Translate a scanned PDF or photographed pages
Old books, family letters and photographed pages: the text is recognized first, then translated. Check the first three pages for free.
Source · English, detected
Dear Ruth, the harbour froze again this winter, and nobody can remember the last time.
Preview
FreeLiebe Ruth, der Hafen ist diesen Winter wieder zugefroren, und niemand weiß mehr, wann das zuletzt passiert ist.
- Text recognized from scans
- Handwriting supported
- 41 pages
At a glance.
- $3.00 for 9,000 words of scanned letters
- First 3 pages are free
- Scanned PDF, JPG, PNG or HEIC · up to 300 MB
- Page layout, with text recognized first
The layout comes back as it was. Drag to compare.
Supplier agreement
Liefervertrag
1. Term
This Agreement takes effect on 1 January 2027 and runs for twelve months.
1. Laufzeit
Dieser Vertrag tritt am 1. Januar 2027 in Kraft und gilt für zwölf Monate.
2. Prices
| Item | Quantity | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Paper, A4, 80 g | 2,000 | €1,240.00 |
| 2.2 | Toner, black | 40 | €2,360.00 |
| 2.3 | Delivery | 12 | €480.00 |
2. Preise
| Position | Menge | Preis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.1 | Papier, A4, 80 g | 2.000 | 1.240,00 € |
| 2.2 | Toner, schwarz | 40 | 2.360,00 € |
| 2.3 | Lieferung | 12 | 480,00 € |
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How it works. From upload to the finished file.
- Text recognition handles print and most handwriting; unclear words are flagged in review notes.
- Each scanned page counts as 250 words on a subscription.
- Download as PDF with the translation over the original layout, or as an editable Word file.
What scans cost. Pick an example or set your word count.
Free preview: the first 3 pages. No account or card needed.
Questions. Short answers.
Does it read handwriting?
Most clear handwriting, yes. Words the recognizer is unsure about are listed in review notes so you can check them.
What image formats can I upload?
Scanned PDF, JPG, PNG and HEIC, up to 300 MB.
Is OCR included in every plan?
Scans and photos are included from the Starter plan, or as a one-off purchase.
More language pairs. Same file, other languages.
Every format you work with. Layout kept in each one.
Translating scanned pages, from old letters to out-of-print books
Recognition comes before translation
A scan is a picture. Before anything can be translated, the text in it has to be recognized: printed type, typewritten pages and most clear handwriting. Recognition runs first, then translation, and the result is laid back over the original page layout.
Words the recognizer is unsure about are listed in review notes, so a smudged date in a family letter does not silently turn into a wrong one.
Read the full guideHide the guide
What makes a scan easy to read
Phone photos work well when the page is flat and evenly lit. For the best results:
- 300 dpi or more for printed pages
- Flat pages without a curve at the spine
- Even light, with no shadow of the phone across the text
- One page per image, with the table or background cropped out
Handwriting
Clear handwriting is recognized; very faded or cramped writing may not be. Old letters often mix print and hand, such as a printed letterhead above a handwritten body, and both are read. If recognition fails on a page, you are told which page so you can rescan it.
Family letters and archives
Letters are short, so a bundle of them works best as one PDF in date order. Each page is recognized separately, and the free preview covers the first three pages, so put a typical letter first. Names of relatives and places go into the glossary like names in a book and stay spelled the same across the whole bundle.
Tables, stamps and signatures
Printed tables in scans are rebuilt as tables, so a ledger page or a timetable comes back with its rows. Stamps, signatures and drawings stay as images from the original page.
Formats and limits
Upload a scanned PDF, or JPG, PNG and HEIC images, up to 300 MB. HEIC is the format iPhones save photos in, so pictures straight from the phone are fine.
How scanned pages are priced
A one-off order is priced by the words recognized. On a subscription, each scanned page counts as 250 words. Scans and photos are included from the Starter plan, whose 60,000 words a month cover about 240 scanned pages.
What you get back
Download a PDF with the translation placed over the original layout, or a Word file you can edit. The first three pages are free to preview, which is usually enough to see whether the handwriting was read correctly.