PDF OCR API & SDK

Transform Scanned Documents into Searchable, Editable PDFs

Transform Static Documents into Dynamic,
Searchable Assets

Our PDF OCR API and SDK provides developers with powerful optical character recognition capabilities to convert scanned documents and images into fully searchable and editable PDFs. This technology automatically identifies and extracts text from images within PDFs, adding a searchable text layer that makes documents indexable, selectable, and accessible.

Built for technical teams that demand both performance and precision, our OCR solution processes high-volume PDF files with exceptional accuracy while maintaining document formatting and layout integrity. Whether you're developing desktop applications, automating document workflows, or building enterprise document management systems, our API and SDK deliver consistent results across all platforms with minimal integration effort.

Unlike generic document processing tools, our OCR technology is specifically engineered for PDF documents, offering specialized handling of complex layouts, multi-language support, and batch processing capabilities that significantly reduce development time while improving end-user experience.

Core Features and Technical Capabilities

Advanced OCR Engine

Our OCR engine employs sophisticated pattern recognition algorithms to accurately identify characters across multiple languages and font styles. The system analyzes document structure to preserve formatting while extracting text content, maintaining the visual integrity of the original document. This technology achieves over 99% accuracy on standard business documents and supports mixed-content pages containing both text and images.

Multi-Language Text Recognition

The OCR engine supports text recognition across 20+ languages including English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Danish, Dutch, Polish, Russian, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Hebrew, Lithuanian, and more. Language detection can be specified programmatically or automatically detected, making it ideal for processing international documents without manual configuration. Simply set the OcrLanguage parameter to specify your target language.

Flexible Deployment Options

Our solution offers both cloud-based API access and on-premises SDK implementation. Process documents through our high-performance cloud infrastructure with RESTful API calls, or integrate the SDK directly into your application for offline processing. This dual-deployment model ensures you can implement OCR functionality regardless of your network constraints or security requirements.

curl -X POST https://v2.convertapi.com/convert/pdf/to/ocr \
-H "Authorization: Bearer api_token" \
-F "File=@/path/to/my_file.pdf" \
-F "OcrLanguage=en"

Enterprise-Grade Security

All document processing adheres to strict security standards including ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 2, and GDPR compliance. Files are processed with end-to-end encryption, and our infrastructure is regularly audited to ensure data protection. For organizations with sensitive data requirements, our SDK provides complete data isolation by keeping all processing within your secure environment.

High-Performance Processing

Our distributed cloud infrastructure processes documents in seconds rather than minutes, with capacity to handle high-volume batch operations efficiently. The system architecture automatically scales to manage peak loads without performance degradation, maintaining consistent processing speeds regardless of document complexity or size. For on-premises deployments, the SDK is optimized for minimal memory footprint while maintaining processing speed.

Comprehensive SDK Support

Integrate OCR capabilities into any development environment with our extensive SDK offerings for .NET C#, PHP, Java, Python, Node.js, JavaScript, Ruby, and Go. Each SDK includes complete documentation, sample code, and auto-generated code snippets to accelerate implementation. The consistent API design across all languages ensures that developers can quickly implement OCR functionality regardless of their preferred technology stack.

Mobile Document Capture

Transform smartphone photos directly into searchable PDFs with our mobile-optimized OCR capabilities. The system automatically corrects for perspective distortion, lighting variations, and other common issues with camera-captured documents. This enables field workers to digitize documents on-site without specialized scanning equipment, significantly improving data collection workflows.

Batch Processing

Process multiple documents simultaneously with our batch processing capabilities. The system efficiently manages resource allocation to optimize throughput for large document sets, making it ideal for archive digitization projects or high-volume document processing workflows. Batch operations can be monitored and managed through both the API and SDK interfaces.

Customizable Processing Parameters

Fine-tune OCR operations with extensive parameter options including:

  • Page Range

    Process specific pages with formats like "1-10" or "1,2,5"

  • OCR Language

    Specify target language for improved recognition accuracy

  • Open Password

    Access password-protected documents automatically

  • Output Format

    Control the format and structure of extracted text

Technical Implementation Options

REST API Integration

Our REST API provides a straightforward way to add OCR capabilities to any application that can make HTTP requests. The implementation process follows three simple steps:

Authentication: Sign up for an account and authenticate using your Secret key or API token

Request Configuration: Send a POST request to https://v2.convertapi.com/convert/pdf/to/ocr with your file and parameters

Process Results: Receive the processed document with searchable text layer added

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The API supports synchronous processing for immediate results and asynchronous processing for larger documents, giving developers complete control over implementation based on their specific requirements.

SDK Implementation

For applications requiring offline processing or deeper integration, our SDK provides native libraries for all major programming languages:

.NET C#: Full framework and .NET Core support

PHP: Compatible with PHP 5.6+ and all major frameworks

Java: Works with Java 8+ on all platforms

Python: Python 2.7+ and 3.x compatible

Node.js: Server-side JavaScript implementation

JavaScript: Browser-based implementation

Ruby: Ruby 2.0+ support

Go: Modern Go implementation

Each SDK follows language-specific best practices while maintaining consistent functionality, making it easy to implement OCR across heterogeneous technology stacks.

What Sets Our PDF OCR Technology Apart

Technical Differentiation

Feature
PDF-Specific Optimization
Our Solution
Preserves document structure and metadata
Generic OCR Tools
Often loses PDF-specific features
Feature
Integration Options
Our Solution
Both API and SDK with consistent interfaces
Generic OCR Tools
Typically limited to single deployment model
Feature
Language Support
Our Solution
20+ languages with automatic detection
Generic OCR Tools
Limited language options
Feature
Processing Speed
Our Solution
Seconds per document with parallel processing
Generic OCR Tools
Often minutes for complex documents
Feature
Security Compliance
Our Solution
ISO 27001, HIPAA, SOC 2, GDPR
Generic OCR Tools
Varies widely, often limited
Feature
Implementation Effort
Our Solution
Pre-built SDKs with auto-generated code
Generic OCR Tools
Typically requires custom integration work

Implementation Advantages

Our solution eliminates common OCR implementation challenges by providing:
Consistent Cross-Platform Results: Documents processed through our system maintain identical text extraction quality regardless of operating system or device
Simplified Error Handling: Comprehensive error reporting with actionable diagnostics
Automatic Format Detection: Intelligent handling of various document formats without manual configuration
Minimal Dependencies: Self-contained libraries that don't require additional software installation
Transparent Versioning: Clear upgrade paths with backward compatibility guarantees

Real-World Applications

Our PDF OCR technology powers critical document workflows across multiple industries:

Legal Document Management

Automatically index and search case files and legal briefs

Financial Services

Extract data from invoices and statements for automated processing

Healthcare

Make medical records searchable while maintaining HIPAA compliance

Government

Digitize archives of public records for improved accessibility

Education

Convert scanned textbooks and research papers into searchable resources

Getting Started with PDF OCR

Technical Implementation

Create Account: Sign up to access document processing operations

Choose Integration Method: Select API for cloud processing or SDK for on-premises implementation

Install Dependencies: Add the appropriate library for your development environment

Implement Authentication: Configure your application with your API credentials

Process Documents: Start converting scanned documents to searchable PDFs

Development Resources

API Reference Documentation

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Sample Code Repository

Implementation Best Practices

Ready to Transform Your Document Processing?