Taking advantage of some free time, you have decided to tidy up your desk drawers by digitizing those paper documents that take up a lot of precious space, which you would like to use in different ways. After having grouped and rearranged them, however, you asked yourself a not inconsiderable question: is it possible to scan a document consisting of several pages and save it in a single PDF file ? And, if so, how?
Well, you’ve come to the place where you will find the answers you are looking for! In the course of this tutorial, in fact, I will explain to you in detail how to scan multiple pages to PDF using a series of different techniques: through the software supplied with the multifunction printers (if you have such a device), through specific programs for Windows and macOS or by scanning documents using the smartphone camera.
Do not be afraid if you are not very knowledgeable with technology, you have no reason: all the steps that I am about to show you can be put into practice by everyone, even by those who, like you, have never performed a similar operation. So, without further ado, take some free time for yourself and read very carefully everything I have to say on the subject: you will be able to do everything in a few clicks, or tap!
Index
- How to scan multiple pages to PDF with the printer
- Scan multiple HP pages to PDF
- Windows
- Mac
- Scan multiple pages into a single PDF document: Epson
- Scan multiple pages into one PDF document – Canon
- Scan multiple pages into a single PDF document: Brother
- Windows
- Mac
- How to scan multiple pages to PDF from PC
- Scan PDF to multiple pages on Windows
- Scan PDF to multiple pages on Mac
- How to scan multiple pages to PDF with your smartphone
- Predefined functions
- Google Drive
- Note (iOS)
- Genius Scan (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
How to scan multiple pages to PDF with the printer
Scanning multiple pages of a document (or multiple photos) and saving them all in a single PDF is a far from complex undertaking – all you need to do is use the right tools.
Below, therefore, I am going to explain how to scan multiple pages to PDF with an HP printer, and then show you a more or less generic procedure to be used with printers of other brands.
Before proceeding, I recommend that you check that the scanner is correctly installed in the operating system. If not, you can retrieve the necessary drivers from the manufacturer’s website by Google for the keywords [printer driver brand and model] or by following my guide on how to scan .
Scan multiple HP pages to PDF
As already mentioned, to give you a concrete example of how the acquisition of multi-page documents through a printer works, I now show you how an HP multifunction printer works . Below are the procedures to follow on Windows and macOS.
Windows
If you’re using Windows , you can easily scan multi-page PDFs using the HP Smart software , which should have been automatically installed along with the device drivers. If not, you can easily get HP Smart from the Microsoft Store on Windows 10 and Windows 11 .
Once you have downloaded the application, start it and wait for the scanner to be correctly recognized (it may take a few seconds), then click on the Scan icon located at the bottom. At this point, click on the Scanner tab at the top left, insert the first sheet of the document on the scanner glass (or load the entire document in the ADF module, the one in charge of automatic page acquisition), adjust the scan using the menus located on the right, then click the Scan button (bottom right) to start scanning the first page of the document.
At this point, if you have uploaded the document to the ADF form, subsequent pages will be automatically scanned until finished. Otherwise, load the second page on the glass, click on the Add pages item (top left) and then, again, on the Scan button . Repeat this for all other pages of your document.
Note : on some models, it is possible to avoid pressing the Scan button on the PC and start the acquisition of a new page using the appropriate button located near the display of the printer itself.
Once the scan is complete, if necessary, you can make changes and adjustments on the various pages (e.g. brightness, contrast, and so on), by selecting the respective previews and then clicking on the Edit button . Once the work is finished, click on the PDF button located next to the wording File type (below) and, to conclude and save the file obtained, click on the Save button .
Mac
As for the Mac , you can achieve the same result by using the HP Easy Scan software , available for free on the Mac App Store . Once you have finished downloading and installing the program, start it, then load the first sheet of the document into the appropriate compartment of the printer, or the entire document into the ADF module (the one that allows you to automatically scan multiple documents at a time).
Once this is done, click on the Scan button to start the acquisition of the first page of the document and, once the first acquisition is complete, load the second page of the document in the appropriate slot of the printer and click on the Add element button , which appears on the Mac If you have the ADF module available, the scanning of pages will stop automatically when they are finished.
