The C# PDF Library

HTML to PDF

using IronPdf;

// Disable local disk access or cross-origin requests
Installation.EnableWebSecurity = true;

// Instantiate Renderer
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Create a PDF from a HTML string using C#
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>");

// Export to a file or Stream
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");

// Advanced Example with HTML Assets
// Load external html assets: Images, CSS and JavaScript.
// An optional BasePath 'C:\site\assets\' is set as the file location to load assets from
var myAdvancedPdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", @"C:\site\assets\");
myAdvancedPdf.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf");

using IronPdf;

// Disable local disk access or cross-origin requests
Installation.EnableWebSecurity = true;

// Instantiate Renderer
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Create a PDF from a HTML string using C#
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1>");

// Export to a file or Stream
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");

// Advanced Example with HTML Assets
// Load external html assets: Images, CSS and JavaScript.
// An optional BasePath 'C:\site\assets\' is set as the file location to load assets from
var myAdvancedPdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<img src='icons/iron.png'>", @"C:\site\assets\");
myAdvancedPdf.SaveAs("html-with-assets.pdf");

PM >Install-Package IronPdf

Install-Package IronPdf

MIGRATION GUIDES

How to Migrate from DinkToPdf to IronPDF in C#

Curtis Chau

Updated: August 1, 2026

DinkToPdf wraps wkhtmltopdf, inheriting all its security vulnerabilities and technical limitations. Understanding these issues is critical for evaluating migration urgency.

Critical Security Issues

DinkToPdf inherits unpatched security advisories from wkhtmltopdf:

CVE-2022-35583 (SSRF): A Server-Side Request Forgery advisory against wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6 (CVSS 9.8 in NVD; disputed by the upstream project as an application-side input-sanitization issue rather than a library bug). Either way, it will not be patched.
Archived Project: The wkhtmltopdf/wkhtmltopdf repository was archived on January 2, 2023, and the entire wkhtmltopdf GitHub organization was archived on July 10, 2024.
No Future Security Patches: Any known or future vulnerabilities will not be fixed upstream.

Technical Problems

Issue	Impact
Thread Safety	`BasicConverter` is single-threaded only; `SynchronizedConverter` serializes calls and can still hit native-side crashes under load
Native Binaries	Complex deployment with platform-specific `libwkhtmltox` binaries
CSS Limitations	Older QtWebKit fork - no modern Flexbox/Grid layout support
JavaScript	Inconsistent execution, timeouts
Rendering	Outdated QtWebKit-based engine (wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6, last release June 2020)
Maintenance	DinkToPdf 1.0.8 last released April 18, 2017 on NuGet

Architecture Comparison

Aspect	DinkToPdf	IronPDF
Security	CVE-2022-35583 (SSRF), unpatched / disputed upstream	No known critical CVEs
Rendering Engine	Older QtWebKit fork (wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6)	Modern Chromium
Thread Safety	`SynchronizedConverter` serializes calls; native-side crashes reported under load	Thread-safe by design
Native Dependencies	Platform-specific `libwkhtmltox` binaries	Managed NuGet package
CSS Support	No modern Flexbox/Grid	Full CSS3
JavaScript	Limited, inconsistent	Supported
Maintenance	DinkToPdf last release April 2017; wkhtmltopdf org archived July 2024	Actively maintained

Feature Comparison

Feature	DinkToPdf	IronPDF
HTML to PDF	✅ (outdated engine)	✅ (Chromium)
URL to PDF	✅	✅
Custom margins	✅	✅
Headers/Footers	✅ (limited)	✅ (full HTML)
CSS3	❌ Limited	✅ Full
Flexbox/Grid	❌	✅
JavaScript	⚠ Limited	✅ Full
PDF manipulation	❌	✅
Form filling	❌	✅
Digital signatures	❌	✅
Encryption	❌	✅
Watermarks	❌	✅
Merge/Split	❌	✅

Pre-Migration Preparation

Prerequisites

Ensure your environment meets these requirements:

.NET Framework 4.6.2+, .NET Core 3.1+, or .NET 5/6/7/8/9/10
Visual Studio 2019+ or VS Code with C# extension
NuGet Package Manager access
IronPDF license key (free trial available at ironpdf.com)

Audit DinkToPdf Usage

Run these commands in your solution directory to identify all DinkToPdf references:

# Find all DinkToPdf usages in your codebase
grep -r "using DinkToPdf" --include="*.cs" .
grep -r "SynchronizedConverter\|HtmlToPdfDocument\|ObjectSettings" --include="*.cs" .

