Clean Up Scanned PDF Files Online

Automatically enhance your scanned documents. Our free tool straightens pages (deskew), removes speckles, black borders, and punch holes for a clean, professional finish.

Open Cleanup Tool How it works

Pro tip: This tool is perfect for making old, scanned documents or digital photos of pages look clean and readable.

Processed

+2,100,000 files

Rating

4.9/5 (2100+)

How to Clean Up a PDF — Step by Step

Improve the quality of your scanned documents with these simple steps.

Open the widget — click “Open Cleanup Tool” or scroll to the tool on this page.
Upload your scanned PDF — drag & drop your document or select it from your computer.
Select cleanup options — choose which actions to perform, such as Deskew, Despeckle, or Remove Black Borders.
Process and Download — click the button to clean the file, then download your new, enhanced PDF.

Common use cases

Straightening pages from a crooked or tilted scan.
Removing the dark edges that appear when scanning a book.
Cleaning up "noise" or random dots (speckles) from old or low-quality scans.
Digitally removing binder punch holes from scanned pages.

Why Use Our Free PDF Cleanup Tool?

Our tool is designed for powerful document enhancement, with a focus on ease of use and privacy.

Privacy-First

All cleanup happens in your browser. Your confidential files are never uploaded to any server.

All-in-One Cleanup

Perform multiple enhancements at once: deskew, despeckle, and remove borders in a single operation.

Improved Readability

A cleaner, straighter document is easier to read on-screen and looks far more professional when printed or shared.

Better OCR Results

Cleaning a document before running OCR can significantly improve the accuracy of the text recognition.

Tips & Best Practices for PDF Cleanup

This tool works best on scanned, image-based PDFs. It is not designed for digitally-born documents.
For the best deskewing results, ensure your original scan is not tilted by more than about 15-20 degrees.
The "Despeckle" function is great for removing dust and noise but may soften very fine details. Review the result to ensure it meets your needs.
Always keep a copy of your original, un-cleaned scan as a backup.

Cleanup Functions

Deskew: Automatically straightens tilted pages.
Despeckle: Removes small dots and noise.
Remove Black Borders: Erases dark edges from scans.
Remove Punch Holes: Digitally fills in binder holes.

Professional Finish

Cleaning up your scanned documents is a crucial step for creating a professional digital archive. It makes your files look cleaner, read better, and print more efficiently.

Total Privacy

Because the tool runs entirely in your browser, you can clean up confidential documents without worrying about data privacy. Your files are never sent over the internet.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 'Deskew' mean?

What does 'Despeckle' do?

Will this cleanup process affect the text or images in my PDF?

Is it safe to clean up confidential documents with this tool?

Ready to clean up your scanned PDF?

Open the tool, upload your file, and let our cleanup filters enhance your document's quality in seconds. It's fast, private, and completely free.

Open the Cleanup Tool