Edit scanned PDFs like digital ones
A scanned PDF is a picture of a page, which is why most editors can only paint white boxes over it. blupdf lets you edit scanned PDF files properly: AI OCR turns every word into an editable block, you click and retype, and the export is a clean, searchable PDF with your new text rendered in the closest matching font, size and color.
Start free — 1,000 creditsHow it works
- Step 1
Upload the scan
Drop a scanned PDF, or a JPG or PNG photo of a page. blupdf detects which pages are image-only.
- Step 2
AI OCR reads every page
Each scanned page is recognized once (80 credits per page): words, positions, sizes, colors and an estimated typeface for every block.
- Step 3
Click and retype
Text blocks behave exactly like on a digital PDF. Click one, type, and it re-wraps inside its original box.
- Step 4
Export a searchable PDF
The original page image stays, a real text layer is added for every recognized word, and edited blocks are rendered in the matched font.
Why blupdf
No white boxes
Edited blocks are rendered as text matched to the surrounding words, not pasted over the scan as a rectangle.
Searchable output
Every recognized word is in the exported file as real text, so the document can be searched, copied and read by screen readers.
Mixed documents handled per page
A contract with two scanned pages and ten digital pages pays OCR only for the two scanned ones.
Photos work too
Phone photos are wrapped into a page and recognized like a scan. Keep the camera parallel and the page well lit.
Fix misreads in place
OCR mistakes are ordinary text — click the block and correct the character.
Frequently asked questions
Will the new text use the exact original font?
A scan does not contain its font, so blupdf estimates the typeface from the letter shapes and uses the closest match from its library. At reading size the result blends in; you can pick a different match from the block toolbar if you know the original face.
How accurate is the OCR?
On a clean 300 dpi scan of printed text, essentially every word is recognized correctly. Low resolution, skew, shadows and handwriting reduce accuracy; the docs list a quality checklist.
Does editing a scan reduce its quality?
No. The original page image is kept as-is. Only the blocks you edit are rendered as new text, and the rest gets an invisible text layer behind it.
What does it cost?
80 credits per scanned page for OCR, 1 credit per character you type, and 20 credits per exported page. A five-page scan with 300 edited characters is about 800 credits; every account starts with 1,000 free credits.
Which languages are supported?
Most Latin-script languages and common non-Latin scripts, including mixed-language pages. Handwriting is recognized best-effort.