Scanning Signed Documents

Can anyone tell me the best way to scan signed documents into a PDF? I don't have Adobe Acrobat, so what I have been doing is scanning the documents into a photo editing program - which makes them much too big - and then copy and paste into Microsoft Word, after reducing all the margins to zero. Then, in MS Word I save as PDF. But depending on the photo program and version of MS Word I'm using, everything doesn't always go smoothly. I would buy Acrobat if necessary, but I thought I would check here first. I'm sure somebody has come up with a great system! Thanks

 

I don't spend a penny to produce PDFs because there's a wide range of free PDF Writer alternatives (just like I don't want to bloat up systems with Adobe Reader but I use smaller alternatives, or a browser's built-in service).

Your MS WORD alternative is one way, and the Libre-Open Office products have offered the PRINT-TO or SAVE-AS PDF services for years now.

If your goal for your PDFs includes some kind of security, there are still free alternatives that offer that capability - password protected, at least.

This forum's file-site is a great resource for testing and finding the best product for you (and don't forget, your PDF audience's concerns). I would install and test, then uninstall each one before moving to Test #2, etc.

One of my goals for PDF Creators is to allow edits later on, so my testing isn't just "Can it create it easily" but also "un-PDF it and allow JPG style edits or object edits?" I don't care about the password-based security.

You might be looking for Direct Scanner Links, though, so I can't give recommendations for that service. PLODR brings up "save as JPG, etc" and I am reminded that some of my favorite Graphics Editors have direct links into a TWAIN (scanner) service, too - the Scan Process is practically a "open a folder - retrieve document" except it's a "...build document-image" step.

 

Thanks, Christine, I finally did figure out how to use my scanner's document program to save as a PDF, so that problem is resolved. But now that you mention it, I would like to be able to edit a PDF once in a while if that's possible. What program do you use to do that?