What you need
An iPhone, a flat surface and decent light — that's all. iOS includes basic scanning in apps like Notes and Files; a dedicated scanner app such as DocLensr adds page-by-page editing, image filters and a redaction tool for hiding sensitive details.
Step by step
- Put the page on a flat, contrasting surface — a dark table works well for white paper. Smooth out any folds.
- Open DocLensr and tap the camera icon. Allow camera access the first time.
- Hold the phone parallel to the page and frame the whole sheet. A highlighted outline appears when the page edges are detected.
- Tap the shutter button. The photo opens on the crop screen.
- Drag the four corners until the outline matches the edges of the page, then tap Use Photo.
- Scan more pages, or tap Done to open the editor.
- Tap a page to rotate it or choose a filter, then tap Save as PDF.
- Open the saved document and use the menu to Share the PDF through the iOS share sheet.
Which filter should you choose?
- Contrast+ — the best all-rounder for text documents: whiter paper, darker text.
- Black & White — maximum contrast for plain printed text.
- Grayscale — keeps shading but drops color; good for photocopies.
- Original — keeps colors as shot; best for stamps, logos and colored forms.
Common mistakes
- Shadows. Your hand or phone blocks the light. Move the page toward a window or lamp.
- Shooting at an angle. Text at the far edge gets small and blurry. Stay parallel to the page.
- Cutting off a corner. Make sure all four corners are inside the crop.
- Not checking the result. Zoom in before saving — if you can't read a number, rescan that page.
Note: In DocLensr you can scan, crop, filter and redact for free. Saving the document to your library and exporting it as a PDF requires DocLensr Pro.
