Revolutionize Your Digital Library With These 4 Book Scanning Apps

Just imagine you are reading a fantasy novel but don't have enough time to finish it, or you've found valuable information you'd like to save. In this situation, having an ideal book scanner can save you from the hassle of taking messy pictures and manually converting pages into digital format. Many book-scanning apps utilize innovative Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to extract text, making it editable and searchable while allowing you to highlight key details seamlessly.

Beyond turning paper books into digital copies, some apps also allow you to easily add books to online libraries using their barcode or ISBN number, enabling better organization and access to your collection. Whether you're looking to digitize physical books or manage an online library, this article has got you covered with the top book-scanning app solutions.

Part 1. From Paper to Pixels: Top 4 Book Scanning App Solutions

As mentioned, an ideal scan-a-book app can turn the physical pages into digital format with OCR technology that can be edited and searched. Hence, if you want to have a versatile and accessible app, here are the 4 best options for you.

1. UPDF for Windows/Mac

Starting with the multi-purpose tool, UPDF features cutting-edge scanning and OCR technology that users can access on 4 different platforms under one account. It supports connecting with physical scanners to turn paper books into digital format. Then, it leverages the OCR facility for extracting text from two types of documents: searchable PDF and image-only PDF. In searchable, users can select the desired layout and language while deciding how many pages they want to perform OCR to. Additionally, you can easily scan the physical pages using the PDF-to-scanner tool.

Regarding image-only PDFs, users can choose the image quality, after which the tool uses MRC-based image compression to reduce the file size. Not only that, but by considering its organize tool, you can also split pages for better customization and file management. To know how this book-scanning app works, follow the sequential guide and scan PDFs seamlessly:

Step 1. Download UPDF on your PC and Open the File on the Scanner

Connect the device with physical scanner and launch the UPDF on your PC to tap the "File" tab from the left side of the screen and select the "Create" option. This will fetch a list of options, from which you have to press the "PDF from Scanner" option. After that, place the book under the scanner to get the scanned pages on the UPDF interface.

Step 2. Pick Scanner and File Settings on the New Screen

Select the connected scanner and adjust the scan settings as needed. Choose between Flatbed and Document Feeder modes, which will determine the available settings. For detailed instructions, refer to the user guide here.

Now that you have scanned the physical book pages into PDF format, you also get the option to apply the OCR feature to make your text edit and searchable. To do so, adhere to the steps mentioned below and access this innovative tools to add notes or translate your text seamlessly after performing OCR.

Step 3. Locate the OCR tool and Determine the File Type

As the file is scanned, pick the "OCR" tool from the right side to pick the desired option from searchable or image-only PDF. Upon choosing one, choose the page range, language, and image resolution, and hit the "Perform OCR" button to start the process.

Step 4. Access the Scanned Document and Add Important Notes

After a while, the tool will open a scanned file on a new tab where you have to tap on the "Comment" tool from the left side. If you want to take digital notes, you can pick a particular line and tap on the "Sticky Notes" tool from the top tool bar menu. Then, place the note on desired location and insert the text.  

Step 5. Translate the Text Within the Digital Book

You can also choose to translate the scanned PDF book to other language while keeping the original layout. On the same screen, go to the "Reader" tool from the left side and tap on the "PDF Translation" tool from the corner. This will fetch a popup window there, choose the translation language, page range, and hit the "Translate" option to make it competitive.

Step 6. Split the Physical Book Pages With Crop Tool

Now, if you want to separate the book pages, locate the "Crop" tool from the tool section and press on the "Split" option from the top. After that, adjust the vertical or horizontal line to divide the pages separately.

Pricing Plans

• Yearly: $39.99
• Perpetual: $69.99

One license to use on 4 devices on Windows/macOS/iOS/Android platforms!

2. UPDF for iOS

Whether you want to take snaps manually or upload the book pages, the UPDF mobile app offers both options. Using this, you can import more than one page to extract the text with the help of its scanner. Additionally, users can perform OCR and make their text editable for further modifications. Thus, start the scanning process by following the given steps and save the text in your preferred format:

Option 1: Scan Books to PDF by Taking Pictures

Install this book-scanning app on your iOS.

Then, locate the "Scanner" tool from the bottom right corner, and tap the "Camera" icon to start the scanning process. On the new screen, capture the picture by pressing the "Capture" icon to take pictures of the paper books. You can choose Auto Capaturing or Auto Cropping as you desired.

