Translate scanned PDF: Easy steps and best practices

Translating a scanned PDF can be challenging, especially when dealing with non-editable text. However, this process can be streamlined and efficient with the right technology and techniques.

This article will show you how to edit and translate scanned PDF documents quickly and easily. We’ll highlight best practices for managing these files and discuss common real-world applications.

Using scanned PDFs can create translation challenges that can be time-consuming and tricky to resolve. For busy teams, they can often cause serious bottlenecks.

Handwritten documents are still common in certain industries. An example is medical. This can create the issue of sometimes having to decipher what the documents say. For highly regulated industries, this challenge becomes even more important, where precision is especially paramount.

Ever get a scanned PDF document in a completely different language? And worse, that you then have no colleagues that speak the language? And worse, that you then have no colleagues that speak the language?

This is actually a common occurrence, especially in medical, pharmaceutical, legal, and finance. It also adds a layer of complexity, as a human linguistic reviewer has to check the document for errors or legibility problems.

Document reading technology may have problems recognizing text accurately. This is especially the case with low-quality scans, unusual fonts, or handwritten text.

Maintaining the original layout and formatting of a scanned PDF in the target language version can present obstacles. This is especially the case with more complicated layouts.

Scanned PDFs often contain additional elements that require translation other than standard text, such as images and charts. PDF text extraction technology may not extract text, numbers, or symbols inside these elements correctly, or at all.

Smartcat analyzes and extracts PDF text in any language in seconds. It makes source text editing quick and easy in Smartcat Editor before AI translation, and target language editing afterwards. And it matches all target language document formatting to the source language document too, automatically. The result is the essential PDF translation solution for the enterprise.

Scanning PDFs, making the texts editable and translatable, and then downloading new versions in new languages, have historically been very complex for teams. Here’s how you can do it yourself from start to finish faster than ever and with high-quality results.

To get started, you’ll need to create a Smartcat account. You can sign up for a 15-day trial with free Smartwords to start.

Simply drag and drop your files or upload them from your computer.

Smartcat automatically analyzes your PDF files using advanced optical character recognition technology (OCR) and extracts the editable and translatable. It can do this for any language. This process typically takes seconds, or a few minutes at most.

The transcription and AI translation will happen at the same time.You will be able to review and edit the original transcript was accurate. Smartcat AI will translate the text into your chosen languages in seconds

Once AI translation is complete, review it in Smartcat Editor, the built-in, easy-to-use review and editing tool. You can also invite colleagues to review or assign a subject matter expert editor from Smartcat Marketplace. You or the editor need to go through each translated line, make corrections or changes, and then confirm each change. The confirmed edits will be saved in your translation memory, allowing Smartcat AI to learn from your content, your terms, and your preferred style over time.

Once you are completely satisfied with your translation, download the PDF files for each target language.

Follow these three housekeeping best practices for a smooth PDF translation workflow:

1. Organize files : Keep your scanned PDFs and their translations organized with clear naming conventions and structured folders.

You can organize and retrieve your files, as well as return to previous projects at any date or time, with your own Smartcat central, multilingual content library.

2. Back up regularly : Regularly back up your files to avoid data loss and the possibility of a file becoming corrupted.

On Smartcat, all your files are stored in your content library, for optimal security and file management.

3. Use translation memories : Build and maintain translation memories to ensure consistency across projects.

If you don’t have any, Smartcat automatically creates them for you, one for each language pair – and updates them in real time with your edits and content terminology updates.

Translating scanned PDFs is common practice in a wide range of industries. Here are some real-world applications:

Scanned legal documents, such as contracts and agreements, often require translation. With the right tools, legal firms can ensure accurate, efficient translations while maintaining the integrity of the original documents.

Medical organizations and institutions often have to scan PDFs. Therefore, the need for highly precise translation is high. Accurate OCR and thorough proofreading are crucial to ensure thorough, high quality in the output language.

Researchers often work with scanned documents containing valuable data. Translating these documents accurately is essential for sharing findings with an international audience.

Translating scanned PDFs may seem complicated or even daunting. But with Smartcat’s centralized and end-to-end DIY workflow, you get convenience, ease, and efficiency, at your fingertips.

Ensure high-quality, ultra-fast PDF translations that maintain the integrity and format of your original documents. Using Smartcat AI’s simplified AI human workflows, harness the power of the essential PDF translation platform for the enterprise.