# Find NuGet package references
grep -r "DinkToPdf" --include="*.csproj" .

# Find wkhtmltopdf binaries
find . -name "libwkhtmltox*"

# Find all DinkToPdf usages in your codebase
grep -r "using DinkToPdf" --include="*.cs" .
grep -r "SynchronizedConverter\|HtmlToPdfDocument\|ObjectSettings" --include="*.cs" .

# Find NuGet package references
grep -r "DinkToPdf" --include="*.csproj" .

# Find wkhtmltopdf binaries
find . -name "libwkhtmltox*"

SHELL

Breaking Changes to Anticipate

Change	DinkToPdf	IronPDF	Impact
Converter	`SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools())`	`ChromePdfRenderer`	Simpler instantiation
Document	`HtmlToPdfDocument`	Direct method call	No document object
Settings	`GlobalSettings` + `ObjectSettings`	`RenderingOptions`	Single options object
Return type	`byte[]`	`PdfDocument`	More powerful object
Binary	`libwkhtmltox.dll/so`	None (managed)	Remove native files
Thread safety	`BasicConverter` single-threaded; `SynchronizedConverter` serializes	Thread-safe by default	Simpler code
DI	Singleton required	Any lifetime	Flexible

Step-by-Step Migration Process

Step 1: Update NuGet Packages

Remove DinkToPdf and install IronPDF:

# Remove DinkToPdf
dotnet remove package DinkToPdf

# Install IronPDF
dotnet add package IronPdf

# Remove DinkToPdf
dotnet remove package DinkToPdf

# Install IronPDF
dotnet add package IronPdf

SHELL

Step 2: Remove Native Binaries

Delete these platform-specific files from your project:

libwkhtmltox.dll (Windows)
libwkhtmltox.so (Linux)
libwkhtmltox.dylib (macOS)

IronPDF has no native dependencies - everything is managed code.

Step 3: Update Namespace References

Replace DinkToPdf namespaces with IronPDF:

// Remove these
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;

// Add this
using IronPdf;

// Remove these
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;

// Add this
using IronPdf;

Imports IronPdf

Imports IronPdf

Step 4: Configure License

// Add at application startup (Program.cs or Global.asax)
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY";

// Add at application startup (Program.cs or Global.asax)
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY";

' Add at application startup (Program.vb or Global.asax)
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY"

' Add at application startup (Program.vb or Global.asax)
IronPdf.License.LicenseKey = "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY"

Complete API Migration Reference

Core Class Mapping

DinkToPdf	IronPDF
`SynchronizedConverter`	`ChromePdfRenderer`
`BasicConverter`	`ChromePdfRenderer`
`PdfTools`	Not needed
`HtmlToPdfDocument`	Not needed
`GlobalSettings`	`RenderingOptions`
`ObjectSettings`	`RenderingOptions`
`MarginSettings`	Individual margin properties

GlobalSettings Mapping

DinkToPdf GlobalSettings	IronPDF Equivalent
`ColorMode = ColorMode.Color`	Default (always color)
`Orientation = Orientation.Portrait`	`PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Portrait`
`Orientation = Orientation.Landscape`	`PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape`
`PaperSize = PaperKind.A4`	`PaperSize = PdfPaperSize.A4`
`Margins = new MarginSettings()`	Individual margin properties

MarginSettings Mapping

DinkToPdf Margins	IronPDF Equivalent
`Margins.Top = 10`	`MarginTop = 10`
`Margins.Bottom = 10`	`MarginBottom = 10`
`Margins.Left = 15`	`MarginLeft = 15`
`Margins.Right = 15`	`MarginRight = 15`

Code Migration Examples

Basic HTML to PDF

The fundamental conversion demonstrates the dramatic simplification from DinkToPdf's verbose configuration to IronPDF's streamlined API.

