How to turn a PDF into images
- Choose the document. Drag it into the area above or click to pick it.
- Pick a resolution. For the screen, good, or for printing — the difference is explained below, in dots per inch rather than in adjectives.
-
Choose the pages, if you want. Leave the field empty for all of them, or write
something like
1-3, 7. - Press Convert to JPG. You get one image per page.
Which resolution should I choose?
96 DPI for something you will only look at on a screen, 300 DPI for something you will print. 150 DPI is the sensible middle.
A PDF is described at 72 points per inch, so the number you choose decides how many actual pixels each page becomes. Higher is not automatically better: at 300 DPI a single page can weigh several megabytes, which is exactly what you do not want if you are about to attach it to an email.
The figures are named in dots per inch, and not as “high” or “low”, because those words mean nothing without a number and everyone reads them differently.
Why images and not a screenshot?
Because a screenshot captures what your screen shows; this reads the document itself.
A screenshot is limited to your monitor's pixels and to whatever the viewer decided to display. Converting reads the page as it is described in the file and draws it at the size you asked for, so text stays sharp at 300 DPI instead of blurring at 96.
Does the file leave my device?
No. The whole conversion happens in your browser.
The engine that draws the pages is downloaded once and then runs on your own machine. This page also declares a Content Security Policy that lists the few addresses it is allowed to contact, and your document is not among them — the browser itself would block an attempt to send it.
What you get, and what you lose
You get pictures of the pages. You lose the text as text: the words become pixels.
That is the point of the format, not a shortcoming — but it means the result is no longer searchable, selectable or copyable. If what you needed was the text, converting to images is the wrong direction.
Frequently asked questions
Is the PDF uploaded to a server?
No. The engine that draws the pages is downloaded once and then runs in your browser, on your own device.
Which resolution should I pick?
96 DPI for something you will only view on a screen, 300 DPI for something you will print, and 150 DPI when you are not sure.
Can I convert only some pages?
Yes. Leave the page field empty for all of them, or write ranges like 1-3, 7 to convert only those.
Will the text still be selectable?
No. The pages become images, so the words become pixels: the result is no longer searchable or copyable. That is the nature of the format.