How to Translate Scanned PDFs to English Using AI-Powered Tools

Conversion of physical papers to PDF format is an effective approach to storing and sharing the papers. However, when you wish to read this in PDF form, then the content will have to be translated to English language first. While it is very easy with the documents having English content, it becomes very complicated with scanned documents having other language content.

It might look to be rather challenging. Using the right instruments and strategies, it is rather easy to translate scanned PDF to English. It just takes OCR feature along with the help of AI translation. In this guide, we will share 3 effective tools that will help you out.

Method 1: Translates Scanned PDF to English with UPDF

UPDF is the most complete PDF tool that you can use whenever working with these documents. Whenever you encounter a scanned document that has text in a language other than English, you cannot translate it with Google Translate app. UPDF solves this problem with its intuitive features.

The UPDF OCR feature works with 38 different languages and this feature can be used to convert any scanned PDF into an editable PDF like a normal one. With this feature, you can enjoy great accuracy and fast processing. The best part is that it works offline so you do not need to upload the PDF anywhere.

UPDF's AI is the second feature we will use here. It is a complete integration of ChatGPT within the UPDF software. So, it not only supports translating your documents, but you can do a lot more with it. However, in this case, its text translation feature with the chat mode will be very effective.

These two features from UPDF make the whole thing effortless for you and save a lot of time despite the size of the document. The best part is that you can edit the original scanned document in real time to replace text with English text using the Edit PDF feature. This feature replaces the text while preserving the formatting for you.

Once done with the translation the UPDF Cloud feature will help you save this document in its dedicated cloud storage, and it will effortlessly sync the file across all your devices. Hence, UPDF single-handedly solves all the problems you may encounter, and you can use it by following the steps below:

Step 1: Use UPDF OCR

Run UPDF, click "Open File", then open scanned PDF. Now click "OCR" button from right side of UPDF interface.

Set the document language and tweak any other options in UPDF OCR feature before you click "Perform OCR". Now, the OCRed file will open in a new UPDF tab. This file will be editable and searchable.

Step 2: Use UPDF AI

Use cursor to select text for translation, right-click and click "Translate" in UPDF AI section. You can set language to "English" and it will give you instant translation.

Step 3: Edit PDF (Optional)

Copy translation and go to "Edit PDF". Select text you want to edit and paste copied translation there. UPDF will automatically format the new text and this way you can translate the whole scanned document into English.

UPDF offers a bunch of other cool features that you can learn more about it by watching the below video. Download it now on your devices for free for a hands-on experience and get the UPDF Pro version to explore its full capability.

Method 2: Translate Scanned PDF to English with Google Docs

Google Translate is exceptional for translating text and documents but it fails to process scanned documents. So, Google Docs together with Google Drive can be very helpful in this regard. Google Docs is used together with Google Drive to perform OCR on the PDF and then Docs' translation features come in handy for translating the whole thing into English language with one click.

The good thing about this method is that you do not need to install anything as it can be done online. However, if you have installed the apps, this method will still work for you. Moreover, it ensures privacy since everything is kept in your Google account storage. While everything may seem easy and simple here, this method has its downsides as well.

The first downside is that when Google Drive is performing OCR on your documents, it may mess up the formatting that you can verify by checking the Google Docs file. The second downside is that once you translate content that has its formatting messed up, the translation may not be very accurate. However, there may be no issues if the formatting is perfect.

Another downside is that the process may take more steps since you are working with multiple tools simultaneously.

Step 1: Upload Scanned PDF to Drive

Open Google Drive and upload scanned PDF by clicking "+New". Go to Recent in Google Drive to locate it on top.

Step 2: Open with Google Docs

Click "Options" > "Open With" > "Google Docs". This scanned PDF will be automatically OCRed by Google Docs and displayed as a text document.

Step 3: Use the Translate Tool

Click "Tools" > "Translate document". Now, you will set name for new translated document and set language to "English".

Click "Translate". Translated document will open in a new Google Docs tab.

Method 3: Translate Scanned PDF to English with Onlinedoctranslator.com

If you are on the go and you cannot install software on your computer, then onlinedoctranslator.com will be your best pick. It is an online tool that will work on any device and browser if you have an internet connection. This tool comes with so many benefits including online usage without any registration or installation.

Moreover, it supports translating files in 109 different languages. This translator is not limited to PDFs only as you can use other files with it as well including Word, PowerPoint, Txt, Excel, and more. On top of that, it preserves the formatting of original scanned PDF so that your translated content is presented in the same way.

Another amazing benefit of using Onlinedoctranslator.com is that it automatically detects the language of scanned documents, so you do not have to guess. Since it is an online tool, it is designed with privacy in mind as it automatically deletes everything after an hour, so you get no privacy or security concerns.

During translation, it will also show how many words are there in the original file and how many it has translated. However, the only downside of using it is that there is no preview of the translation. You only get to see the translated content once you have downloaded it to your storage.

Step 1: Open Onlinedoctranslator.com

Go to onlinedoctranslator.com on any browser and click "Translate Now".

Alt: Click on the translate now with onlinedoctranslator

Step 2: Upload and Select Language

Click "Upload File" and select the translation language. Onlinedoctranslator will automatically detect source language, you only have to select output language which will be English in this case, and click "Translate".

Alt: upload the scanned PDF to translate to English with onlinedocstranslator

Step 3: Download Translation

Wait as onlinedoctranslator processes your file. Click "Download".

Download the translated scanned PDF with onlinedoctranslator

Conclusion

Translating normal documents in English is easy with tools like Google Translator. However, when it comes to translating scanned PDFs into other languages, this tool fails. That is why you must use the right tools to translate scanned PDF to English where not many are available, and some are not efficient.

The ones we discussed in this article will seamlessly help you with the translation and UPDF is the most efficient one among all. With its advanced OCR and AI capabilities translating your documents will not only be efficient but will also offer over 99% accuracy.

So, whether you have a scanned PDF in English or any other language that you want to translate, you do not need to worry at all if you are using UPDF. Download UPDF and get UPDF Pro to enjoy all its amazing features.