A phone photo,
returned as a clean sheet.
Crop, adjust contrast, and straighten by hand when you need to — then export a printable A4 PDF, or compress toward the size a form asks for.
This browser can’t open PDFs — it’s too old to run the PDF engine. Use the latest Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari, or a newer phone or computer.
Add
On a computer, drag images or PDFs here, or paste a screenshot (Ctrl / ⌘ + V).
Adjust
EffectWhitens the paper background; dark print stays dark.
Removes the color and adds a little contrast.
Keeps the original colors, with no tone change.
Pushes ink to black and paper to white; some gray can remain.
Evens out shadows and uneven light; keeps colored ink and stamps.
Fades blue, red and green ink; cannot reliably remove black handwriting.
Warm gray paper, fine grain and a slight tilt; colored ink turns gray.
Export
Export optionsA4 · Single · No limit
ID card: places the first two pages as front & back at ID-1 size on one A4 sheet. In the ID card tool, corners are proposed automatically when card edges are clear. Use Edit to check all four corners and adjust them by hand if needed.
PNG is lossless, so target sizes do not apply.
Uses original photos. Larger files and slower export. Available with No limit or PNG.
Optional. Keeps the image ratio and never exceeds the page.
Popular tools
All tools in one place
Each tool opens with just the controls it needs and the same crop-mark editor. The free tools process your files on your device.
Scan & clean
Size & convert
ID & forms
Get more with LensUp Pro
- No ads or analytics while you're signed in
- Up to 50 images at once in Image to JPG and Compress image, and files over 50 MB in the tools; each tool has its own limit.
- My files: 10 GB of private storage, up to 500 MB a file, with share links for 1 to 30 days, which you can turn off any time.
- A full refund within 7 days of the first payment.
How to scan a document to PDF
LensUp's online document scanner turns a document photo into a printable PDF. Crop and straighten the page, choose a scan effect, and export in your browser. You can scan an image online from a phone gallery or a computer folder the same way: add the pictures, check each page and export one PDF.
- 1
Capture: photograph the document
Photograph any paper document or add images — multiple pages merge into one PDF in order.
- 2
Refine the scan in your browser
Crop, straighten, fix perspective, and pick a scan effect — right in your browser.
- 3
Export a printable scanned PDF
Save a clean, printable scanned PDF, or compress it toward an upload limit.
Choose the workflow that matches your document: Scan with your phone camera ·Turn existing photos into a PDF
Made for real documents
Crop, adjust contrast, and straighten by hand when you need to — then export a printable A4 PDF, or compress toward the size a form asks for. It is a free scanner with no watermark on exports.
Scanner-quality results
De-shadow, perspective correction and document whitening turn a phone photograph into a proper scan — a real document scanner, no hardware needed.
Built for upload limits
Aim for an upload limit such as 200 KB, or lay out 2-up and ID-card copies for printing.
Private by design
The scanner runs every step in your browser.
Free on any device
No daily limit, no watermark, works on phone, tablet and computer, in your language.
Who uses LensUp?
Government and job applications
Need to compress an image to 200 KB for an application portal? LensUp works toward that upload limit and warns you when the target cannot be reached.
Students and teachers
Scan worksheets, straighten photographed pages, and fade colored pen marks while keeping dark printed text visible.
ID and paperwork errands
Make an ID card copy with the front and back on one A4 page at ID-1 size. On photos or scanned PDF pages with clear card edges, the corners are detected automatically. Check each side in Edit and adjust the corners by hand if needed.
Receipts and records
Photograph receipts or paper records, arrange the pages, and merge them into one PDF in the order you choose.
Sources and technical references
These standards and browser references support the file-handling, image-processing and ID-card format statements above.
- W3C File API
Defines how a web application can access files that a person explicitly selects.
- MDN Canvas API
Documents browser-side drawing and photo manipulation used for local scan effects.
- ISO/IEC 7810:2019
Defines physical characteristics for identification-card formats, including the ID-1 format used by the copy layout.
Document scanner FAQ
What can the LensUp online document scanner do?
LensUp's online document scanner turns a document photo into a printable PDF. Crop and straighten the page, choose a scan effect, and export in your browser. Compare the preview with the original. White document or black and white can make print clearer but may lose faint pencil or pale stamps; use Color when those details matter and inspect small text before exporting.
Is it really free and private?
Yes. Scanning is free, with no daily limit or watermark. Scanning, cropping and exporting run locally in your browser without uploading your files. If you separately choose cloud saving or link sharing, the result is uploaded to your account storage. Keep your originals and download a copy before leaving the page.
Can I compress a PDF to 200 KB or another upload limit?
Choose a target such as 200 KB or 500 KB. LensUp tries to stay below it, but extreme targets may still return the smallest possible file with a warning. Check the downloaded file’s actual size and small text before submitting it; reaching a smaller limit can reduce detail.
How do I scan a document to PDF in my browser?
Photograph the page or choose an image, crop and straighten it, pick a scan effect, then export a scanned PDF. Everything runs in your browser. Check the thumbnail sequence before export, including blank pages or an accidentally repeated photo. Keep a separate original when deleting a page from this working copy.
How do I remove the shadow from a document photo?
Use De-shadow to remove shadow from the scan and even out the lighting, then use Edit to crop or correct perspective. Cropping and scan effects can improve presentation, but cannot recover letters hidden by glare or lost to motion blur. Retake the photo in even light, with the whole page in focus, when the original details are unreadable.
Open the de-shadow toolCan I scan an ID card front and back onto one page?
Choose the ID card layout to place the first two pages as front and back at ID-1 size on one A4 sheet. On photos or scanned PDF pages with clear card edges, the corners are detected automatically. Check each side in Edit and adjust the corners by hand if needed. Keep the whole card in the photo and check that no text or edge is cut off.
Open the ID card copy toolWhat if the page edges are detected incorrectly?
Open Edit and drag all four corners onto the paper edges before applying the crop. Leave a small margin around writing; a dark desk, bent paper or cropped-off edge can make automatic detection unreliable.
How do I choose PDF instead of JPG?
This scanner uses PDF in Auto, even for one page. Choose PDF explicitly when the recipient requires it; any available image export is a separate choice. Check the layout and downloaded file size before submitting.
Will the scanned PDF have selectable or editable text?
The scanner exports image pages, so words visible in a photo do not become selectable text or editable form fields. Keep the original and use a tool for text recognition when you need extracted text, then check its recognition results.
Is the preview my saved file?
No. Export the result and save the downloaded file on your device. Open that file to check page order, cropped edges, readable small print and actual file size before sending it; the preview alone is not a saved copy.