How to Convert a PDF to an Image File

Convert PDF to JPEG

By default, rasterizeToImageFiles converts documents according to the file type specified in the destination path.

As such, to convert our sample PDF used in the previous example to a JPG file (instead of converting PDF to a PNG), we can simply change the file name extension used in the destination file path:

// Convert PDF to JPG (not to PNG)
pdf.rasterizeToImageFiles("./images/pdf-to-jpeg.jpg");

Another way to do the same thing is to specify an ImageType option in IronPDF. An ImageType value supersedes the image file type declared in the destination path. This forces rasterizeToImageFiles to not consider the filename when performing conversion.

You can see this in action in the next example. Here, we include a JSON options argument with our call to rasterizeToImageFiles that declares an ImageType.

import { PdfDocument, ImageType } from "@ironsoftware/ironpdf";

// Convert PDF to JPEG Format using ImageType.JPG
const options = {
   type: ImageType.JPG
};
PdfDocument.fromFile("./sample-pdf-file.pdf").then((pdf) => {
    pdf.rasterizeToImageFiles("./images/pdf-to-jpeg.png", options);
    return pdf;
});

Running the program above also creates a JPG image as in our previous example. Notice, however, that the destination filename still uses the PNG file extension. rasterizeToImageFiles ignored the .PNG file name extension used in the path, following instead the ImageType.JPG type value.

You can adapt this example to convert PDF into other image types, including GIF format and Bitmap format.

Tip: Using this approach can be particularly useful in situations in which changing filenames to specific types is not feasible or desired.

Converting PDF Files with Multiple Pages

To convert documents containing more than one page into a desired image type (PNG, JPG, Bitmap, etc.), we can also use the rasterizeToImageFiles method in the same manner as before. When invoked, the method will create each page as a separate image in the specified type.

A two-page sample PDF document.

The next block of sample code generates two PNG files from the two-page PDF file example shown above.

import { PdfDocument } from "@ironsoftware/ironpdf";

// Convert PDF with two pages to a set of images.
PdfDocument.fromFile("./multipage-pdf.pdf").then((pdf) => {
    pdf.rasterizeToImageFiles("./images/multipage-pdf/multipage-pdf-page.png");
});

The result of using the rasterizeToImageFiles method on a two-page PDF file. The method creates an image for each page of the original file.

Convert Specific PDF Pages to Images

Declaring a JSON object with the fromPages property set allows us to rasterize one or more pages from a multipage document (rather than all pages).

The following code example only converts the first, fourth, sixth, and ninth page of this large sample file into bitmaps.

import { PdfDocument, ImageType } from "@ironsoftware/ironpdf";

// Convert PDF containing many pages to BMP images.
const options = {
    type: ImageType.BMP,
    fromPages: [0, 3, 5, 8]  // Select only the desired pages
};
PdfDocument.fromFile("./sample-pdf-with-images.pdf").then((pdf) => {
    pdf.rasterizeToImageFiles("./images/multipage-selective-pdf/multipage-pdf-page.bmp", options);
});

IronPDF performed the PDF-to-Image operation on only the pages that we specified in the options argument.

Get started with IronPDF

API Reference

Read the API documentation on the PdfDocument class and its rasterizeToImageFiles methods for more insights on how to adapt the method to suit your needs.

Code Examples

• Convert a PDF to Images using IronPDF: See rasterizeToImageFiles used in a slightly different way.
• Convert Images to PDF Files using IronPDF: Learn how to convert one or more images into a single PDF file.