Once the scan is complete, click on the Finish button and, if necessary, make the corrections and adjustments you deem appropriate using the appropriate buttons that appear on the screen. Finally, click on the File> Save menu (top left), specify the name to assign to the file and the destination folder , respectively, in the Prefix and Where? Fields . , then choose the PDF item from the Format drop-down menu , make sure that the item Save items in a single file is selected and press the Save button to save the document on disk.
Scan multiple pages into a single PDF document: Epson
If you have an Epson printer , you can use the Epson Scan / Epson Scan 2 program , which is useful for scanning documents, creating, among other things, PDFs with multiple pages. To download it you can follow the instructions in my tutorial dedicated to the topic .
To use it, start the program, then from the Mode list select the Professional mode item and select the Document item . Now perform a normal scan of what you are interested in saving as a PDF document by pressing the Acquire button .
Once the image or document has been acquired, in the settings for saving that you see open, select PDF in the drop-down menu located next to the Type item and check the box Show the Add page window after scanning , then press the OK button .
Now, as per the setting just set, the Add page window will open and you just need to press the Add page button to create a PDF of multiple pages. Finally, once finished, still in the Add page window, click on the Save file button .
Scan multiple pages into one PDF document – Canon
Do you have a Canon printer ? Then to scan you can use the IJ Scan Utility application , available on this Canon web page , for all operating systems.
Once downloaded and installed on your computer, following the steps proposed by the simple installation wizard, all you have to do is turn on the scanner, place the document in the appropriate location and start the application, and then wait for the automatic scanner search to show successful.
Once this is done, in the panel you see open, select your printer from the drop-down menu at the top, then press the Settings button and, finally, on the Scan document tab located in the menu on the left.
Now, in the settings panel that you see, click on the Settings button under the Save settings item and from the Data Format drop-down menu select the PDF (multi-page) option . Once this is done, press the OK button to close the settings panel.
Now there is nothing left to do but proceed with the actual scanning: in the IJ Scan Utility window click on the Document icon , to start scanning the first page and proceed by scanning everything you need; each scan will automatically add the new element to the PDF file being created.
Having trouble with IJ Scan Utility ? Don’t worry, you can always use the Windows Fax and Scan and macOS Image Capture tools, as described below .
Scan multiple pages into a single PDF document: Brother
If you have a Brother printer you can easily scan your documents using the Scan mode, which differs depending on your operating system.
Windows
If you are using a Windows PC you can use ControlCenter4 which you can find in the Windows Start menu, as long as you have installed all the printer drivers.
Once you have located the aforementioned application, open it and click on the Scan tab and the File icon , then put the check mark in the correct option under the Document Type item . Once this is done, if the printer has the ADF, you can simply scan all the pages you want without having to do anything other than press the Scan button , it will all be done automatically.
Otherwise, instead, you have to go and act on the ControlCenter4 settings in the appropriate window that opens by setting the File type option to PDF with multiple page and pressing the Scan button .
Alternatively, you can also use iPrint & Scan for Windows (also available for macOS), as explained below.
Mac
On Mac you need to use Brother iPrint & Scan , the official Brother application that can be found directly in the App Store . Once downloaded, launch it and press the Select Machine button , then choose your printer from the Network options found.
Once done, press the Scan icon and then the machine’s Scan Settings button . In the new window that opens, select the multi-page PDF format and that’s it!
How to scan multiple pages to PDF from PC
Were you unable to retrieve or use the specific software for your multifunction printer or do you have a “simple” scanner, therefore, now you would like to understand how to scan multiple pages to PDF from Windows or macOS , without relying on specific tools? Then this is the section of the tutorial for you. In the following paragraphs, I am going to explain how to proceed both on Windows and on macOS. Again, make sure the scanner drivers are properly installed on your computer, as I explained earlier in this guide.
