What is IronPDF for Java used for?

IronPDF for Java is used for creating and manipulating PDF documents in Java applications. It supports features such as generating PDFs from HTML and URLs, digitally signing documents, filling out PDF forms, and adding text annotations, among others.

How do you install IronPDF in a Maven project?

To install IronPDF in a Maven project, you need to add the IronPDF dependency to your project's `pom.xml` file. Additionally, it requires the SLF4J logging dependency. After adding these, run `mvn install` to install the dependencies in your local repository.

Can IronPDF convert HTML content to PDF?

Yes, IronPDF can convert HTML content to a PDF document. It uses methods like `PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf` to render HTML strings into PDF files.

Is it possible to convert a web page to a PDF using IronPDF?

Yes, IronPDF allows you to convert web pages into PDFs by specifying the URL with the `PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf` method. This feature ensures that web components appear accurately in the resulting PDF.

What kind of security features does IronPDF offer?

IronPDF provides security features such as the ability to set passwords and add watermarks to PDF documents. These features help protect sensitive content within your PDF files.

Can IronPDF handle multiple PDFs?

Yes, IronPDF can merge multiple PDFs into a single document. This feature is useful for combining various PDF files into one cohesive document.

What is the purpose of setting a log path in IronPDF?

Setting a log path in IronPDF is important for storing log files generated by the IronPDF engine. This helps in troubleshooting and maintaining a record of PDF operations.

Is there a free trial available for IronPDF?

Yes, IronPDF offers a free trial for developers to explore its features. This trial allows users to assess the library's capabilities before committing to a purchase.

How does IronPDF handle existing PDF documents?

IronPDF allows you to use existing PDF documents as templates to generate new PDF files. This capability is useful for maintaining consistent formats across new documents.

The Java PDF Library

Explore IronPDF for Java Start Free Trial

HTML to PDF

Online Demo See All Code Examples

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;  
import java.io.IOException;  
import java.nio.file.Paths;  
  
// Apply your license key
License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

// Set a log path
Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

// Render the HTML as a PDF. Stored in myPdf as type PdfDocument;
PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1> ~Hello World~ </h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Save the PdfDocument to a file
myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("html_saved.pdf"));


import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;  
import java.io.IOException;  
import java.nio.file.Paths;  
  
// Apply your license key
License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");

// Set a log path
Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

// Render the HTML as a PDF. Stored in myPdf as type PdfDocument;
PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1> ~Hello World~ </h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Save the PdfDocument to a file
myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("html_saved.pdf"));

USING IRONPDF FOR JAVA

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example)

Curtis Chau

Updated: April 21, 2026

This article will explore the IronPDF library, a great tool for creating PDFs in Java.

IronPDF: Java PDF Library

IronPDF is a popular Java PDF library that allows developers to easily create PDF documents, PDF forms, digitally sign PDF files, and more. With IronPDF, you can use existing PDF documents as templates to generate new PDF files, store PDF data in databases for future use, convert PDFs into other formats like HTML, and even merge multiple PDFs into one.

IronPDF allows users to add text annotations to PDFs to personalize the files they create. Furthermore, with IronPDF, you can include security settings, such as passwords or watermarks, within your PDFs. It helps to integrate PDF functionalities into Java programs. IronPDF is an extremely versatile and powerful tool for generating PDFs quickly and securely. Let's see how IronPDF can be used to create PDF files.

Generate PDF files using IronPDF

IronPDF is an invaluable tool for creating PDF files. It has all the features you need to quickly convert documents, webpages, and images into stable, secure PDFs that can be shared easily. Let's install IronPDF in this demo program.

