How to scan a document on an iPhone or Android mobile device

When should I use a document scanner?

Even in our increasingly digital world, there's still a place for physical documents. But nobody wants to be carrying ‘round all those stacks of paper wherever they go.

Whether it's for personal or professional reasons, you could and should use a document scanner to:

• Protect irreplaceable items like old photos, handwritten letters, or legal documents from damage or loss
• Easily access and share documents from anywhere with a digital copy
• Declutter your physical space by digitizing paperwork
• Create a digital backup of essential documents for added security
• Quickly find specific information within scanned documents using OCR search functions

 

Common items to scan include:

• Personal: Photos, birth certificates, passports, insurance policies, tax returns, medical records, and wills
• Professional: Contracts, invoices, receipts, business cards, and project documents
• Academic: Notes, research papers, certificates, and textbooks

Scanning your photo collection is a popular way to preserve memories and share them digitally. With modern scanning technology, you can easily transform your cherished prints into high-quality digital images. In fact, it’s the perfect way to upload, organize, and share family photos.

How to scan documents to a computer using a mobile device

Your smartphone is more than just a communication device; it's a powerful tool for productivity. With the right apps and techniques, you can easily convert physical documents into digital files.

Rather than collating your documents and running them through a copy machine, you’ve now got three options.

1. Take a picture of your document

You can use the camera on your phone and take an image of your document. This may be one of the easiest ways, but it has its drawbacks. For one, it isn't fully secure. Second, having a photo stored only on your phone may make it difficult to use on multiple devices. It also is more difficult to get high quality images of your paper documents. You may even lose time in the end if you have to retake over and over.

2. Take a picture …and then use a scanning app

A document scanning application is a good option to convert an image into a high-quality scan. You can then save or send the image as a PDF, PNG, JPG, tiff, or whatever file type you need. This opens up a variety of new ways to scan documents in your everyday life that don’t involve a trip to the print store, library, or the office. You can do this on new scans as well as old.

3. Simply scan with a scanning app

The Dropbox doc scanner functionality gives you more features and security than taking a photo, but it's just as easy. 

The app enables you to scan files directly to your Dropbox account using your device’s camera. You can then access it from your phone or computer no matter if you use iOS or Windows. 

You can also retake a scan without starting over—quite helpful when you have a pile of documents. Plus, you never have to worry about losing or damaging documents again with simple iPhone backup solutions.

How to scan documents on iPhone

 

Using the Notes App

1. Open the Notes app on your iPhone.
2. Create a new note or open an existing note.
3. Tap the camera icon and select Scan Documents.
4. Position the document in view of the camera; the app will automatically capture the scan.
5. Adjust the corners if necessary, then save the scan to your note.

While the Notes app is convenient for quick scans, it lacks the advanced features of dedicated scanning apps. For instance, it doesn't offer OCR (Optical Character Recognition) for searchable text or secure cloud storage, making it less suitable for managing a large number of documents.

 

Using the Dropbox App

The Dropbox doc scanner functionality offers more features and security than taking a photo. Here’s how to use it:

1. Open the app on your iPhone
2. Tap the “+” (plus) icon.
3. Tap Scan Document.
4. Take a picture of the content you’d like to scan
5. If desired, make edits or scan additional pages.
6. Tap Next.
7. If desired, adjust the save settings.
8. Tap Save.

You can access it from any device and retake scans without starting over. Plus, the Dropbox OCR feature makes your documents searchable, and secure cloud storage ensures you never lose your important files.

How to scan documents on Android

 

Using Google Drive

1. Open the Google Drive app.
2. Tap the “+” (plus) icon and then select Scan.
3. Position the document in view of the camera and capture the scan.
4. Adjust the scan area if necessary and save it to your Drive.

While Google Drive is a solid option for basic scans, it doesn't offer the same level of security and functionality as dedicated scanning apps. For example, it may lack advanced features like OCR for searchable text and easy integration with other productivity tools.

 

Using the Dropbox app

The Dropbox doc scanner functionality provides enhanced features and security compared to basic photo-taking. The process for using it is straightforward:

1. Open the app on your Android device.
2. Tap the “+” (plus) icon.
3. Tap Scan Document.
4. Either take a picture of the content you’d like to scan, or select an existing image on your mobile device. To redo a scan, tap Retake. 
5. If desired, make edits or scan additional pages. You can crop, rotate, or add a filter to the image, as well as add, delete, or rearrange the order of scanned pages.
6. Tap Next.
7. If desired, adjust the save settings.
8. Tap Save.

You can access it from any device, retake scans without starting over, and benefit from OCR for searchable documents. Plus, secure cloud storage ensures your documents are always backed up and accessible.

Why is OCR better for scanned documents?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It converts scanned text into text data that can be searched. One of the main benefits to OCR is organizing scanned documents. The Dropbox scanner app uses OCR so you can find any docs you scan with a single keyword search in your Dropbox account.

If you’ve uploaded a bank statement with the printed date in the corner, search the date and you can find your document fast. By making paperwork easy to convert to PDF and well as effortless to locate and search, you can essentially eliminate paper documents. Or, you can replace the notes app with a scan app using OCR, instantly digitizing docs and notes with a one-tap scan.

How to ensure high quality scans

Whatever scanning method you go for, make sure your documents are in the best condition for crisp, clear scanning:

• Try to ensure your documents aren’t creased, folded, or discolored
• Make sure details aren’t faded
• Keep the backdrop uncluttered when phone scanning
• If you’re using a scanner without OCR, then you may also want to pay attention to the resolution. It's measured in DPI, or dots per inch:
• For photos, use a higher or even lossless resolution up to 600 dpi
• For simple grayscale documents, use 300 dpi to ensure they’re legible and their file size is small
• Any resolution smaller than 300 dpi may look okay on your screen, but will be blurry or pixelated if you choose to print a physical copy in the future

Most image editing software can fix problems with your scanned document, but you may waste time and money getting it right.

Storing your scans

Keeping your scans safe in cloud storage will ensure they won’t get lost on your hard drive or deleted by accident. This is also ideal for your personal documents, like bank statements, which you might also want to scan and keep as a digital version. Dropbox has protection that ensures only you have or give access to those who need it. With Dropbox, your file cabinet fits on your phone and goes where you go.