DinkToPdf Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4
            },
            .Objects = {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    .WebSettings = New WebSettings() With {
                        .DefaultEncoding = "utf-8"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4
            },
            .Objects = {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .HtmlContent = "<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>",
                    .WebSettings = New WebSettings() With {
                        .DefaultEncoding = "utf-8"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
    }
}

Imports IronPdf
Imports System

Class Program
    Shared Sub Main()
        Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()
        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>")
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf")
    End Sub
End Class

Imports IronPdf
Imports System

Class Program
    Shared Sub Main()
        Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()
        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1><p>This is a PDF from HTML.</p>")
        pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf")
    End Sub
End Class

IronPDF reduces a 20-line DinkToPdf configuration to 4 lines. No SynchronizedConverter, no PdfTools, no HtmlToPdfDocument, no ObjectSettings - just render and save. For more options, see the HTML to PDF documentation.

URL to PDF Conversion

DinkToPdf Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    Page = "https://www.example.com",
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    Page = "https://www.example.com",
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4
            },
            .Objects = New List(Of ObjectSettings) From {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .Page = "https://www.example.com"
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Portrait,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4
            },
            .Objects = New List(Of ObjectSettings) From {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .Page = "https://www.example.com"
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("webpage.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        var pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com");
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf");
    }
}

Imports IronPdf
Imports System

Class Program
    Shared Sub Main()
        Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()
        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com")
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf")
    End Sub
End Class

Imports IronPdf
Imports System

Class Program
    Shared Sub Main()
        Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()
        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.example.com")
        pdf.SaveAs("webpage.pdf")
    End Sub
End Class

IronPDF's RenderUrlAsPdf replaces the nested ObjectSettings.Page configuration with a direct method call. For more options, see the URL to PDF documentation.

Custom Settings with Landscape and Margins

DinkToPdf Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                Margins = new MarginSettings { Top = 10, Bottom = 10, Left = 15, Right = 15 }
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package DinkToPdf
using DinkToPdf;
using DinkToPdf.Contracts;
using System.IO;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var converter = new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools());
        var doc = new HtmlToPdfDocument()
        {
            GlobalSettings = {
                ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                Margins = new MarginSettings { Top = 10, Bottom = 10, Left = 15, Right = 15 }
            },
            Objects = {
                new ObjectSettings() {
                    HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    WebSettings = { DefaultEncoding = "utf-8" }
                }
            }
        };
        byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf);
    }
}

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                .Margins = New MarginSettings() With {
                    .Top = 10,
                    .Bottom = 10,
                    .Left = 15,
                    .Right = 15
                }
            },
            .Objects = {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    .WebSettings = New WebSettings() With {
                        .DefaultEncoding = "utf-8"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

Imports DinkToPdf
Imports DinkToPdf.Contracts
Imports System.IO

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim converter = New SynchronizedConverter(New PdfTools())
        Dim doc = New HtmlToPdfDocument() With {
            .GlobalSettings = New GlobalSettings() With {
                .ColorMode = ColorMode.Color,
                .Orientation = Orientation.Landscape,
                .PaperSize = PaperKind.A4,
                .Margins = New MarginSettings() With {
                    .Top = 10,
                    .Bottom = 10,
                    .Left = 15,
                    .Right = 15
                }
            },
            .Objects = {
                New ObjectSettings() With {
                    .HtmlContent = "<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>",
                    .WebSettings = New WebSettings() With {
                        .DefaultEncoding = "utf-8"
                    }
                }
            }
        }
        Dim pdf As Byte() = converter.Convert(doc)
        File.WriteAllBytes("custom.pdf", pdf)
    End Sub
End Module

IronPDF Implementation:

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Rendering;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15;
        
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf");
    }
}

// NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
using IronPdf;
using IronPdf.Rendering;
using System;

class Program
{
    static void Main()
    {
        var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15;
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15;
        
        var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>");
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf");
    }
}

' NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
Imports IronPdf
Imports IronPdf.Rendering
Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15

        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>")
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf")
    End Sub
End Module

' NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
Imports IronPdf
Imports IronPdf.Rendering
Imports System

Module Program
    Sub Main()
        Dim renderer As New ChromePdfRenderer()
        renderer.RenderingOptions.PaperOrientation = PdfPaperOrientation.Landscape
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginTop = 10
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginBottom = 10
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginLeft = 15
        renderer.RenderingOptions.MarginRight = 15

        Dim pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Custom PDF</h1><p>Landscape orientation with custom margins.</p>")
        pdf.SaveAs("custom.pdf")
    End Sub
End Module

IronPDF's RenderingOptions replaces both GlobalSettings and MarginSettings with a unified, fluent API. For more configuration options, see the rendering options documentation.

