How to Scan Legal Size Documents in 3 Ways

Legal-size documents, commonly used in North America for contracts and other important records, are longer than the standard A4 size. This extra length means you must think about properly displaying the full content when scanning or printing legal-sized documents.

Given most scanners and printers are for home or office use, this article will explore flatbed and ADF (automatic document feeder) scanners. We’ll also cover how to scan documents using your mobile device, like a smartphone or tablet.

How to Scan Legal Size Documents with an ADF Scanner

In most cases, the feeder on an ADF scanner is larger than the size of a legal document, allowing it to handle various types of documents, especially long documents.

Scanning a legal-sized document is straightforward and similar to scanning any other paper size. However, before you start, ensure that your scanner or printer supports 8.5″ x 14″ paper. Once you’ve confirmed this, follow these steps:

Step 1. Power on the ADF scanner and launch the scanning companion software on your device. Connect them via USB cable or Wi-Fi.

Step 2. Load the Legal Size Documents to the Scanner.

Step 3. Select the appropriate settings in the software, such as choosing the document size as Legal (or customizing the scan size as 8.5″ x 14″), and selecting the scan resolution as 300 dpi or above.

Step 4. Initiate the scanning process and save the scanned document to your device.

How to Scan Legal Size Documents with a Flatbed Scanner

Scanning a legal-size document with a flatbed scanner is trickier than using an ADF scanner because it requires manual alignment of the paper and cannot handle batch scanning.

However, some flatbed scanners from brands like Epson, HP, and Canon support two-sided scans, allowing you to fold the legal-size paper for scans and merge the pages after scans.

Step 1. Remove the clips and staples of the document and flatten the paper.

Step 2. Turn on the scanner and launch the scanning companion software on your device. Connect them via USB cable or Wi-Fi.

Step 3. Lift the scanner’s lid, and place the document face down on the glass. Ensure it is straight and fully within the scanning boundary. Close the scanner cover.

Step 4. In the scanning software, select the document size as “Legal”. If there’s no such option, create a custom paper size of 8.5″ x 14″. Choose the scan dpi as 300 or higher.

Step 5. Initiate the scan by clicking the scan button in the software. Then, save the scanned document to your preferred location on your device.

How to Scan Legal Size Documents with Mobile

Not everyone has a professional scanner or printer. In such cases, a scanning app for mobile can help you scan legal documents directly from your phone or tablet.

PDFgear Scan, an all-in-one scanner for iPhones, quickly scans long documents and provides a variety of options for editing and saving your scans.

Step 1. Go to the App Store, download PDFgear Scan, and launch it on your iPhone or iPad.

Step 2. Tap the plus icon (+) at the bottom of the screen, then select “Camera” to begin scanning.

Step 3. Switch to the “Document” tab, position your phone over the document, and tap the shutter button to capture it. If the legal-sized paper is too long, scan it in sections.

Step 4. Once you’ve finished scanning, tap the “>” icon in the lower-right corner. Adjust the borders of the scanned document as needed, then tap “Done.”

Step 5. Use the app’s editing tools to make any necessary modifications, such as document cropping, rotating, or filter adding.

Step 6. Tap the “More” button (three dots) in the lower right corner and choose the format in which you’d like to save the file.

For Android users, Adobe Scan is a great free app. However, premium features like file merging and compression require a subscription.

Tips for Scanning Legal-sized Documents

• To enhance your document with more detail, ensure you have enough storage space and select a high DPI (300 or above) during the scanning process.
• If the scanner bed isn’t big enough for legal-sized paper, scan the document in overlapping parts and then use image editing software to combine them into a single image.
• Check and update the scanning software to make sure it supports legal-sized document scans.
• Save the scanned document in PDF or other suitable formats. PDF is typically preferred for documents because it preserves formatting and is widely recognized.
• Utilize editing tools to adjust borders, enhance clarity, and rectify any issues with the scans.

FAQs

Why is my scanner not scanning legal-size paper?

There may be several reasons for the scanner not scanning legal-size paper:

1. The scanner bed is smaller than the legal-sized paper.
2. The ADF scanner does not support legal-sized paper.
3. The scanning software does not support legal-sized paper scanning.
4. Legal-sized papers are jammed in the scanner.
5. mechanical issues with the scanner that prevent it from properly feeding.

How do I scan a legal size document on my iPhone?

You can use the pre-installed Notes app or third-party app PDFgear Scan to scan a legal-sized document on an iPhone. Both these apps are capable of long document scanning. PDFgear Scan also enables you to merge the documents into one long image file.

How do I change the size of a scanned PDF document?

To change the size of a scanned PDF, consider using a PDF compressor like PDFgear. It works on Windows, Mac, Android, and iPhone, supporting three different compression levels to help you resize PDF files for better storage.