Install IronPDF Java PDF library

To install IronPDF Java in a Maven project, you can add the following dependencies to your project's pom.xml file:

<dependencies>
    <!-- Add IronPDF dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- Add SLF4J logging dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

<dependencies>
    <!-- Add IronPDF dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
        <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
    <!-- Add SLF4J logging dependency -->
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
        <artifactId>slf4j-api</artifactId>
        <version>YOUR-VERSION-HERE</version>
    </dependency>
</dependencies>

XML

This will add the IronPDF for Java library and the SLF4J logger that it uses. It is recommended to use the latest version of IronPDF for Java. Once you have added the dependencies, you can run mvn install to install the dependencies in your local repository, and your project will be ready to use IronPDF for Java.

Java Code for Creating PDF documents

This code is written in Java and uses the IronPDF library to convert HTML to a PDF document.

// Import statement for IronPDF Java  
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");
        
        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Define the HTML content to convert into a PDF
        String html = "<!DOCTYPE html>\r\n"
                + "<html>\r\n"
                + "  <head>\r\n"
                + "    <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Popin&display=swap' rel='stylesheet'>\r\n"
                + "    <style>\r\n"
                + "      /* Add CSS styles for the invoice here */\r\n"
                + "      body {\r\n"
                + "        font-family: 'Popin', cursive;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice {\r\n"
                + "        width: 80%;\r\n"
                + "        margin: 0 auto;\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 20px;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "        color: #333;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice h1 {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: center;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info {\r\n"
                + "        display: flex;\r\n"
                + "        justify-content: space-between;\r\n"
                + "        margin-bottom: 20px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info div {\r\n"
                + "        width: 45%;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table {\r\n"
                + "        width: 100%;\r\n"
                + "        border-collapse: collapse;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th, .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 10px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: left;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: right;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td.total {\r\n"
                + "        font-weight: bold;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "    </style>\r\n"
                + "  </head>\r\n"
                + "  <body>\r\n"
                + "    <div class=\"invoice\">\r\n"
                + "      <h1>Invoice</h1>\r\n"
                + "      <div class=\"invoice-info\">\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>From:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Your Company Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>123 Main St</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>To:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Customer Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>456 Park Ave</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "      </div>\r\n"
                + "      <table>\r\n"
                + "        <thead>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Product</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Quantity</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Price</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Total</th>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </thead>\r\n"
                + "        <tbody>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$5.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td colspan=\"3\" class=\"total\">Total:</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td class=\"total\">$20.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </tbody>\r\n"
                + "      </table>\r\n"
                + "    </div>\r\n"
                + "  </body>\r\n"
                + "</html>";

        // Convert HTML to PDF document
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf(html);

        // Save the PDF document to a specified path
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("C://HTMLtoPDF.pdf"));
    }
}

// Import statement for IronPDF Java  
import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");
        
        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Define the HTML content to convert into a PDF
        String html = "<!DOCTYPE html>\r\n"
                + "<html>\r\n"
                + "  <head>\r\n"
                + "    <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Popin&display=swap' rel='stylesheet'>\r\n"
                + "    <style>\r\n"
                + "      /* Add CSS styles for the invoice here */\r\n"
                + "      body {\r\n"
                + "        font-family: 'Popin', cursive;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice {\r\n"
                + "        width: 80%;\r\n"
                + "        margin: 0 auto;\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 20px;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "        color: #333;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice h1 {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: center;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info {\r\n"
                + "        display: flex;\r\n"
                + "        justify-content: space-between;\r\n"
                + "        margin-bottom: 20px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice .invoice-info div {\r\n"
                + "        width: 45%;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table {\r\n"
                + "        width: 100%;\r\n"
                + "        border-collapse: collapse;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th, .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        border: 1px solid #ccc;\r\n"
                + "        padding: 10px;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table th {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: left;\r\n"
                + "        background-color: #f5f5f5;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td {\r\n"
                + "        text-align: right;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "      .invoice table td.total {\r\n"
                + "        font-weight: bold;\r\n"
                + "      }\r\n"
                + "    </style>\r\n"
                + "  </head>\r\n"
                + "  <body>\r\n"
                + "    <div class=\"invoice\">\r\n"
                + "      <h1>Invoice</h1>\r\n"
                + "      <div class=\"invoice-info\">\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>From:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Your Company Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>123 Main St</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "        <div>\r\n"
                + "          <p><strong>To:</strong></p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>Customer Name</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>456 Park Ave</p>\r\n"
                + "          <p>City, State ZIP</p>\r\n"
                + "        </div>\r\n"
                + "      </div>\r\n"
                + "      <table>\r\n"
                + "        <thead>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Product</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Quantity</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Price</th>\r\n"
                + "            <th>Total</th>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </thead>\r\n"
                + "        <tbody>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>1</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td>Product 2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>2</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$5.00</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td>$10.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "          <tr>\r\n"
                + "            <td colspan=\"3\" class=\"total\">Total:</td>\r\n"
                + "            <td class=\"total\">$20.00</td>\r\n"
                + "          </tr>\r\n"
                + "        </tbody>\r\n"
                + "      </table>\r\n"
                + "    </div>\r\n"
                + "  </body>\r\n"
                + "</html>";

