What software would you need to convert a scanned image of a document into edit-ready text?

To convert a scanned image of a document into edit-ready text, Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software is required. OCR technology analyzes the shapes and patterns of the letters and characters in the scanned image and translates them into machine-readable text. This is essential for converting printed or handwritten text into a format that can be edited, searched, or processed in word processors or other text editing applications.

While graphic design software may allow you to manipulate images, it does not provide the functionality to convert text from images. A PDF reader may be helpful for viewing documents, but it does not have the capability to change images into editable text. File compression software is used to reduce the size of files, but it does not perform any text recognition or transformation functions. Therefore, OCR is the specific type of software designed to accomplish the task of converting scanned images into text that can be edited.