You just completed a form or jotted down an idea on a piece of paper and want to send it to a friend, colleague or professor. The problem is you don’t have access to a scanner or a multi-purpose printer.
Good news!
If you have a cell phone or tablet, you can still achieve the same results. Scan documents, worksheets, applications, or other pieces of paper for personal, school or work reasons using one of these options.
Camera
Use your built-in phone or tablet camera to take a photo of your document. Then, attach the photo to your email.
Scanner Apps
This option turns your mobile device or tablet into a document scanner. Similar to how you take a picture, the app will convert your photo into a PDF or like file type.
Examples: TinyScanner, Adobe Scan
Optical character recognition (OCR) Apps
These types of apps scan and convert printed characters into digital text, allowing you to search for or edit your document in a word processing program. They offer text-to-speech options, as well.
Quick Tips for OCR apps:
- Have good lighting
- Keep a steady hand
- Be wary of curves in the paper or book
- It may not recognize cursive font or handwriting
Examples: Speechify, Office Lens, and Voice Dream Scan
Additionally, alternative options when a scanner is not available include using fillable PDFs to send in documents through email using such apps as Adobe Fill and Sign or typing text on already scanned files using apps like SnapType.
Have questions about using these and other apps?
Connect with Mohawk College Library, Learning Support Centre or Accessible Learning Services today!
