PNG to PDF

Screenshots are how people explain software: a bug report, a how-to for colleagues, proof of a payment, a record of what a page said on a certain day. They’re saved as PNG because PNG keeps text and interface lines perfectly sharp. When you combine them into a PDF, that sharpness should survive, and with this tool it does.

Lossless means pixel for pixel

Many converters save screenshots again as JPEG, which smears small text and adds fuzzy edges around interface elements. In Lossless mode, the default, every pixel of your PNG is stored unchanged, with the same kind of lossless compression PNG uses. Zoom in on the PDF and the letters look just like the original screenshot.

Paste screenshots straight in

You don’t need to save each screenshot as a file:

1. Take a screenshot with Windows + Shift + S (Windows), Cmd + Shift + Ctrl + 4 (Mac, copies to the clipboard) or your phone’s screenshot gesture.
2. Click on this page and press Ctrl + V (or Cmd + V).
3. The image joins the list. Repeat for each step.

Files can be dropped or chosen as usual, and pasted and saved images can be mixed.

Page size: same as image, or a paper size?

Same as image (the default) gives each page the exact proportions of its screenshot, displayed at 100% on a normal screen. It’s the best choice for documents read on screen, such as bug reports and online guides.

Choose A4 or US Letter when the PDF will be printed or should look uniform. Each screenshot is scaled to fit, centred, with landscape pages for wide captures when orientation is Auto. Add a small margin to keep content away from printer edges.

Transparency

Some PNGs, such as logos, icons and cut-out product photos, have transparent backgrounds. They stay transparent in the PDF and appear white. To place them on a color instead, pick it under Fill transparent areas.

When the PDF is too big

Full-screen screenshots on high-resolution displays are large. If the PDF must stay under an email or upload limit, choose Smaller file, which stores pages as high-quality JPEGs, or compress the finished PDF with Compress PDF. Text in JPEG pages is slightly softer but still readable.

A worked example: a bug report

1. Reproduce the bug, pasting a screenshot after each step: six images in the list.
2. Keep Same as image and Lossless.
3. Create the PDF and attach it to the ticket; developers can zoom into error messages without blur.

Related tools

To add arrows, text or highlights to a screenshot first, use Add Text to Image or the Screenshot Beautifier. For phone photos, use JPG to PDF. To make screenshot text searchable in the PDF, run it through OCR PDF.

Troubleshooting

• Pasting does nothing: click on an empty part of the page first, outside any text box, then press Ctrl + V. Some browsers only allow pasting images after a click on the page.
• Text in the PDF looks blurry when printed: screenshots have screen resolution. Print them smaller (A4 with a margin rather than full width), which makes the pixels denser.
• Pages are huge on a 4K screen: high-density screenshots have many pixels. Choose A4 or Letter to fit them to a paper size.