C# Add Image to PDF (Developer Tutorial)

From a developer's perspective, programmatically adding images to PDF documents is a challenging task due to the variety of image formats and their complexity to manipulate. Therefore, the IronPDF C# library is recommended to add images to the PDF document programmatically. Let's explore what IronPDF is and how to use it effectively.

IronPDF: C# PDF Library

The IronPDF C# library is a PDF library written in C# and targeting the PDF object model. This library provides the developer with a way to create, edit, and save PDF files without the need to tightly maintain relevance to specific APIs such as Adobe's Acrobat. The IronPDF C# library can be used when you don't want to use Adobe Acrobat or another individual piece of software.

This library assists developers with plenty of tools for creating, editing PDF files with C#, and saving PDF files and features that other .NET PDF libraries do not offer. Many developers prefer the IronPDF C# library because it provides everything they are looking for in a PDF library on Windows, Linux, and macOS platforms, and at no cost whatsoever! IronPDF constantly adds features and extends its services to make it the best utility for your PDF needs. The library excels beyond the bare-bones requirements for those who need to browse, search, find, extract data from PDF files or create PDF files. Let's take a look at how the IronPDF is used to add images to a PDF document.

Create or Open C# Project

To add images to a PDF document, the latest version of Visual Studio is recommended for creating a C# project for a smooth experience.

• Open Visual Studio.

Visual Studio starting up UI

• Click on the "Create a New Project" button.
• Select "C# Console Application" from the Project templates and click on the Next button. You can choose a platform according to your needs.

Create a Console Application in Visual Studio

• Next, give a name to your project and click on the Next button.
• Choose Target .NET Framework >= .NET Core 3.1 version and click on the Create button.

By following the above steps, you will be able to create a new C# project easily. You can use an already existing C# project. Just open the project and install the IronPDF library.

Install the IronPDF Library

The IronPDF library can be installed in multiple ways.

• Using NuGet Package Manager
• Using Package Manager Console

Using NuGet Package Manager

To install the library using NuGet Package Manager, follow the steps below:

• Go to Tools > NuGet Package Manager > Manage NuGet Package for Solution from the main menu options.

Navigate to NuGet Package Manager

• This will open the NuGet Package Manager window. Go to the browse tab and search for IronPDF. Select the IronPDF library and click on the "Install" button.

Install the IronPdf package from the NuGet Package Manager

Using Package Manager Console

Below are the steps to install the IronPDF library using the Console.

• Go to the Package Manager Console (usually located at the bottom of Visual Studio).
• Write the following command to start the installation of the IronPDF library.

Install-Package IronPdf

It will start the installation, and you will be able to see the progress of the installation. After installation, you will be able to use the IronPDF library in your project very quickly.

The library has been installed, and now it's time to write code for adding images to the PDF document. Starting with importing the IronPDF namespace. So, write the following line in your code file:

using IronPdf;

using IronPdf;

Imports IronPdf

Adding Bitmaps and Images to the PDF Document

There are multiple ways to add images to PDF documents using IronPDF: use a direct image file, convert images to bytes, or use System.Drawing.Bitmap. Furthermore, the IronPDF library supports multiple image formats.

Let's take a look:

using IronPdf;
using System.IO;
using System.Drawing;

class PDFImageAdder
{
    /* This method demonstrates how to convert an image file to a PDF document in C# */
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Initialize IronPdf Renderer
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        // Read the PNG image file into binary format
        var pngBinaryData = File.ReadAllBytes("embed_me.png");

        // Convert image binary data to base64 for embedding in HTML
        var ImgDataURI = "data:image/png;base64," + Convert.ToBase64String(pngBinaryData);

        // Embed the image as a base64 data URI in an HTML <img> tag
        var ImgHtml = $"<img src='{ImgDataURI}'>";

        // Render the HTML as a PDF document
        using var pdfdoc = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml);

        // Save the rendered PDF document
        pdfdoc.SaveAs("embedded_example_1.pdf");
    }
}

using IronPdf;
using System.IO;
using System.Drawing;

class PDFImageAdder
{
    /* This method demonstrates how to convert an image file to a PDF document in C# */
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Initialize IronPdf Renderer
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        // Read the PNG image file into binary format
        var pngBinaryData = File.ReadAllBytes("embed_me.png");

        // Convert image binary data to base64 for embedding in HTML
        var ImgDataURI = "data:image/png;base64," + Convert.ToBase64String(pngBinaryData);

        // Embed the image as a base64 data URI in an HTML <img> tag
        var ImgHtml = $"<img src='{ImgDataURI}'>";

