Cutting Off Black Edges and Extra Margins in a Scanned PDF
Key points
- Check how large the edges are
- Cut automatically or by edge
- Zoom into the result to check
PDFs made with a scanner or a phone's scan feature can include black edges or extra margin outside the paper. It looks bad and wastes ink when printed.
Steps
- Choose the PDF in Crop PDF Margins.
- First choose "Set each edge in mm". A good starting size for the edge is 5–10 mm.
- In the preview, adjust the numbers so the red frame sits just inside the edge of the paper.
- Tap "Crop", zoom into the preview and check that no edge remains.
A note on automatic trimming
"Trim margins automatically" treats anything that is not white as content. Black edges are judged to be content, so they may remain. Use the edge settings when you want to cut them.
Cut the same amount from every page
On scanned paper the edge appears in nearly the same place on every page. With edge settings, the same amount is cut from every page, so page sizes match.
When the paper is scanned crooked
This does not fix the tilt. Retake the scan, or fix the images in Crop & Rotate Image and make the PDF again with Photos to PDF.
Use "Crop PDF Margins" (free)Tools that go well with this
- Rotate & Reorder PDF Pages: Fix sideways pages, change the page order, or remove pages.
- Compress PDF: Shrink a PDF to fit under a size you choose, for upload limits.
- Merge PDFs: Combine several PDF files into one, in the order you choose.
More guides for this tool
- How to Crop the Margins of a PDF (Free, Works on a Phone)
- Make a PDF Easier to Read on a Phone: Trim the Margins to Enlarge the Text
- Cropping a PDF Does Not Delete the Cropped Part: Hide Sensitive Information Another Way
- When a PDF Prints Cut Off or Too Small: Adjusting the Margins
- Trim Lecture Slides to Paste into Notes and Review More Easily
- PDF Cropping vs Image Cropping: Which Should You Use?