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How to convert PNG to PDF on Windows

By DeckleUpdated

To convert PNG to PDF on Windows, open PNG to PDF in your browser, drag the PNG files onto the page, put them in order, choose Fit inside A4 or Match each image and choose Create PDF. Each PNG becomes one page with its pixels kept exactly, so screenshots and diagrams stay sharp. The PNG files are not changed.

PNG to PDF
Illustrated document pages containing a chart, photograph and text.
Illustration · a document can contain more than its visible pages.

How to convert PNG to PDF on Windows with Deckle

  1. Open PNG to PDF in Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox.
  2. Drag the PNG files from File Explorer onto the page, or choose Select files. Snipping Tool saves each snip to your Screenshots folder automatically, as Microsoft explains in Use Snipping Tool to capture screenshots.
  3. Under Images to include, check the ticks and set the order with the up and down arrows.
  4. Press the rotate button on any image that needs turning.
  5. Under Page size, choose Fit inside A4 and set Orientation and Margin in points, or keep Match each image.
  6. Optional: set Output PDF name.
  7. Choose Create PDF and download the file.

The result screen confirms how many pages the PDF has, one per ticked PNG.

Screenshots and page size

A full-screen screenshot from a 1920 × 1080 display is 1920 × 1080 pixels. With Match each image, that becomes a page of 1920 × 1080 points, about 27 × 15 inches. It looks normal on screen but prints tiny.

For anything you will print, attach to a report or upload to a form, choose Fit inside A4:

Screenshot Orientation Margin in points
Full screen or a wide window Landscape Narrow
A tall dialog or a phone screenshot Portrait Narrow
A diagram to print Either Standard

The image shrinks to fit without being cropped, and zooming in on the PDF shows every pixel.

What PNG to PDF keeps

  • Lossless pixels. The image is stored with lossless compression. Nothing is turned into JPEG, so text in screenshots has no blur or artefacts.
  • Transparency. Transparent areas stay transparent in the PDF, so they show whatever the viewer draws behind the page, usually white.
  • The picture, not the words. Text in a screenshot is part of the image and is not selectable in the PDF.

Animated, interlaced and 16-bit PNGs are refused. Open them in an image editor and save them as a standard 8-bit PNG first. A PNG over 16 megapixels is scaled down to 16 megapixels and kept as PNG, so transparency stays; one over 64 megapixels is refused. See how to convert PNG diagrams to PDF for more on diagrams.

Build a step-by-step guide from screenshots

Screenshots of a process make a useful PDF for colleagues:

  1. Take the screenshots in order.
  2. Add them all to PNG to PDF and check the list matches the steps.
  3. Choose Fit inside A4 and Landscape.
  4. Name the file after the task, such as submit-expenses-steps.pdf, and choose Create PDF.

To add a typed cover page, save it as a PDF from Word and combine the two with Merge PDFs. See how to merge PDF files on Windows.

Tips

  • Use JPG to PDF for photos. Photos saved as JPEG belong in JPG to PDF, which keeps them unchanged. See how to convert JPG to PDF on Windows.
  • Crop screenshots before converting. A screenshot of one window is easier to read on a page than the whole desktop. Snipping Tool's Window mode captures a single window, and its Image crop button trims a snip after you take it.
  • Check the order. Files are listed in the order you added them.
  • Remove sensitive details first. Screenshots often show email addresses or open tabs. Crop them out before converting.

Frequently asked questions

Is PNG to PDF lossless?

Yes. The pixels are kept exactly and stored with lossless compression.

Can I combine several PNGs into one PDF?

Yes. Add them all, arrange them, and choose Create PDF. Each PNG becomes its own page.

Why was my PNG refused?

It is animated, interlaced, 16-bit or over 64 megapixels. The message says which.

Do my files leave my PC?

No. The conversion runs in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

Will the PDF be bigger than my PNG files?

It can be bigger or smaller. The pixels are compressed again for the PDF without losing detail, so the size changes. Screenshots of text and simple diagrams usually stay small; photographs saved as PNG are better converted from JPEG with JPG to PDF.

Related tools

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