7 Best Scanning Software for Windows 10 in 2024
Check our list with best scanning software for Windows
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Key notes
- When choosing a scanner software for Windows 10 look for one that features image editing options.
- The majority of the solutions are quite handy for scanning various file types and include optical character recognition.
- Our top Windows 10 scanner software list is precisely what you need to pick which one is ideal for you, whether for business or personal purposes.
Software bundled with scanners or printers is not unusual these days. However, if you’re looking for better tools than what came with the scanner there are plenty of alternatives.
There are various types of applications for image processing, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), and batch scanning.
These are some of the best scanner software for Windows 11.
What is the best scanning software for PC?
Soda PDF – User-friendly and high performance
Retyping an old document is time-consuming. You can save time by using Soda PDF’s OCR engine to convert scanned documents and images into searchable PDF files.
With this OCR feature, you can also automatically detect the text along with images. You can manually choose which part of your PDF you want to scan.
This PDF editor is among the best in its field, especially if we consider the quality-price ratio. Just like the other programs mentioned so far, Soda PDF also allows you to easily edit PDFs.
The software exists in two different versions: Standard and Pro. The Pro version allows you to transform scanned PDF files into editable and searchable documents.
Both versions only allow you to edit and convert PDF files. The only difference is that you have some plus-minus advanced functions.
Pros
- The OCR function is really effective.
- It allows you to protect and sign PDFs.
Cons
- Protection and signature functions are also included in the Pro version only.
Compatible Systems: Soda PDF is compatible with both Windows and macOS & IOS.
Soda PDF
Turn any PDF, image, or scanned document into a fully editable file with the OCR feature!Adobe Acrobat – Best overall
You might recognize Adobe Reader since it is the most used software to open PDF files.
You can use Adobe Acrobat to scan documents, create and annotate PDFs and even recognize text using OCR. Since Adobe created the pdf file format, what better software to use, right?
All you need to do is open Adobe Acrobat, go to Tools -> Create PDF, and from there click on Scanner. You will be presented with a lot of presets and options so that you get the best results.
The presets available cover the most common documents that you might need to scan:
- a black and white document preset: useful for scanning text documents and running OCR
- color document preset: similar to the one above but it includes colors
- grayscale document
- color photos.
For scanning documents and creating a PDF with multiple text files in it we recommend using the black-and-white preset from Adobe Acrobat and also setting the scanner to 300dpi. This is the optimum value for OCR.
Once you finished scanning, it’s time to continue with Adobe Acrobat to combine all files into a single PDF, adjust the text, edit images, add password protection, or create an interactive form.
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Check out the best scanner software that perfectly matches your Windows 10 computer.ABBYY FineReader – Edit, reviews and convert docs
ABBYY is an international software producer specializing in creating programs for OCR reading and working with scanned documents. FineReader has top reviews and awesome ratings from big publications.
We’ll see below what it has and how is it the perfect software for your work with scanned documents. FineReader allows you to edit, review, and convert scans and PDf documents.
The editing feature comes in handy as it allows you not only to edit but also to annotate the documents opened in FineReader and share the work with other users.
The compare feature helps you to track the changes that have been made to a document. Also, it has one of the best OCR engines in the world, and this is probably the most used feature of this software.
You can easily convert scanned documents to Word, Excel, PDF, and other formats with great precision. Forget about copying manually texts, just use ABBYY FineReader.
You can get this software for free from the official website, but it will have only some basic features. However, it is good to try such a tool, especially if you really need it and will like to buy it after.
ABBYY FineReader
Abby FineReader not only helps you scan but also lets you edit digital and scanned PDF documents.Readiris Pro – Easy text extraction from pictures
Readiris Pro is more specifically OCR software for scanning documents into an editable format.
This is one of the best software packages for OCR scanning that’s compatible with all Windows versions and all TWAIN scanners and can convert documents and images to a variety of formats.
The software scans documents to PDF, ePub, RTF, TXT, ODT, HTML, GIF, BMP JPEG, PNG, and TIFF file formats, which is more than most.
Note that the OCR scanning isn’t just limited to documents, as the software also extracts text from image formats.
