How to Convert Images to PDF — Complete Guide

Why Convert Images to PDF?

PDF (Portable Document Format) is the universal standard for sharing documents that need to maintain their exact appearance across any device, operating system, or printer. Converting images to PDF is useful in many real-world scenarios:

Document scanning: Photos of paper documents (receipts, contracts, handwritten notes) need to be organized into proper PDF documents for filing, sharing, or archiving.
Portfolio creation: Designers, photographers, and artists compile their work into PDF portfolios for clients and employers.
Report assembly: Charts, infographics, and data visualizations exported as images need to be compiled into PDF reports.
Form submission: Many applications and forms require PDF uploads. Converting images of completed paper forms to PDF meets this requirement.
Presentation materials: Converting slides or diagrams to PDF ensures they display correctly on any device during meetings.

How to Convert Images to PDF with ToolPix

Our Image to PDF tool converts single or multiple images into a PDF document directly in your browser.

Open the tool: Navigate to Image to PDF.
Upload images: Drag and drop one or more images (JPEG, PNG, WebP) into the upload zone.
Arrange pages: If you uploaded multiple images, arrange them in the desired page order by dragging and dropping.
Generate PDF: Click the convert button. The tool uses the jspdf library to create your PDF entirely in the browser.
Download: Download your PDF file. Done.

Single Image vs. Multiple Images

Single Image to PDF

Converting a single image to PDF is straightforward — the image becomes the content of a single-page PDF. This is common for:

Submitting a photo of an ID or document as a PDF
Converting a designed flyer or poster to PDF for printing
Saving a screenshot as a more formal document

Multiple Images to PDF (Batch Conversion)

Batch conversion combines multiple images into a multi-page PDF, with each image on its own page. This is essential for:

Combining photos of a multi-page document (contract, manual, booklet)
Creating photo albums or lookbooks
Compiling presentation slides into a single handout

Page Sizing and Layout

When converting images to PDF, page sizing determines how the image fits on the page:

Fit to Page

The image is scaled to fit within the page margins while maintaining its aspect ratio. This ensures no part of the image is cropped, but may result in white space on the sides or top/bottom if the image aspect ratio does not match the page aspect ratio.

Fill Page

The image is scaled to fill the entire page, cropping any excess. This eliminates white space but may cut off portions of the image.

Original Size

The image is placed at its original pixel dimensions, with the page sized to match. This preserves exact pixel mapping — important for technical documentation and print-ready graphics.

Standard Page Sizes

A4 (210 x 297 mm): The international standard for documents. Used in most countries worldwide.
US Letter (8.5 x 11 inches / 216 x 279 mm): The standard in the United States and Canada.
A3 (297 x 420 mm): Double the area of A4. Used for larger documents, posters, and architectural drawings.

Image Quality Considerations

The quality of your PDF depends directly on the quality of your source images:

Resolution: For printed PDFs, images should be at least 300 DPI (dots per inch) at the printed size. A 3000x4000 pixel image will print clearly at 10x13 inches at 300 DPI. For screen-only PDFs, 150 DPI is sufficient.
Compression: If your source images are heavily compressed JPEGs, the compression artifacts will be visible in the PDF. Start with the highest quality source images available.
Format: PNG images produce the sharpest results in PDFs because they are lossless. JPEG images introduce some softening due to lossy compression.

If your images need resizing or quality adjustment before conversion, use our Image Resizer and Image Compressor to prepare them.

Optimizing PDF File Size

PDFs containing images can be very large. A 20-page PDF with high-resolution photos can easily exceed 50 MB. Here are strategies for managing file size:

Resize images before conversion: If the PDF will be viewed on screen only, resize images to 1500-2000px on the longest edge. There is no need for 5000px images in a screen-only document. Use our Bulk Resize tool.
Compress images before conversion: JPEG quality 80-85 is sufficient for most PDF use cases. Compress with our Image Compressor.
Compress the final PDF: After creating the PDF, use our PDF Compressor to further reduce file size.
Use JPEG over PNG for photographs: PNG files in PDFs are significantly larger than JPEG. Convert photographic PNGs to JPEG before embedding. Use our Format Converter.

Common Workflows

Scanning Documents

When using a phone camera to "scan" paper documents:

Take clear, well-lit photos of each page.
Crop each photo to show only the document using our Image Cropper.
Optionally, apply filters to improve readability (increase contrast, convert to grayscale) with our Image Filters.
Convert all images to a single PDF using Image to PDF.

Creating a Photo Portfolio

Resize all images to a consistent dimension (e.g., 2400px wide) using Bulk Resize.
Arrange images in your desired order.
Convert to PDF using Image to PDF.
The result is a clean, professional portfolio document.

Archiving Screenshots

Combine related screenshots (error logs, UI states, design iterations) into a single PDF for documentation and archival purposes.

Privacy: No Server Uploads

Our Image to PDF tool processes everything in your browser using the jspdf library. Your images are never uploaded to any server. This is especially important when converting sensitive documents — contracts, identification, financial records — that should not be transmitted over the internet.

Beyond Image to PDF

ToolPix offers a complete suite of PDF tools:

PDF to Image: Convert PDF pages back to PNG or JPEG images.
PDF Merge: Combine multiple PDFs into one document.
PDF Split: Extract specific pages from a PDF.
PDF Compress: Reduce PDF file size.

Convert Your Images Now

Ready to create a PDF from your images? Our free Image to PDF converter handles everything in your browser — drag, drop, arrange, and download. No signup, no limits, complete privacy.