When you need PDF as an image
Converting PDF pages to images is useful in many situations:
- Social media: You can't attach a PDF to an Instagram post, but you can share a JPG
- Presentations: Embed a PDF page as a slide background or graphic
- Thumbnails and previews: Show a document preview on a website without embedding the full PDF
- Editing: Open the page in Photoshop, GIMP, or Canva for graphic editing
- Archiving: Some systems only accept image formats, not PDFs
JPG vs PNG: which should you choose?
| Format | Best for | File size |
|---|---|---|
| JPG | Photos, color-rich pages | Smaller (~150–500 KB per page) |
| PNG | Text documents, line art, logos | Larger but lossless quality |
| PNG | Pages with transparency | Only PNG supports transparent backgrounds |
For most uses — sharing on the web, email, social media — JPG is the right choice. For documents with sharp text and fine lines that will be printed or further edited, use PNG.
Resolution (DPI) explained
DPI (dots per inch) determines the sharpness of your image:
- 72 DPI — screen quality, good enough for web and social media
- 150 DPI — balanced quality, good for most purposes (PDFCraft default)
- 300 DPI — print quality, large file size, needed for professional printing
Unless you're printing the result, 150 DPI is the best balance between quality and file size.
How to convert PDF to JPG with PDFCraft
- Open the PDF to JPG tool.
- Upload your PDF file.
- Choose your format: JPG or PNG.
- Select image quality (standard or high).
- Click Convert to Images.
- Download a single image (1-page PDF) or a ZIP archive (multi-page).
Batch conversion tip
If your PDF has many pages and you only need a few as images, split the PDF first using the Split PDF tool — extract just the pages you need — then convert that smaller file to images. This saves time and storage.
Quality issues: what to do
- Blurry text: Increase DPI to 300.
- White background on transparent PDFs: Use PNG instead of JPG.
- Incorrect colors: Some PDFs use CMYK color space — converted images may look slightly different. This is normal.