With this program, users can convert their MS Office documents into audio, ePub, or image file formats. Readiris has a variety of PDF options for merging, indexing, compressing, and organizing PDF pages.
Batch OCR is also a handy tool that enables you to convert a batch of documents from a selected folder. Another great thing about Readiris Pro is that it dramatically compresses file sizes for saved documents.
So this scanning application has plenty of more advanced options and tools.
Readiris Pro
Readiris Pro will surprise you with the best OCR engine and will convert PDF documents to Office formats.Icecream PDF Converter PRO – Supports password-protected files
Icecream PDF Converter is obviously focused on PDF conversion to and from practically any format including ODC, JPG, TIFF, XLS, EPS, GIF, WMF, HTML, PNG, and more.
You can even OCR a document into an editable PDF format or even better, convert multiple files with just one click thanks to the batch processing feature.
Privacy-sensitive Icecream Converter is compatible with all versions of Windows including older ones such as Vista and XP, which makes things even simpler for you.
Let’s quickly look at its key features:
- Convert any file format to PDF and vice versa
- Supports password-protected files
- Batch processing to convert multiple files simultaneously
- Supports OCR (Text Recognition) technology to turn scanned files into editable documents
- Customize layout settings (content position, margins, page size, orientation, and more)
- Built-in PDF editor (merge, split, convert, and more)
Icecream PDF Converter PRO
Drag & drop multiple files, keep your private information safe, merge files into one PDF, and immediately edit Word documents.PaperScan – Simple and straightforward
PaperScan is another software dedicated to scanning. This app comes with a free version and paid one that is more dedicated to professionals.
The software is pretty straightforward, a tool that is used for scanning documents, and as such it has a lot of features towards that end.
PaperScan supports over 30 languages and 100+ formats, it allows you to scan documents in batch by using separator sheets.
This software also comes with PDF encryption and digital signature, which will help you protect your documents.
Also, you can enhance or correct images right in the app due to its many tools. The software also supports SharePoint, making it much easier to share the documents you want.
Some other key features of PaperScan:
- Storage efficiency
- Blank page detection and removal
- Remove punch holes automatically
- Convert to black and white, greyscale, or color
- Magnifier mode
- Area selection, resize, crop
PaperScan
All your scanning needs can be solved with this very easy to use document scanner.OmniPage Standard – Best for multiple documents
OmniPage Standard is another highly rated OCR software package that provides very accurate text scanning. This software has Standard and Ultimate versions that are both compatible with Windows.
The Standard version should be perfectly sufficient for most as it still incorporates the best OCR technology. The Ultimate version has extra drawings, a digital signature, and scan-to-folder tools.
OmniPage Standard is compatible with any TWAIN, WIA, or ISIS scanners.
The software supports a greater range of output formats than most alternatives including MS Office applications, PDF, HTML, Corel Word Perfect, XML, CSV, and more besides.
OmniPage’s 3-D correct technology gives it an edge when it comes to accuracy, and you can further enhance scan accuracy with some of the software’s enhancement tools.
For processing multiple documents, Omnipage includes a Batch OCR tool with which users can select a folder for automatic processing.
This program can also do OCR conversions in 123 languages. As such, it’s little wonder this is one of the industry-leading scanner software packages.
OmniPage Standard
Business-oriented software has an in-built scanner for translating sensitive data and is ideal for sharing and finding files in real time.Those are several Windows 10 scanner software packages that can enhance scanning in various ways.
They’ll give you more accurate scans, faster scans, OCR text extraction, batch-scanning tools, PDF options, image-editing options, and more besides.
Windows 10 has, in fact, a built-in scanning tool, which you can easily access from the printer context menu.
There are a lot of great scanner software options you can choose from, such as Soda PDF, Adobe Acrobat, ABBYY FineReader, and more.
Scanners typically connect with a computer system and go together with scanning software, but you can always pick your preferred application to get the best performance.
There are many good scanners, but for Windows 10 most professionals recommend and use scanners from Epson, especially model Epson V600. Of course, SodaPDF and Acrobat Reader work flawlessly with that hardware.
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