MRS Blog

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The MRS Blog

Practical guides for your papers: scanning with an iPhone, making PDFs you can search, signing and filling forms, and honest comparisons of the popular scanner apps. Short steps, real answers.

Featured

Five iPhones with dark screens in a row on a light desk with blank paper, a receipt and an envelope
App comparisons· 9 min read

The best PDF scanner app for iPhone: MRS vs Notes, Adobe Scan and more

Five iPhone scanner apps side by side: what each one does after the scan, where your pages go, and which one fits your papers.
Hands hold an iPhone above a printed page on a bright desk while a thin cyan light line crosses the paper
Document scanning· 9 min read

How to scan documents on iPhone with Notes, Files or an app
An iPhone with a dark screen beside beige and red file folders and a white envelope on a light desk
Document scanning· 10 min read

How to scan medical records at home and keep them private

All posts

All · 30Document scanning · 19PDF editing on iPhone · 10Signing PDFs on iPhone · 5Text recognition (OCR) · 5App comparisons · 6Going paperless · 8
A hand slides a blank sheet onto a small stack of white paper next to an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk
PDF editing on iPhone· 9 min read

How to add a page to a PDF on iPhone: blank, photo or scan

A form arrives with a page missing, or a contract needs one more page for signatures. How to add a blank page, a photo page or a scan to a PDF on your iPhone, and how to check the result.
A closed grey document box on a shelf beside grey binders and one red binder
Going paperless· 9 min read

How to store important documents at home and on your iPhone

Birth certificates, passports, deeds and insurance papers need a safe home and a copy you can find in a minute. Here is where to keep the originals, how to keep a digital copy on your iPhone, and a yearly routine that keeps both up to date.
A white sheet with one wavy ink stroke, a fountain pen and an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk
Signing PDFs on iPhone· 10 min read

How to scan a signature and put it on any PDF

You want your real handwritten signature on PDFs and forms without printing them. Here are the ways to scan a signature on iPhone, what each one leaves behind, and which gives the cleanest result.
An iPhone with a dark screen, a printed landscape photo on a white sheet, a grey notebook and a red pen on a light desk
PDF editing on iPhone· 10 min read

How to make a PDF on iPhone from paper, photos, notes and pages

A form to send back, a receipt, a page of notes or a web page: your iPhone can turn each of them into a PDF without a computer. Here are the six built-in ways, which one fits what you start from, and when a scanner app is the better choice.
An iPhone with a dark screen held above a printed page of faint grey bars, a thin cyan light line crossing the page as if scanning, on a light desk by a window
Text recognition (OCR)· 10 min read

What is OCR and what does it do to a scanned PDF?

OCR stands for optical character recognition. Here is what it does to a scan, how the software reads letters, how accurate it is and when you need it.
An iPhone with a dark screen lying on a stack of crisp white paper on a light desk by a window, a thin cyan light line across the top sheet
PDF editing on iPhone· 10 min read

How to print to PDF on iPhone from Safari, Mail and more

A booking page, an email receipt, a note: your iPhone can turn any of them into a PDF from the Print screen, with no printer. The steps for each app, and how to check the file.
A hand holding a pen above a signed printed contract next to an iPhone with a dark screen, on a light desk by a window
PDF editing on iPhone· 10 min read

How to edit a signed PDF on iPhone without breaking it

A missed date on a signed lease, a typo in a freelance contract. How to edit a signed PDF on iPhone when the signature is a drawing, and what to do when it is a certificate.
A short stack of printed pages, one sheet half turned over, beside an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk
Document scanning· 10 min read

How to scan double-sided documents into one PDF, front and back in order

A lease or a tax form printed on both sides should arrive as one PDF in reading order. Here is the flip-as-you-go method on iPhone, plus what printers do.
A closed dark-red passport-style booklet and an iPhone with a dark screen on a light desk by a window
Document scanning· 11 min read

How to scan a passport on iPhone: a sharp copy of the data page

A new employer, a visa form or a rental agency wants a scanned copy of your passport and you only have an iPhone. Here is how to scan the data page flat, without glare, with both machine-readable lines readable, and how to send it safely.
An iPhone with a dark screen resting on a long printed document on a light desk by a window
Text recognition (OCR)· 10 min read

How to search a PDF on iPhone: Safari, Chrome, Books and scans

One clause in a long lease, one word in a manual. How to search a PDF on iPhone in Books, Safari and Chrome, and why a scanned PDF finds nothing until it has a text layer.
An open hardcover book with a red ribbon bookmark on a light desk by a window, an iPhone with a dark screen beside it
Document scanning· 10 min read

How to scan a book to PDF with your iPhone, page by page

Turn a textbook, workbook, recipe book or notebook into a searchable PDF on your iPhone: the setup, the page-by-page routine and the fixes for curved pages and glare.
An iPhone with a dark screen on printed contract pages next to an envelope and a red pen on a light desk
App comparisons· 11 min read

The best signature app for iPhone: which one fits your paperwork

Five ways to sign documents on an iPhone side by side: how you sign, whether you need an account, how signatures are saved, and which job each app fits.