Scanning a Document in Photoshop and Converting it into an Adobe PDF File

Before delving into this process it is worth noting that the PDF file resulting from scanning a file and converting it will never be quite as good as a PDF file created by directly converting a document in digital form (meaning it's saved on your computer). You will have more control over the settings used in the conversion process and will be able to create a file that is smaller in size. If you have access to the digital version of the file you wish to convert to a PDF file, it is advised that you use it instead of scanning a photo or a printed copy.

If you do not have an electronic version of the file you wish to convert to a PDF file, then scanning is pretty much your only option. Read on to discover exactly how to do this.

A- The first thing you need to do is scan the document(s) you wish to convert into PDF format. This tutorial assumes that you have access to Adobe Photoshop and can scan images into it. If you do not have access to Photoshop but still need to convert a scanned file to a PDF, see our tutorial for doing so.

Once you have scanned the document, be sure to make any necessary changes within Photoshop (including cropping the image, adjusting brightness, and so on). You should now be at the following screen with your scanned image.

B - When you are satisfied with the image click on the File menu choice at the top and choose the "Save As..." option.

C - This will bring up the familiar Save As dialog box.

You should initially save your file as a "Photoshop (*.PSD, *.PDD)" file. Why? Doing this gives you a "master" original copy. Should you ever want to go back and re-convert your file, perhaps using a new quality setting, having this copy makes things a snap (meaning you won't have to re-scan your document). Give your file a name and decide where to save it, then press the "Save" button.

Now you want to create your PDF file. To do this, click once again on the File menu at the top and click the option labeled "Save As...". First, decide on a filename for your PDF file. Below the file name box should be a drop-down list box. Click the down arrow to see all of the choices. Choose the option labeled "Photoshop PDF (*.PDF, *.PDP)".

After choosing this option, make sure the filename that you typed in now ends with ".pdf". So if you named your file MyResume, the box should now contain the value MyResume.pdf.

D - Now hit the Save button to save your file. You will then see an options dialog box like the following.

I have numbered the options to help explain them later.

1 (Encoding: Zip or JPEG): This option allows you to choose the method in which your PDF file is encoded. In non-technical terms, this has to do with how the PDF file is viewed and opened by the Acrobat Reader. Regardless of which option you choose here, the results should look very similar. However, choosing the JPEG option usually will result in having a PDF file that is smaller in size so it can download faster on the web. The JPEG option should work well for most files, so go ahead and choose it. If you don't like the results you can always come back and try the ZIP option. Also, don't confuse the ZIP encoding option with a ZIP file. Picking the ZIP option will not create a ZIP file for you. The file will still be a normal PDF file.

2 (Quality): Here is where you select how sharp you want your file to be. This option is only available if you have chosen the JPEG encoding option. You can use the drop-down box to pick predefined settings, or you can use the slider to pick an exact custom setting, with levels ranging from 0 to 12.

To help choose a quality setting, you should think about some things:

-What will your file be used for? Is it going to be placed on a web page? Or is it a memorandum to be printed and circulated?
-How important is it that you have the highest image quality? Do you have large, detailed graphics that you need to look sharp and professional, or is it a simple text-only document?

If you need a detailed and professional look, a setting of 10 (maximum) works well, though you can go all the way to 12 for when you need every bit of quality. If you intend to place your PDF file on a web page, a much lower setting will work. Try the 3 (Low) setting. If you intend to print and circulate the file, try the 8 setting (High). Remember, if you are not satisfied with the output, open your original Photoshop file (.PSD) and try again with a different setting.

3 (Image Interpolation and other options):These options deal with the way your PDF file is generated by Photoshop. The difference between choosing these and not choosing them, at least to the naked eye, will probably be very small, and there's a good chance you won't be able to tell the difference anyways. Also, since you are scanning a file and converting it, you will only be able to select the Image Interpolation option - all others should be grayed out. It is best to just leave this option as is. If you are really unhappy with the quality of your PDF file, you can try enabling this option, but chances are it will not make much difference.

Once you have selected your settings, go ahead and click "OK" to save your PDF file. If you wish, you can open it in Acrobat to see the results. Simply open the folder in which you saved it and double-click on the file to start Acrobat.

And that's all there is to scanning a file into Photoshop and converting it into a PDF file.