How to Extract Image From PDF in Java

This article will explore how to extract images from an existing PDF document and save them in a single folder using the Java programming language. For this purpose, the IronPDF for Java library is used to extract images.

IronPDF Java PDF Library

IronPDF is a Java library designed to help developers generate, modify, and extract data from PDF files within their Java applications. With IronPDF, you can create PDF documents from a range of sources, such as HTML, images, and more. Additionally, you have the ability to merge, split, and manipulate existing PDFs. IronPDF also includes security features, such as password protection and digital signatures.

Developed and maintained by Iron Software, IronPDF is known for its ability to extract text from PDFs, HTML, and URLs. This makes it a versatile and powerful tool for a variety of applications, whether you're creating PDFs from scratch or working with existing ones.

Prerequisites

Before using IronPDF to extract data from a PDF file, there are a few prerequisites that must be met:

1. Java installation: Ensure that Java is installed on your system and that its path has been set in the environment variables. If you haven't installed Java yet, follow the instructions at the following download page from Java website.
2. Java IDE: Have either Eclipse or IntelliJ installed as your Java IDE. You can download Eclipse from this link and IntelliJ from this download page.
3. IronPDF library: Download and add the IronPDF library to your project as a dependency. For setup instructions, visit the IronPDF website.
4. Maven installation: Make sure Maven is installed and integrated with your IDE before starting the PDF conversion process. Follow the tutorial at the following guide from JetBrains for assistance with installing and integrating Maven.

IronPDF for Java Installation

Installing IronPDF for Java is a straightforward process, provided all the requirements are met. This guide will use the JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA to demonstrate the installation and run some sample code.

1. Launch IntelliJ IDEA: Open JetBrains IntelliJ IDEA on your system.

2. Create a Maven Project: In IntelliJ IDEA, create a new Maven project. This will provide a suitable environment for the installation of IronPDF for Java.

Create a new Maven project

A new window will appear. Enter the name of the project and click on Finish.

Enter the name of the project

After you click Finish, a new project will open to a pom.xml file to add the Maven dependencies of IronPDF for Java.

Next, add the following dependencies in the pom.xml file or you can download the JAR file from the following Maven repository.

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>YOUR_VERSION_HERE</version>
</dependency>

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>YOUR_VERSION_HERE</version>
</dependency>

Once you place the dependencies in the pom.xml file, a small icon will appear in the right top corner of the file.

The pom.xml file with a small icon to install dependencies

Click on this icon to install the Maven dependencies of IronPDF for Java. This will only take a few minutes depending on your internet connection.

Extract Images

You can extract images from a PDF document using IronPDF with a single method called [extractAllImages](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#extractAllImages()). This method returns all the images available in a PDF file. After that, you can save all the extracted images to the file path of your choice using the ImageIO.write method by providing the path and format of the output image.

5.1. Extract Images from PDF document

In the example below, the images from a PDF document will be extracted and saved into the file system as PNG images.

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.List;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // Load PDF document from file
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("Final Project Report Craft Arena.pdf"));

        // Extract all images from the PDF document
        List<BufferedImage> images = pdf.extractAllImages();
        int i = 0;

        // Save each extracted image to the filesystem as a PNG
        for (BufferedImage image : images) {
            ImageIO.write(image, "PNG", Files.newOutputStream(Paths.get("image" + ++i + ".png")));
        }
    }
}

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.List;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws Exception {
        // Load PDF document from file
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("Final Project Report Craft Arena.pdf"));

        // Extract all images from the PDF document
        List<BufferedImage> images = pdf.extractAllImages();
        int i = 0;

        // Save each extracted image to the filesystem as a PNG
        for (BufferedImage image : images) {
            ImageIO.write(image, "PNG", Files.newOutputStream(Paths.get("image" + ++i + ".png")));
        }
    }
}

The program above opens the "Final Project Report Craft Arena.pdf" file and uses the extractAllImages method to extract all images in the file into a list of BufferedImage objects. It then saves each new file image to separate PNG files with a unique name.

Image Extraction from PDF Output

Extract Images from URL

This section will discuss how to extract images directly from URLs. In the below code, the URL is converted to a PDF page and then toggle navigation to extract images from the PDF.

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.List;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Render PDF from a URL
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://www.amazon.com/?tag=hp2-brobookmark-us-20");

        // Extract all images from the rendered PDF document
        List<BufferedImage> images = pdf.extractAllImages();
        int i = 0;

        // Save each extracted image to the filesystem as a PNG
        for (BufferedImage image : images) {
            ImageIO.write(image, "PNG", Files.newOutputStream(Paths.get("image" + ++i + ".png")));
        }
    }
}

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.PdfDocument;
import javax.imageio.ImageIO;
import java.awt.image.BufferedImage;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Files;
import java.nio.file.Paths;
import java.util.List;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Render PDF from a URL
        PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://www.amazon.com/?tag=hp2-brobookmark-us-20");

        // Extract all images from the rendered PDF document
        List<BufferedImage> images = pdf.extractAllImages();
        int i = 0;

        // Save each extracted image to the filesystem as a PNG
        for (BufferedImage image : images) {
            ImageIO.write(image, "PNG", Files.newOutputStream(Paths.get("image" + ++i + ".png")));
        }
    }
}

In the above code, the Amazon homepage URL is provided as an input, and it returns 74 images.

Image Extraction from PDF Output

Conclusion

Extracting images from a PDF document can be done in Java using the IronPDF library. To install IronPDF, you need to have Java, a Java IDE (Eclipse or IntelliJ), Maven, and the IronPDF library installed and integrated with your project. The process of extracting images from a PDF document using IronPDF is simple and it requires just a single method call to extractAllImages. You can then save the images to a file path of your choice using the ImageIO.write method.

This article provides a step-by-step guide on how to extract images from a PDF document using Java and the IronPDF library. More details, including information about how to extract text from PDFs, can be found in the Extract Text Code Example.

IronPDF is a library with a commercial license, starting at $749. However, you can evaluate it in production with a free trial.