Critical Migration Notes

Remove Native Binaries

The most important cleanup step is removing wkhtmltopdf native binaries. IronPDF has no native dependencies:

# Delete native binaries
rm libwkhtmltox.* 2>/dev/null

# Delete native binaries
rm libwkhtmltox.* 2>/dev/null

SHELL

No Singleton Required

DinkToPdf's documented guidance is to register SynchronizedConverter as a singleton. IronPDF's ChromePdfRenderer is thread-safe with any DI lifetime:

// DinkToPdf - typically registered as singleton
services.AddSingleton(typeof(IConverter), new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools()));

// IronPDF - any lifetime works
services.AddScoped<ChromePdfRenderer>();
// Or just create inline:
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// DinkToPdf - typically registered as singleton
services.AddSingleton(typeof(IConverter), new SynchronizedConverter(new PdfTools()));

// IronPDF - any lifetime works
services.AddScoped<ChromePdfRenderer>();
// Or just create inline:
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

net

net

Richer Return Type

DinkToPdf returns byte[]. IronPDF returns PdfDocument with manipulation capabilities:

// DinkToPdf returns byte[]
byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
return File(pdf, "application/pdf");

// IronPDF returns PdfDocument
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf");

// DinkToPdf returns byte[]
byte[] pdf = converter.Convert(doc);
File.WriteAllBytes("output.pdf", pdf);
return File(pdf, "application/pdf");

// IronPDF returns PdfDocument
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);
pdf.SaveAs("output.pdf");
return File(pdf.BinaryData, "application/pdf");

Full CSS3 Support

Modern layouts that fail in DinkToPdf work perfectly in IronPDF:

// DinkToPdf - doesn't work (wkhtmltopdf uses 2015 WebKit)
var html = "<div style='display: flex;'>...</div>";  // Broken!

// IronPDF - full support (modern Chromium)
var html = @"
    <div style='display: flex; justify-content: space-between;'>
        <div>Left</div>
        <div>Right</div>
    </div>";
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);  // Works!

// DinkToPdf - doesn't work (wkhtmltopdf uses 2015 WebKit)
var html = "<div style='display: flex;'>...</div>";  // Broken!

// IronPDF - full support (modern Chromium)
var html = @"
    <div style='display: flex; justify-content: space-between;'>
        <div>Left</div>
        <div>Right</div>
    </div>";
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);  // Works!

Post-Migration Checklist

After completing the code migration, verify the following:

Run all unit tests to verify PDF generation works correctly
Test multi-threaded scenarios (the SynchronizedConverter path serializes calls and was prone to native-side crashes under load)
Compare PDF output quality (IronPDF's Chromium renders better)
Verify CSS rendering (Flexbox/Grid now works)
Test JavaScript execution (reliable with IronPDF)
Update CI/CD pipelines to remove wkhtmltopdf installation
Verify security scan passes (no more CVE-2022-35583 flags)
Remove native binary deployment from Docker/deployment scripts

Additional Resources

Migrating from DinkToPdf to IronPDF retires the unpatched wkhtmltopdf attack surface (CVE-2022-35583), the serialized SynchronizedConverter concurrency model, native binary deployment, and the older QtWebKit rendering path. The transition to a modern Chromium engine delivers full CSS3 support, reliable JavaScript execution, and an actively maintained library.

Please note: DinkToPdf and wkhtmltopdf are registered trademarks of their respective owners. This site is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by DinkToPdf or wkhtmltopdf. All product names, logos, and brands are property of their respective owners. Comparisons are for informational purposes only and reflect publicly available information at the time of writing.

Curtis Chau

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Technical Writer

Curtis Chau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science (Carleton University) and specializes in front-end development with expertise in Node.js, TypeScript, JavaScript, and React. Passionate about crafting intuitive and aesthetically pleasing user interfaces, Curtis enjoys working with modern frameworks and creating well-structured, visually appealing manuals.

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