        // Render the HTML as a PDF document
        using var pdfdoc = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml);

        // Save the rendered PDF document
        pdfdoc.SaveAs("embedded_example_1.pdf");
    }
}

Imports IronPdf
Imports System.IO
Imports System.Drawing

Friend Class PDFImageAdder
	' This method demonstrates how to convert an image file to a PDF document in C# 
	Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
		' Initialize IronPdf Renderer
		Dim renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()

		' Read the PNG image file into binary format
		Dim pngBinaryData = File.ReadAllBytes("embed_me.png")

		' Convert image binary data to base64 for embedding in HTML
		Dim ImgDataURI = "data:image/png;base64," & Convert.ToBase64String(pngBinaryData)

		' Embed the image as a base64 data URI in an HTML <img> tag
		Dim ImgHtml = $"<img src='{ImgDataURI}'>"

		' Render the HTML as a PDF document
		Dim pdfdoc = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml)

		' Save the rendered PDF document
		pdfdoc.SaveAs("embedded_example_1.pdf")
	End Sub
End Class

This program will load the image first. The ReadAllBytes function converts the image into bytes format in the above code. After that, the image data will be encoded into base64 and placed into an HTML <img> tag as a string. After that, the HTML string will be rendered to a PDF by using the RenderHtmlAsPdf method function. It will create a PDF page in the PDF document.

The next example will show how to use a Bitmap image in the PDF document. IronPDF has a useful method to embed a System.Drawing.Image in an HTML document, which may then be rendered as a PDF. Visit the following ImageUtilities API to understand more about it. The following code will show how it works:

using IronPdf;
using System.Drawing;

class PDFImageAdder
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Initialize IronPdf Renderer
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        // Create a Bitmap image
        Bitmap MyImage = new Bitmap("Path-to-Your-Image");

        // Convert the Bitmap image to a Data URI
        string DataURI = IronPdf.Util.ImageToDataUri(MyImage);

        // Embed the image as a Data URI in an HTML <img> tag
        var ImgHtml = $"<img src='{DataURI}'>";

        // Render the HTML to PDF
        using var pdfdoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml);

        // Save the PDF document
        pdfdoc2.SaveAs("embedded_example_2.pdf");
    }
}

using IronPdf;
using System.Drawing;

class PDFImageAdder
{
    static void Main(string[] args)
    {
        // Initialize IronPdf Renderer
        var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();

        // Create a Bitmap image
        Bitmap MyImage = new Bitmap("Path-to-Your-Image");

        // Convert the Bitmap image to a Data URI
        string DataURI = IronPdf.Util.ImageToDataUri(MyImage);

        // Embed the image as a Data URI in an HTML <img> tag
        var ImgHtml = $"<img src='{DataURI}'>";

        // Render the HTML to PDF
        using var pdfdoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml);

        // Save the PDF document
        pdfdoc2.SaveAs("embedded_example_2.pdf");
    }
}

Imports IronPdf
Imports System.Drawing

Friend Class PDFImageAdder
	Shared Sub Main(ByVal args() As String)
		' Initialize IronPdf Renderer
		Dim renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()

		' Create a Bitmap image
		Dim MyImage As New Bitmap("Path-to-Your-Image")

		' Convert the Bitmap image to a Data URI
		Dim DataURI As String = IronPdf.Util.ImageToDataUri(MyImage)

		' Embed the image as a Data URI in an HTML <img> tag
		Dim ImgHtml = $"<img src='{DataURI}'>"

		' Render the HTML to PDF
		Dim pdfdoc2 = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(ImgHtml)

		' Save the PDF document
		pdfdoc2.SaveAs("embedded_example_2.pdf")
	End Sub
End Class

In the above code, the ImageToDataUri function is used to convert an image into a URI format. The image is then drawn in the PDF document using the RenderHtmlAsPdf function. This applies to multiple images.

Additionally, IronPDF is also capable of rendering charts in PDFs, adding barcodes to PDF documents, enhancing PDF security with passwords and watermarking PDF files, and even handling PDF forms programmatically.

Licensing

IronPDF is an excellent PDF library that assists you in creating and customizing PDF files, and it is available to purchase today. However, IronPDF is entirely free for development purposes. You can also activate the free trial version for production without any payment details. After purchasing IronPDF, Iron Software makes you a fantastic offer to purchase five Iron Software packages for the price of just two. Yes! You heard right — you can purchase a suite of five Iron Software products for the price of just two. Buy it now! Visit the IronPDF licensing page for more details.