scanned.ExampleA scanned photo saved at 300 DPI will usually contain more detail than the same photo at 72 DPI.

Searchable PDFA searchable PDF is a document where you can look for words, even if it started as a scanned image.ExampleEven though it was a scan, the searchable PDF let me find every instance of 'warranty' in the document.

Who does this

3 roles

ArchivistResearch LibrarianRecords Manager

FAQ

about this task

Scan your document at 300 dpi for the best clarity.
Choose the correct language for the text before you start the OCR process.
Check the scanned document for any blurry areas before running OCR.

Renderable text means the page already has real text data, not just a picture of text. OCR is designed to convert images of text into actual text. If the page already has text, OCR sees no image text to convert. It only works on pages that are pure images.

No, if your scanned loan package is blurry, the OCR might not work well. OCR needs clear images of text to recognize characters accurately. Blurry scans can lead to many errors or make the text unrecognizable. Try to rescan the document at a higher quality setting.

Picking the correct language helps OCR work better. Different languages have different letter shapes and common words. If you pick the wrong language, OCR might confuse letters or make mistakes when trying to read the text.

Feature	Regular PDF (image-only)	Searchable PDF (with OCR)
Text Search	Cannot search for words	Can search for words
Text Select/Copy	Cannot select or copy text	Can select and copy text
Content Type	Just an image of pages	Image with a hidden text layer

Scan Loan Package

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help

When it fails