After capturing the images, tap on the arrow icon in the lower-right corner. On the next screen, you can add, rotate, crop, filter, or delete images. You can also specify the paper size by manually entering it or selecting from options such as A4, A5, A3, Letter, Legal, Ledger, and Tabloid. The Filter option allows you to select a style: Photo, Black & White, Color, or Grayscale.

Once you have finished customizing the settings, click the Download icon in the top-right corner to save your document.

UPDF will return you to the Scanner tab interface. Click on the three dots next to your file and select "Convert to PDF." Your newly created PDF will be accessible in the Files tab.

Option 2: Scan Books to PDF by Selecting Pictures from Gallery

Except for the above method,  UPDF for iOS also offers another way to scan books and digitize them.

Click on the Scanner tab from the main interface and tap on the Gallery icon on the bottom-left corner. Upon choosing the desired image, press the "Add" option from the top right corner to combine them into one digital file.

Then, tap on the Download icon on the top-right corner to save the combined scanned file to UPDF. Tap on the three-dot icon of it and choose "Convert to PDF" and select a location/folder to save it.

You can also choose to copy it to UPDF Cloud for further access. UPDF Cloud is the cloud storage offered by UPDF and can be accessed on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices. Additionally, the UPDF for iOS app also offers the OCR capability - with it, you can copy and extract the text from the scanned books.

Pricing Plans

Yearly: $39.99

Perpetual: $69.99

One license to use on 4 devices on Windows/macOS/iOS/Android platforms!

3. Doc OCR

Doc OCR is another scan-a-book app with batch processing capability through which users can take multiple snaps to scan the pages. During OCR, if any page is curved or flattened, it ensures the efficient recognition of the text and transforms it into digital form. Furthermore, it boosts the image quality and text taken in dark environments. After the text is editable, one can annotate by highlighting or adding a signature.

Key Features

1. Besides scanning, this app features a filter tool through which users can search desired words.
2. After editing the scanned images, one can create a collage and organize the pages to ensure professionalism.
3. Users can sync their digital pages with iCloud Drives for easy storage.  

Rating: 4.8/5

Pricing Plans

In-App Purchases: From $0.99 to $39.99

4. Office Lens (Android | iOS)

This best free app to scan books for resale has a built-in flashlight mode that lets users capture detailed snaps of pages. Besides book pages, users can also scan the written text and its OCR technology to extract the original writing. Other than writing, it can also digitize tables and columns from the pages without affecting their layouts. You can copy and paste digital text to another file or share it on another platform.

Key Features

1. With its read mode, you can view and navigate through the text without facing any distortion.
2. Regarding saving the file, one can export the results in PDF form or directly share them on the gallery.
3. It has an immersive reader option through which you can listen to the text with a built-in reader tool.

Rating: 4.8/5

Pricing Plans

• Free

Part 2. Discover the Top Book Scanning Apps for Inserting Books To Libraries

Now that you know how to scan physical books with some reputable book-scanning apps, you might be wondering about solutions to add them to the library. If so, here we have mentioned 2 foremost applications you can consider according to your preferences:

1. My Library

As the name suggests, My Library offers you simple ways to add books to your library by scanning its barcodes. In case the bar code is removed, use its ISBN number and insert it in the library to quickly retrieve the data on the go. Regardless of the method one opts for, you can easily locate the desired label in the library with its filter tool. Users can arrange them by titles, names, and published dates to maintain order.

Key Features

1. You can move your book library to Excel files for seamless collection management.
2. In addition, My Library also has the ability to import a particular library from the previously exported versions.
3. While arranging them according to names, you can also add notes to add reminders or essential details.

Ratings: 4.3/5

Pricing Plans

• Free

2. BookBuddy

Lastly, BookBuddy is one of the best free apps to scan books for resale and features the functionality to insert books in the library by scaling the barcodes. Besides that, it also supports the Enter ISBN facility to make the task straightforward. Unlike other apps, users can also import the book library from a CSV file to manage and update their collection.

Key Features

1. Compared to other applications, users can arrange the books in My Books, borrowed, purchased, or previously owned sections.
2. With its pro version, easily add up to 50 books to your collection without any data loss threat.
3. Furthermore, one can use its reading insights to mark pages read, top authors, favorite genres, and finished books.

Ratings: 4.8/5

Pricing Plans

• In-App Purchases: From $1.99 to $49.99

Conclusion

Summing up, having an ideal book-scanning app is necessary to ensure you can easily access the text from damaged or unreadable pages. Leveraging an intuitive interface, we have mentioned various scanning solutions to convert the physical text into digital form. Hence, we recommend using UPDF since it allows you to scan and perform OCR on books, making text searchable and editable.