How to Read Scanned PDFs in Python

In the era of digital transformation, the indispensability of PDF documents for sharing and preserving information cannot be overstated.

However, the prevalence of scanned PDFs, which often contain images rather than searchable text, presents a significant challenge when it comes to extracting valuable data.

This is where Python emerges as a versatile and potent solution, establishing itself as a go-to programming language for automating diverse tasks, with information extraction from scanned documents being a prime example.

Python's flexibility and robust capabilities empower users to efficiently navigate through the complexities of scanned content, providing a streamlined approach to accessing and utilizing data from image-based PDFs.

Python is one of the most used programming languages with its advanced functionality. Visit the Python Wikipedia page to learn about Python programming language and its structured format.

In this article, we will discuss how to read scanned PDFs in the Python Programming Language with the help of IronPDF for the Python PDF Library.

How to read scanned PDF in Python

1. Create a new project in PyCharm.
2. To read the scanned PDF file first, install the IronPDF PDF Library.
3. Import the required dependencies.
4. Load the scanned PDF file using the PdfDocument.FromFile method.
5. Extract all text from the scanned PDF using the ExtractAllText method.
6. Print all the text from the PDF file using the print() method.

IronPDF for Python

IronPDF for Python is a robust library developed by Iron Software, enabling seamless integration of PDF generation and manipulation capabilities into Python applications.

This versatile tool empowers developers to effortlessly create, modify, and interact with PDF documents, supporting tasks such as dynamic report generation, HTML-to-PDF conversion, and content extraction from existing PDF files.

With a user-friendly API, comprehensive documentation, and a range of features, IronPDF simplifies the process of incorporating advanced PDF functionality into Python projects, making it an invaluable resource for developers looking to enhance their applications with professional-grade document processing capabilities.

IronPDF Features

IronPDF for Python comes equipped with a range of features that make it a powerful tool for PDF generation and text file structure manipulation.

Some of its key features include:

1. HTML to PDF Conversion: Convert HTML content, including CSS and images, into high-quality PDF documents, allowing developers to leverage existing web-based content in their PDF generation processes and create searchable PDF files.
2. Text and Image Manipulation: Easily add and manipulate text, images, and other elements within PDF documents, providing fine-grained control over the layout and appearance of generated PDFs.
3. Document Merging and Splitting: Combine multiple PDF documents into a single file or split large PDFs into smaller, more manageable files, offering flexibility in document organization.
4. PDF Forms: Create and fill interactive PDF forms programmatically, facilitating the automation of form-related tasks in business applications.
5. Security Features: Implement encryption and password protection to secure PDF documents, ensuring sensitive information remains confidential and protected from unauthorized access.
6. Text Extraction: Extract text content from PDF documents for analysis or indexing purposes, enabling developers to work with the textual data contained within PDF files with IronPDF's text recognition ability.

Installing IronPDF for Python

Before getting started with the code tutorial, let’s first see how you can install IronPDF for Python.

First, make sure Python is installed in the system, and you have a good Python IDE like PyCharm. Also, PIP should be installed to install IronPDF for Python.

1. First, create a new Python project or open an existing one.

2. Open the console and run the following command and press enter.

   pip install ironpdf

   pip install ironpdf

   SHELL
3. Just like that, IronPDF for Python is integrated into your Python project.

Reading Scanned PDF Files Using IronPDF For Python

In this section, we will see how you can extract text from scanned PDF files using IronPDF.

from ironpdf import *  # Import everything from ironpdf

# Set the license key for IronPDF
License.LicenseKey = "Your License Key"

# Load the scanned PDF document
pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("C:/Users/buttw/INV_2023_00008.pdf")

# Extract all text from the PDF document
all_text = pdf.ExtractAllText()

# Print the extracted text
print(all_text)

from ironpdf import *  # Import everything from ironpdf

# Set the license key for IronPDF
License.LicenseKey = "Your License Key"

# Load the scanned PDF document
pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("C:/Users/buttw/INV_2023_00008.pdf")

# Extract all text from the PDF document
all_text = pdf.ExtractAllText()

# Print the extracted text
print(all_text)

The above code example extracts text from scanned PDF files. Below is the breakdown of the above code:

1. Import the IronPDF Module:

   from ironpdf import *

   from ironpdf import *

   PYTHON

   This line imports the necessary modules and classes from the IronPDF library. The asterisk (*) indicates that all classes and functions from the module should be imported.

2. Set the License Key:

   License.LicenseKey = "Your License Key"

   License.LicenseKey = "Your License Key"

   PYTHON

   This line sets the license key for IronPDF. You need to replace "Your License Key" with the actual license key you obtained from Iron Software.

   The license key is necessary for using IronPDF and is typically provided when you purchase the product.

3. Load a Scanned PDF Document:

   pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("C:/Users/buttw/INV_2023_00008.pdf")

   pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("C:/Users/buttw/INV_2023_00008.pdf")

   PYTHON

   This line loads a scanned PDF document located at the specified file path ("C:/Users/buttw/INV_2023_00008.pdf"). The PdfDocument.FromFile method is used to create a PdfDocument object from the given file.

4. Extract Text from PDF Document:

   all_text = pdf.ExtractAllText()

   all_text = pdf.ExtractAllText()

   PYTHON

   This line extracts all text content from the loaded PDF document using the ExtractAllText method from all the pages. The extracted text is then stored in the all_text variable.

5. Print Extracted Text:

   print(all_text)

   print(all_text)

   PYTHON

   Finally, this line prints the extracted text to the console. The all_text variable contains the text content of the scanned PDF document.

Input PDF

Output text

Conclusion

In the realm of digital document processing, the Python programming language emerges as a versatile solution for overcoming the challenges posed by scanned PDFs containing images instead of searchable text.

The synergy between Python's flexibility and IronPDF for Python's robust capabilities provides a compelling avenue for developers to seamlessly integrate PDF generation, manipulation, and extraction functionalities into their projects.

IronPDF, developed by Iron Software, proves instrumental in this regard, offering features like converting PDF files from various document types, HTML to PDF page conversion, text and image manipulation, and OCR-based text extraction from scanned PDFs.

The showcased code example demonstrates the straightforward implementation of IronPDF to read text from a scanned PDF page, showcasing the potential for efficient data extraction and enhancing document processing capabilities in Python applications.

As the demand for sophisticated PDF handling continues to rise, IronPDF for Python stands as a valuable tool empowering developers to navigate the intricacies of scanned content with ease.

IronPDF for Python offers a trial license, which is a great opportunity for developers to get to know the features of IronPDF.

The complete tutorial on extracting text from scanned PDFs can be found here.