A submission form asks for a JPG, but your document has three pages. Or you need to drop one page into a slide, and all you have is a PDF. The right output format depends on what happens to the document next.

Choose PDF to keep the pages together. Choose JPEG when you need individual images with a smaller file size. Choose PNG when you want page images without lossy compression. If a recipient specifies a format, follow that requirement first.

Look Scanned can save a scan-style document in all three formats. Image exports arrive as a ZIP containing one image per page. Open Look Scanned to try the options with the built-in example before choosing your own file.

Pick the format for the handoff

What you need Choose What you download
Send a multipage document as one attachment PDF One PDF with the pages in order
Upload separate pages to a form that accepts JPG JPEG (ZIP) A ZIP containing one .jpg per page
Place a page in a slide or keep a lossless page image PNG (ZIP) A ZIP containing one .png per page

JPG and JPEG are names for the same image format. Look Scanned calls the option JPEG (ZIP) and gives the files inside the archive the .jpg extension.

PDF: keep the document together

For a report or a multipage letter, PDF saves the recipient from opening several images and working out their order. It is also the simpler choice when a form gives you one upload slot for the whole document.

The PDF exported by Look Scanned contains images of the pages. It does not preserve the original searchable text or add an OCR layer. If the recipient needs to copy text or use a screen reader, keep the original digital PDF instead. See scanned PDF vs editable PDF for that distinction.

JPEG: separate pages with smaller files

JPEG is a useful starting point when an upload form asks for a picture of each page, or you want to send one page in a chat. Its lossy compression usually keeps colour and grayscale scans smaller than PNG, but fine text and sharp edges can pick up compression artifacts.

Zoom in on the smallest text before sending. A smaller file is only useful if it is still readable.

PNG: page images without lossy compression

PNG preserves the rendered page pixels without adding JPEG compression artifacts. That can help with small type or fine lines, particularly if you will place the image in another document and export it again.

Lossless does not mean the original document stays unchanged: Look Scanned has already rendered the page and applied your scan settings. PNG preserves that result. It cannot recover detail lost to blur or low resolution.

PNG files can be large, especially with colour, paper texture or noise. For the general compression differences, see Adobe's JPEG and PNG comparison.

Export a scanned PDF or a ZIP of images

  1. Open Look Scanned and choose your document, or use the built-in example.
  2. Adjust the scan appearance. Check small text in the preview before exporting.
  3. Under Output Settings, set Output Format to PDF, JPEG (ZIP) or PNG (ZIP).
  4. Generate the result, then download it.
  5. For JPEG or PNG, extract the ZIP before uploading an individual image elsewhere.

The format choice applies to the output. Choosing JPEG does not mean your source file has to be a JPEG: you can start with a PDF and export its scanned pages as images.

Why a ZIP instead of a JPG download?

A PDF can contain several pages. A JPG or PNG is one page image. The ZIP lets you download all the pages in one go, even for a one-page document.

For example, a three-page source named report.pdf, exported as JPEG with the filename suffix set to -scan, gives you report-scan.zip. Inside are:

report-01.jpg
report-02.jpg
report-03.jpg

The PNG option uses the same numbering with .png. Changing the filename suffix changes the archive name; it does not rename the pages inside.

If a form accepts JPG or PNG but rejects your download, check that you are selecting an extracted image rather than the ZIP itself. The archive is a delivery container, not an image format.

For several source documents, Bulk Scan uses the same output choices. Downloading all results together puts each document's image pages in its own folder inside the combined ZIP, so identically numbered pages stay separate.

If the file is too large

The format is only part of the answer. Resolution, page content and scan effects matter too.

  • Try JPEG if the recipient accepts it and your PNG is too large. Compare the text at full size before sending.
  • Lower the resolution if the image is larger than you need. Check that small numbers and punctuation remain legible.
  • Reduce noise if it is only there for appearance. A busy paper background adds image detail that has to be stored.
  • For plain text documents, try black & white. Look Scanned keeps black & white pages as 1-bit images in PNG and PDF output; these can be much smaller than colour scans. JPEG still uses JPEG compression in that mode.

There is no single format that produces the smallest file for every document. Check the downloaded file against the recipient's size limit.

Try it on one page first

Choose a file and export a scan. You can check the preview, generate the result, then open the download to make sure the pages and text look right.