18Docs
Government & Public Sector

Make old scanned files searchable

Make old paper scans searchable and combine them into stable files you can keep.

The problem

  • Decades of scanned files are stored as images, so staff cannot search them and must read page by page.
  • Single records are often split across many scan batches that need to be reassembled in order.
  • Skewed and uneven scans reduce text-recognition quality and slow down retrieval.

The workflow

One licensed pipeline chains these steps end to end. Each step is a tool you can try free on the public site.

  1. 1

    Straighten the scans

    Correct tilted pages so text recognition is more reliable across the batch.

  2. 2

    Add a searchable text layer

    OCR PDF

    Recognise the scanned text and embed it behind the image so records become searchable.

  3. 3

    Reassemble each record

    Merge PDF

    Combine scan batches into a single ordered file per record or case.

  4. 4

    Convert for long-term keeping

    PDF to PDF/A

    Produce a PDF/A archival copy aimed at stable long-term retention.

Try it free, right now

Every tool in this workflow is free on the public site — no signup, nothing uploaded. Run the steps by hand to see the output, then license the automated pipeline for your team.

Why run it on-premise?

Digitisation of sensitive historical records runs on-premise, so archive material is never sent to an external processor. The searchable archival output supports retention duties while keeping custody of the records in-house.

The Business suite ships as a self-hosted bundle that runs inside your own network, so the documents in this workflow never leave the building. See how deployment works.

Outcome

Paper-era archives become searchable, properly ordered files that staff can retrieve in seconds rather than hours.

Included in the Enterprise license.

See licensing

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