PDF OCR with Layout Preservation
Automated pipeline: Split → OCR API → Layout PDF → Merge
Each original page becomes one PDF page, with text placed at exact bounding-box positions and font sizes calibrated to fill the original block dimensions.
Quick Start
python ~/.claude/skills/pdf-ocr-layout/scripts/pipeline.py "/path/to/input.pdf"
Output: input_ocr.pdf in the same directory. Intermediate files in input_ocr_work/.
Full Options
python ~/.claude/skills/pdf-ocr-layout/scripts/pipeline.py \
"/path/to/input.pdf" \
--output "/path/to/output.pdf" \
--work-dir "/path/to/workdir" \
--chunk-size 90
Steps for Claude
- Ask for the PDF path if not already provided in the conversation.
- Check dependencies (install only what's missing):
pip install pypdf reportlab Pillow requests -q - Run the pipeline and stream output to the user:
python ~/.claude/skills/pdf-ocr-layout/scripts/pipeline.py "{input_pdf}" - Monitor progress — the script prints step-by-step progress including API polling. API jobs typically take 1–5 minutes per 90-page chunk.
- Report the output path when done.
Resume / Retry
The pipeline saves state to the work directory and is fully resumable:
jobs.json— API job IDs (prevents re-submitting already-queued chunks)chunk_*_results.jsonl— cached OCR results (skip re-downloading)chunk_*_ocr.pdf— completed chunk PDFs (skip re-rendering)
If interrupted, simply re-run the same command. It picks up where it left off.
Common Issues
| Problem | Fix |
|---|---|
ModuleNotFoundError |
Run the pip install command above |
| API 4xx error | Check the PDF isn't password-protected |
Job stuck in running |
Normal for large chunks; wait up to 10 min |
| Missing images in output | Images left blank per design (API images are optional) |
| Font too small/large | The font size auto-calibrates — first page may look different if it's a cover |
Output Quality
- Block positions: exact (scaled from 812×1269px OCR space to A4)
- Font sizes: auto-calibrated using
fs = min(√(h×w / n×0.65), h×0.72)— verified to recover original ~13–14pt body text - Page numbers, headers, footers: included (all block types preserved)
- Images: embedded if URL accessible, blank if not
- 1 OCR page = 1 PDF page: always maintained