# Document scanning software that gives high quality but small files? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [June 18, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428 "2022-06-18T14:36:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428/21 "2022-06-21T00:52:15Z")
I am now curious how many pages is this document, and/or how many documents are there, that the server chokes on them? What size file are we talking about? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428/22 "2022-06-21T01:16:11Z")
Heck, if the signer is signing and stamping the last page of a 100 page pile of paper, use the original PDF of the first 99 pages and scan in only the last one with the old fashioned pen & ink scribbles on it. Then tack the one scanned page onto the back of the 99 [save as PDF] pages. There are legions of freebie online & installable tools that will combine (or split) PDFs page by page. ---
**Author:** ![si\_blakely](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d9b06d/32.png) [@si\_blakely](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/si_blakely)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428/23 "2022-06-21T05:21:49Z")
> [@longtry](#): > > Ahh… if I’m reading it correctly, then you were suggesting scanning the seal as a separate jpg/pdf file, then manually add that image into the text doc file. (Kinda) best of both worlds. > Just curious: the reader, if they want, can they spot something off and tell the document was manipulated? Not necessarily visually, but if they examine the PDF then they will be able to tell. The main text of the PDF will be actual text rendered with the appropriate font, and the scanned material will be a placed scanned image on the page with a transparency value to allow the text layer to be visible. All of this is handled by the printing/exporting engine in your document editor to produce the PDF. This issue is common when people do not understand how to perform a redaction of a PDF document. They black out words with a virtual marker layer that makes the word visually unreadable when displayed, but the underlying text is still there in the text layer of the PDF. It is then trivial to strip out the redaction layer to read the text. Proper PDF redaction involves actually deleting the redacted words as well, and possibly changing the number of spaces to disguise the word size. ---
**Author:** ![longtry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/839c29/32.png) [@longtry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longtry)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428/24 "2022-06-22T03:46:03Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Only if the other side can accept that format. Ah, right. > [@Tibby](#): > > if where the OP plans to upload allows JPG, that should produce a smaller file size than PDF, Simply adjust the JPG compression level to the file size you want and still be sufficiently legible. IIRC no jpg is allowed. I’ll doublecheck some time. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > I’ve long ago imported a JPG scan of my pen & ink sig that I expanded, cleaned up, and re-contracted in MSPaint. So it’s a beauty. If I had photoshop skill, I’d make a signature/stamp file with transparent background. Then theoretically I could apply it anywhere and the readers would hardly be able to notice any difference. I wonder whether there’s a simple way to do that on the internet now, for inexperienced users. > [@DPRK](#): > > in all cases the OCR output needs proofreading, unless you have reason to be confident it is flawless. > > ETA if the document was _created_ by you digitally then there is no reason to scan anything except imported graphics, because the original text shows up via embedded fonts. Noted. And yep, most of my docs are created by me. > [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > but unnamed file host _y_ has a low limit for document size. (I stand by “find a better file host”.) That’s… kinda impossible 🙂 Not really allowed. > [@DPRK](#): > > I am now curious how many pages is this document, and/or how many documents are there, that the server chokes on them? What size file are we talking about? > [@LSLGuy](#): > > if the signer is signing and stamping the last page of a 100 page pile of paper, use the original PDF of the first 99 pages and scan in only the last one with the old fashioned pen & ink scribbles on it. Then tack the one scanned page onto the back of the 99 [save as PDF] pages. Many of my docs are short, but there’s this doc which is 11-page long, with stamps on every page. The raw scan file size is ~10MB IIRC. > [@si\_blakely](#): > > This issue is common when people do not understand how to perform a redaction of a PDF document. They black out words with a virtual marker layer that makes the word visually unreadable when displayed, but the underlying text is still there in the text layer of the PDF. It is then trivial to strip out the redaction layer to read the text. Proper PDF redaction involves actually deleting the redacted words as well, and possibly changing the number of spaces to disguise the word size. This sounds like professional editing. Maybe the creating-a-transparent-image route is easier? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Librarian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_librarian/32/402_2.png) [@The\_Librarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Librarian)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2022, 4:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428/25 "2022-06-22T04:07:19Z")
> [@longtry](#): > > If I had photoshop skill, I’d make a signature/stamp file with transparent background Is a default function of the free adobe acrobat. No photoshop or skills required. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/document-scanning-software-that-gives-high-quality-but-small-files/966428.md?page=1)