        // Convert HTML to PDF document
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf(html);

        // Save the PDF document to a specified path
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("C://HTMLtoPDF.pdf"));
    }
}

Java

The first step is to apply a license key using the setLicenseKey method. The key is passed as a string argument; in this case, "YOUR-LICENSE-KEY" should be replaced with the actual license key.
The next step is to set a log path using the setLogPath method. This is where the log file for the IronPDF engine will be saved. In this case, it is set to "C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log".
The main method is defined, and a PdfDocument object is created by calling the [renderHtmlAsPdf](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#renderHtmlAsPdf(java.lang.String) method, passing in a string of HTML as the argument. This will convert the HTML to a PDF and store it in the myPdf object.
The final step is to save the myPdf object to a file using the [saveAs](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#saveAs(java.lang.String) method. The file location is passed as an argument in the form of a Paths object, in this case, "HTMLtoPDF.pdf".

Here you can see the output of the above program where a PDF file is created using the IronPDF Java PDF library.

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example), Figure 1: The output PDF file from an HTML string The output PDF file from an HTML string

Create PDF file from URL

IronPDF can render web pages into PDFs from a variety of sources, including local networks and external servers.

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class UrlToPdfExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");
        
        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Convert a webpage to a PDF by specifying the URL
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com");

        // Save the PdfDocument to a file
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("url.pdf"));
    }
}

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;

import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class UrlToPdfExample {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Apply your license key
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY");
        
        // Set a log path to store log files generated by IronPDF
        Settings.setLogPath(Paths.get("C:/tmp/IronPdfEngine.log"));

        // Convert a webpage to a PDF by specifying the URL
        PdfDocument myPdf = PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf("https://ironpdf.com");

        // Save the PdfDocument to a file
        myPdf.saveAs(Paths.get("url.pdf"));
    }
}

Java

The [PdfDocument.renderUrlAsPdf](/java/object-reference/api/com/ironsoftware/ironpdf/PdfDocument.html#renderUrlAsPdf(java.lang.String) method is specifically designed for this purpose and accepts a string containing the URL of the web page to be converted. The method retrieves the HTML content of the web page and transforms it into a PDF document. IronPDF preserves the appearance of all web components while making interactive features (links, form fields, etc.) functional.

The results are below:

Java Library PDF Generation (Full Code Example), Figure 2: The output PDF file from a URL The output PDF file from a URL

Summary

In conclusion, IronPDF is a valuable Java library with many features for creating and manipulating PDF files. Whether you need to digitally sign a PDF document, fill out PDF forms, or perform other tasks, IronPDF makes it easy to do so with minimal coding.

With its free trial available and flexible pricing options starting at $999, IronPDF is a cost-effective solution for developers looking to add PDF functionality to their projects.

Curtis Chau

Chat with engineering team now

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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Install with Maven Centralcentral.sonatype.com/artifact/com.ironsoftware/ironpdf

mvn install

<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>2026.8.2</version>
</dependency>

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