Convert PDF pages to images
The PDF to images tool renders every page of a PDF as a separate PNG or JPG. It uses pdf.js, the renderer inside Firefox, running in the browser tab, so the document is never uploaded. Each page becomes its own file named with the page number, so "slides.pdf" produces "slides-p1.png", "slides-p2.png", and so on.
Common uses: putting a page into a presentation or a chat, posting a flyer to social media, making thumbnails of a document, or getting a usable copy of a page from a scanned PDF whose text cannot be extracted.
PNG or JPG
The format option defaults to PNG. PNG is lossless, so text edges, thin lines, and flat colors come out sharp, which makes it the right choice for pages of text, diagrams, and slides. The files are larger than JPG.
JPG is better for pages that are mostly photographs, such as a scanned magazine or a photo book, where PNG would be large and the lossy compression is not visible. JPG has no transparency, so the page background is white.
Scale, and how it relates to resolution
Scale runs from 0.5 to 4 and defaults to 2. PDF pages are measured in points, 72 to the inch, and at scale 1 each point becomes one pixel. A standard letter page is 612 by 792 points, so scale 1 gives a 612 by 792 image, which is readable but soft. Scale 2, the default, gives 1224 by 1584, the equivalent of 144 dpi, and is sharp on screens and fine for most presentations. Scale 3 is 216 dpi. Scale 4 is 288 dpi and produces an image around 2448 by 3168 for a letter page, which is enough for print.
Pick 1 for thumbnails, 2 for anything viewed on a screen, and 3 or 4 when the image will be printed or when the page has small print that must stay legible after zooming. Higher scales take longer and produce bigger files, so do not reach for 4 by default. 0.5 makes small previews for a file list.
What the render includes
pdf.js draws the page as a viewer would: text, vector graphics, embedded images, and the page background. Vector art is rasterized at the chosen scale, so it stays crisp at whatever scale you pick. Scanned pages are drawn as the images they are, so this tool works on scans where PDF to text comes up empty.
The output is a picture of the page. Text in it is no longer selectable, which is sometimes the point, for example when sharing a page where the layout matters more than the words.
Related tools
For the text rather than a picture of it, PDF to text extracts the text layer, though it comes up empty on scans. To render only some pages, cut the document first with split PDF and drop the piece here. To go the other way and bind images into a PDF, use images to PDF. If the rendered PNGs are too large to share, compress image shrinks them in place, and convert image can turn them into WebP for a web page.
Frequently asked questions
Should I pick PNG or JPG?
PNG for pages of text, diagrams, and slides, where sharp edges matter. JPG for pages that are mostly photographs, where the smaller file is worth it.
What scale should I use?
The default of 2 is sharp on screens. Use 1 for thumbnails and 3 or 4 when the image will be printed or has small print.
How does scale relate to resolution?
At scale 1 each PDF point becomes one pixel, which is 72 dpi. Scale 2 is 144 dpi, scale 3 is 216 dpi, and scale 4 is 288 dpi.
Do I get one image or many?
One image per page, each named with its page number, so 'slides.pdf' produces 'slides-p1.png', 'slides-p2.png', and so on.
Does this work on scanned PDFs?
Yes. Rendering draws whatever is on the page, including scanned images, so this tool works where PDF to text does not.
Can I render only some pages?
Not from this tool directly. Cut the document down with split PDF first, then drop the piece here.