Nitro PDF: Optical Character Recognition (OCR)

Nitro's OCR technology converts scanned documents and image-based PDFs into searchable, editable text, making it easy to digitize, organize, and work with your content across business and professional workflows.

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OCR: From static images to actionable PDFs

Scanning or receiving image-based PDFs is common in business, but without Optical Character Recognition (OCR), those files are essentially locked images - difficult to search, edit, or repurpose. That creates bottlenecks in everything from archiving records to preparing documents for review.

Nitro PDF Pro’s OCR feature transforms those static files into fully usable PDFs by recognizing text and making it searchable and editable. This helps teams save time, improve accuracy, and unlock the full value of their information.

Convert scanned paper or image-based PDFs into searchable, editable text
Quickly find keywords, phrases, and data across long documents
Maintain document layout and formatting while enabling text extraction
Streamline compliance, archiving, and review processes
Empower teams in finance, healthcare, legal, government, and other document-heavy industries

Guide: OCR an Existing PDF

Searchable PDFs

Instantly find words, phrases, or numbers inside scanned or image-based documents, saving hours of manual review.

Editable Text

Convert static text into live, editable content while preserving your document’s original layout and formatting.

Accuracy Built In

Nitro’s OCR engine includes dictionaries for legal and medical terms, helping compliance-heavy industries capture text more precisely.

Customizable OCR

Run OCR automatically on scanned files, apply it manually page by page, or process entire document sets with batch OCR.

Helpful OCR Tools

Tools like deskewing and image adjustment improve recognition accuracy, so your team spends less time correcting errors.

Integrated with Nitro’s PDF Suite

Combine OCR with editing, conversion, eSign, and collaboration tools, all in one platform - no need for separate software.

See Nitro's OCR tools in action

This quick demo walks you through how Nitro PDF Pro converts scanned or image-based PDFs into searchable, editable text. You’ll see how to run OCR automatically, apply it manually, and fine-tune results with tools like deskewing and batch processing—so you can get the most accurate output from every document.

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Real Estate

Turn property contracts, disclosures, and inspection reports into searchable PDFs, so agents and clients can find key details quickly and close deals faster.

Manufacturing

Convert equipment manuals, safety guidelines, and supplier documents into editable text, making technical content easier to update, share, and standardize across teams.

Finance & Accounting

Digitize invoices, tax forms, and audit records with OCR, creating searchable files that reduce manual entry and speed up compliance reviews.

Healthcare

Transform scanned patient records, lab reports, and referral documents into searchable PDFs, supporting better recordkeeping and faster access to critical information.

Doctor checking her reports with on a tablet

Insurance

OCR policy applications, claims forms, and supporting evidence to create searchable archives that streamline case handling and improve response times.

Government

Make scanned legislation, contracts, and archival documents searchable, improving transparency, accessibility, and public service efficiency.

Politician getting a document to be signed on a tablet

Professional Services

Convert legal briefs, consulting reports, and client deliverables into editable, searchable text for easier collaboration and reference.

Sales representative showing product to a client using a tablet

Energy

Digitize technical drawings, compliance reports, and safety procedures, turning static files into searchable documents that improve accuracy and field access.

Education

Transform scanned textbooks, research papers, and student records into searchable PDFs, enhancing digital learning and academic administration.

Group of students researching with a laptop

What is OCR and how does it work in Nitro PDF?

OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, is a technology that converts scanned paper documents or image-based PDFs into machine-readable text.

In Nitro, OCR analyzes the shapes of letters and words in a document image and creates a hidden text layer behind the visible scan. This makes the PDF searchable, selectable, and in many cases editable.

For example, you can scan a paper contract, run OCR, and then search for a specific clause, copy text to another document, or make small edits while keeping the original layout intact.

Why would I need to use OCR on a PDF?

Without OCR, a scanned document is essentially just a picture. You can’t search within it, select text, or copy information.

By applying OCR, you unlock the content of that file. This is useful in countless scenarios: quickly finding numbers in invoices, searching medical or legal records, preparing government archives for public access, or digitizing educational materials for online learning. OCR saves time, reduces manual work, and ensures that information inside PDFs can be reused instead of being trapped in an image.

How do I perform OCR in Nitro PDF?

Nitro makes OCR easy to use. When you open a scanned PDF, the software automatically detects it and asks if you’d like to run OCR.

You can choose to apply it to just one page or the entire document. OCR can also be applied manually at any time by going to the “Edit” menu and selecting OCR options.

For more advanced needs, Nitro offers batch OCR, which lets you process multiple documents at once. As the OCR runs, you’ll see a progress bar, and once complete, the text will be available for searching, copying, and editing.

Visit our OCR user guide to learn more.

Can I choose which parts of a document to OCR?

Yes. Nitro gives you control over OCR scope.

You can run OCR on an entire document, a single page, or even selected page ranges. This is especially helpful if you only need a portion of a large file to be searchable or editable.

For example, finance teams might OCR only the attachments of a scanned report, while real estate professionals may focus on specific sections of contracts.

What affects the accuracy of OCR?

OCR accuracy depends on the quality of the original document. Clean, high-contrast scans with straight text lines produce the best results.

Nitro includes tools to improve accuracy, such as deskewing (straightening tilted pages) and adjusting contrast so text stands out more clearly.

Nitro also has built-in dictionaries—including medical and legal vocabularies—that help improve recognition of specialized terms.

While OCR is highly effective, results may still need light proofreading to correct occasional misread words, especially in older or low-quality scans.

Does Nitro’s OCR support multiple languages?

Yes. Nitro PDF Pro supports OCR in multiple languages, which can be selected in the software’s preferences.

This is useful for organizations working with international documents or multilingual archives. Selecting the correct language helps the OCR engine recognize words more accurately and reduce errors in the text layer.

What are the main benefits of using Nitro for OCR compared to other tools?

Nitro PDF Pro’s OCR is integrated into a full-featured PDF platform, which means you don’t just get searchable text—you also have editing, conversion, eSign, and collaboration tools in one place. The benefits include:

Searchable PDFs: Quickly find information in long documents.
Editable text: Make changes while preserving formatting.
Flexibility: Apply OCR automatically, manually, or in batches.
Accuracy: Specialized dictionaries and image-adjustment tools improve results.
Integration: Combine OCR with other Nitro features for a complete PDF workflow.

This all-in-one approach reduces the need for multiple software subscriptions and makes OCR a seamless part of your daily document management.