How to remove background once I have done OCR?

[Fico5C6C]

So I have had multiple situations like in the image below.

Adobe has done great OCR, but I now want my PDF to be only WHITE BACKGROUND and OCR-ed TEXT. 

But - when I try to go "remove background" nothing changes.

This is important to me because I print everything I read, so finding out how to do it would help a lot.

[gary_sc]

Hi Fico,

Starting with a better scan will do more for removing that background than anything that Acrobat can do. Please read through this blog I wrote for Adobe

http://photosbycoyne.com/Gary's_Help/Scanning/clean-scanning.html

[philippeb52006505]

Hi gary_sc, this is a very interesting document! Thanks for sharing.

[Henrik335737616ktn]

Hi Gary_sc  

Thank you so much for your helpful article.  Highly appreciated.   Regards Henrik Burchardi

[Luke Jennings3 · Accepted solution]

I addition to the good info above, you could try one or both of these preflight fixups- (Tools> Print Production> Preflight). Once the text is on a separate layer, you can toggle the other layers on and off, or delete them.

[Fico5C6C]

Thank you!

I did as you explained, but in layers tab I still see only "Text" and nothing else that I could delete?

[Luke Jennings3]

You can hide the new text layer by clicking the eyeball icon in the layers panel, then go to Tools> Edit PDF> select all (marquee select), delete.

Or you can use this preflight that should create additional layers.

[gary_sc]

Fico,

If you do a good scan, there's nothing to hide or remove.

[ht354]

Your statement is spurious at best. Everyone's parameters differ based on the materials and expectations for the project. It would have been better to answer the question without the condescending platitudes concerning your personal philosophies about scanning.

[gary_sc]

I've been doing this for over 30 years, but obviously, you know much more than me.

Suit yourself.

[ht354]

You can at length, opine that you were the first to operate an Altair computer, or that you were in the room when the transistor was invented or that you heard the first voice radio transmission made by Canadian Reginald Fessendena at the turn of the century. However, as I stated earlier, you failed to provide anything substantive except platitudes that would make the great philosophers roll their eyes, while contributing nothing useful to solving the problem. Furthermore, you refused to acknowledge your own shortcomings twice now, by doubling down with drivel. If your PDF philosophies are so powerful, why do they not solve the problem as asked by the poster? By merely answering my comment with a self aggrandising, passive aggressive statement, I understand fully why you were unable to offer a solution to the problem.