Scan PDF to multiple pages on Windows
If you intend to scan PDFs in multiple pages on Windows, I recommend that you rely on the NAPS2 program : it is one of the best software dedicated to the acquisition of photos and documents from scanners, free and open source, equipped with a large number of features , including merging multiple scans into one file. Furthermore, NAPS2 is available in a portable version, which does not require any installation in order to function.
To download it on your PC, connected to the SourceForge page of the program , click on the folder indicating the latest version available (eg 6.1.0 ) and then on the link naps2. [Version] – portable.zip . Once you have the .zip package , extract it to a folder of your choice, access it and start the NAPS2 program. Portable.exe contained therein.
At this point, insert the first sheet in the scanner tray, click on the Scan button and create a custom acquisition profile (you only need to do it the first time): enter, in the Display name field , a name of your choice with which to identify the profile, then click on the Choose device button and click on the scanner or multifunction printer you want to use from the panel that is proposed to you.
Then, intervene in the Page Size field to specify the size of the sheets to be scanned (if you don’t know what to choose, select A4 (210 × 297 mm) ), indicate the resolution and adjust the brightness and contrast indicators , if necessary, to intervene on the scanning parameters of the same name. When you are done, click on the OK button to start capturing the page.
At the end of this operation, insert the second sheet of the document into the scanner, click on the Scan button and wait for the page to be scanned. Repeat the same process for all other pages to be scanned. When you are done, select with the mouse all the pages to save and, to export the resulting document, click on the Save PDF button .
Alternatively, you can “automate” the entire acquisition / saving process using a special feature of the program: click on the small down arrow located next to the Scan button , choose the Batch Scan item from the menu that is proposed to you, then put the check mark next to the item Multiple scans (required between each) , if you want to manually start the acquisition of the next page.
Alternatively, select the Multiple scans item (fixed delay for each) , to make the scanning between one page and the other be automatic, then indicate the number of pages to be scanned in the number of scans box , and the wait (in seconds) between one automatic scan and another, in the Interval between scans (seconds) box .
Finally, put the check mark next to the item Upload images in NAPS2 , if you want to check that the images have been acquired correctly and proceed with manual saving, or next to the item Save in a single file , to ensure that the file is saved automatically. In the latter case, click on the […] button to choose the destination folder and the resulting file name.
Once the configuration is complete, click on the Start button to start the page acquisition process: you can check the progress by looking at the warning messages that appear at the top of the page, just below the title bar. Remember to replace the pages inside the tray within the specified delay.
At the end of the scan, you should see the message Series completed : if you have chosen to manually save the file, click on the Close button and, after checking the quality of the images, proceed with the creation of the document as I explained above. .
If, on the other hand, you had opted for automatic saving, you can safely close the program: the document of your interest will reside in the folder you specified previously.
Scan PDF to multiple pages on Mac
Scanning multiple pages of a document and making them into a single file with macOS Preview is really a breeze! First, load the first page of the document into the scanner (or into the scanner compartment of the printer), start the Preview program calling it from the Launchpad (the rocket icon attached to the Dock ), then click on the File menu> Import from [scanner name / multifunction] located at the top left and wait a few seconds for the device to be recognized correctly by the computer.
Then, wait for the document to be scanned, then select the scanning area by drawing a rectangle on the sheet preview and make the necessary adjustments using the appropriate menus: indicate, in the Type menu , if you are scanning images or documents, then specify the resolution and choose the PDF item from the Format drop-down menu .
Then, put the check mark next to Merge into a single document , define any image correction settings (or leave everything as it is, if you don’t know what it is) and click on the Scan button to acquire the first page of the document. Once this is done, you should see the preview of the newly created file.
When this happens, load the second sheet of the document into the scanner tray, return to the Preview scan screen and click the Scan button again . Repeat the same steps until the pages to be scanned are finished.
Once the acquisition of the pages has been completed, move to the Preview screen that contains the document just scanned, click on the File> Save … menu at the top, indicate the folder in which to save the document, its name , specify the PDF item in the format drop-down menu and, to conclude and save the document, click on the Save button . Easier than that?
For more details, you can read my guide on how to scan on Mac .
