Rasterize a PDF (Pages to Images)
Turn every PDF page into an image and save it as a PDF again: text cannot be selected, and it prints the same everywhere
Your files stay with you. Conversion happens inside the browser; no file is ever uploaded to a server.
Did this tool do the job?
Thanks, your feedback came through.
How it works
People use this for two different problems. One: you are sending a price quote or an exam and do not want the recipient to copy the text into their own document. Two: a PDF prints with boxes, missing letters or the wrong font on your printer because the fonts inside it are broken. In both cases, tap or click the box, choose the PDF, pick a quality and press Rasterize. Each page is drawn exactly as it appears on screen and placed at the same size in a new PDF; a 12-page Letter document stays a 12-page Letter document. The result line reads, for example, "12 pages rasterized · 150 DPI · 480 KB → 2.1 MB": the file getting larger is normal. The new file cannot be searched and its links do not work, so keep the original.
This tool is also known as rasterize pdf, make pdf text uncopyable, flatten pdf to image, convert pdf to image pdf, pdf prints wrong characters.
What is Rasterizing?
Rasterizing turns a page described as shapes and letters into a grid of pixels. Text in a normal PDF is stored as "these characters, in this font, at this position"; it can be selected, searched and zoomed without blurring. A rasterized page holds only colored dots: the letters are now part of a photo. That is why they cannot be copied, and also why they turn jagged when you zoom in far.
What is DPI (resolution)?
DPI is the number of dots per inch and decides how much fine detail an image of the page keeps. A Letter page is about 850 × 1100 pixels at 100 DPI, 1275 × 1650 at 150 DPI and 2550 × 3300 at 300 DPI. Reading on screen needs 100 to 150; print and footnotes under 8 pt need 300. Doubling the DPI roughly quadruples the pixel count and the file size.
What is the difference between rasterizing a PDF and converting a PDF to JPG?
PDF to JPG gives you each page as a separate image file: 12 pages means 12 JPGs, ready for a gallery, social media or an image upload field. Rasterizing keeps the pages inside one PDF: it attaches to an email as a single file, the page order cannot get mixed up, and because the paper size is kept it prints at the right size. The goal is not to get pictures, it is to get a PDF whose text cannot be selected or that prints the same on any printer.
Is an uncopyable PDF really protected?
Partly. The text layer is gone, so selecting and copying with the mouse, converting to Word or pasting the text into a search engine no longer work. Against a casual reader, that is enough.
It is not encryption. An OCR program that reads the page image can recover most of the text, and a screenshot is always possible. To hide personal data for good, use the PDF redaction tool; to require a password on opening, use the PDF encryption tool.
Why does rasterizing fix a PDF that prints wrong?
Some PDFs do not embed their fonts, or embed them incompletely; the printer driver then prints boxes, question marks or a substitute font in place of the missing characters. It is common with accented characters and with files from older software.
A rasterized page has no fonts left at all: what your browser shows is exactly what goes to paper. When a document looks right on screen but wrong on paper, this is the quickest fix.
- Correct on screen, wrong on paper: Medium (150 DPI) is enough
- Small-print forms or technical drawings: High (300 DPI)
- Long document going out by email: Low (100 DPI)
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop people copying text from my PDF?
Choose the PDF on this page and press Rasterize. In the new file every page is an image, so the text cannot be selected or copied. Keep the original, editable PDF for yourself.
Why is the file bigger?
A page stored as text takes a few kilobytes; a picture of the same page stores every pixel. At 150 DPI a Letter page is usually 100 to 300 KB. Choose Low for a smaller file.
Do links and form fields still work?
No. The page is only an image, so clickable links, fillable fields and comments are not in the new file. If you want to lock a filled form but keep its text, the flatten PDF tool is the better choice.
Is my PDF sent to a server?
No. Drawing the pages and building the new PDF both happen inside your browser; the file never leaves this page.