How to scan multiple pages to PDF with your smartphone
You don’t have a computer and would like to scan multiple pages in PDF with your smartphone? Then read the following paragraphs very carefully, in which I will teach you how to do this using the predefined functions present on Android and iOS smartphones and a special app developed by third parties.
Predefined functions
The quickest and easiest way to get multi-page PDFs by scanning via your phone is to use the predefined tools on them.
Google Drive
As for Android , for example, you can rely on Google Drive , the app pre-installed in most phones that have the aforementioned terminal, and which is normally used to store your documents in the cloud. Beyond that, however, it also has a tool to scan documents by saving them as PDFs.
To use it, start Google Drive on your smartphone, then tap on the + icon located at the bottom right and, from the panel you see open, press the Scan icon .
At this point, tap on the Allow option , to allow the application to take photos, then frame the page you want to scan and press the camera icon to capture the shot and, if the result satisfies you, tap on the check mark icon .
Now, to add the additional pages of your document, press the icon depicting two squares with a + symbol inside (bottom left) and proceed as described above until you have scanned all the pages you want.
Finally, to save what you have done, tap on the Save button , then enter a name for your document in the additional screen you see and decide the location using the appropriate drop-down menu. Finally, press on the Save item , at the bottom right, to confirm what has been done; in this way the PDF document will be saved in Google Drive.
Note (iOS)
If you are using an iPhone you can carry out an operation very similar to the one described above for Android using Notes , the famous app present “standard” on Apple smartphones: after starting the application from the home screen of the “iPhone by”, tap on the button to create a new note (the square with the pen ) and then on the (+) button at the bottom. Then, touch the camera icon and, from the menu that opens, select the item Scan documents .
Once this is done, frame the first page of the document and tap the circle -shaped button at the bottom, then drag the edges of the rectangle that appears on the screen to define the correct shot and touch the Save scan button to acquire the first page of the document. Repeat the operation for all the other pages of your interest.
When you’re done, tap the Save button (X) (where X is the number of pages scanned) located at the bottom right and that’s it: the multi-page document will be saved in PDF format and made available within the app. To share it, go to the main Note screen, tap on the document in question (available in the scanned documents panel ), then tap the share icon (the square with the up arrow) and select the app through which to make sharing the document.
You can also get the same result in the Files app , by clicking on the (…) button at the top right and choosing Scan documents from the menu that opens. More info here .
How do you say? After the acquisition, you don’t want to save the PDF but print it? Then I think I have what is right for you: in my article dedicated to printing from your mobile I have explained to you all the necessary steps to configure the printer on your smartphone and carry out all the printing jobs you want.
Genius Scan (Android/iOS/iPadOS)
As an alternative to the predefined functions I mentioned previously, you can also rely on third-party apps that are useful for scanning your documents even creating a PDF document of multiple pages.
The one that I personally want to recommend to you for this purpose is Genius Scan , a free app available for Android (also on alternative stores ) and iOS / iPadOS , basic free but with the possibility of in-app purchases starting from 0.99 euros.
Once downloaded on your smartphone following the normal app download procedure, start it and tap the camera icon (Android) or the + button (iPhone / iPad), then allow access to the camera using the confirm button and you are practically ready to multi-scan your photos or documents.
Frame and press the scan button (the circle at the bottom center of the screen): to add a page to your scan, repeat the same operation and, in the center of the scan button, you will see the number of pages of your document. Finally, press the V icon or the End item and, if necessary, edit your document using the settings offered by the preview or tap the magic wand icon (on iPhone and iPad).
At this stage, if there is still a page you want to add, you can do it simply by tapping on the sheet icon (bottom left) and selecting one of the items you see appear based on the type of content you want to insert ( Add from camera , Add from photo or Add from file ).
Once finished, press the share icon to export your document and change its settings. You can choose the format (in this case PDF), the resolution or a password to protect your document. You can also decide where and how to export it by selecting one of the items under the item Exposed on between Email , Dropbox , Evernote , Google Drive or one of the other available methods.
Genius Scan not right for you? Then you can read my tutorial on scanning applications , where you will find more useful solutions for this purpose.
