Quick answer
Upload the PDF to a PDF-to-image converter, choose JPG for smaller files or PNG for crisp text, pick a resolution (150 dpi for screens, 300 dpi for print) and download one image per page. Screenshots work for a quick single page, but they're limited to your screen's resolution and often look blurry when zoomed.
Sometimes a PDF has to become a picture. An application portal accepts only JPG uploads. You want to put one page of a report into a slide, share a page in a chat app that doesn't preview PDFs, post a flyer on social media, or show a page on a website. Converting a page to an image is simple, but the result is often blurry because of the wrong resolution or format. Here's how to get it right.
Resolution: how many pixels you need
When a PDF page becomes an image, it has to be drawn at a specific number of dots per inch (DPI). More DPI means more pixels: sharper, but larger files.
| Resolution | A4 page in pixels (approx.) | US Letter in pixels (approx.) | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 DPI | 595 × 842 | 612 × 792 | Thumbnails, small previews |
| 150 DPI | 1240 × 1754 | 1275 × 1650 | Websites, slides, chat, upload portals |
| 300 DPI | 2480 × 3508 | 2550 × 3300 | Printing, zooming into small text, archives |
Doubling the DPI makes about four times as many pixels, so 300 DPI images are roughly four times the size of 150 DPI images. If an upload form has a size limit, start at 150 DPI.
Format: JPG or PNG
JPG compresses images by discarding detail your eye barely notices. It's perfect for photos and keeps files small. On pages with sharp black text on white, JPG can leave faint smudges around letters, visible when you zoom in.
PNG stores every pixel exactly. Text and lines stay crisp, but files are larger, especially for pages with photos.
A simple rule: text, tables, diagrams → PNG; photos, flyers, scanned pages → JPG. If a portal demands JPG specifically, use JPG at 150 or 300 DPI and the text will still be fine for reading.
Step by step: convert a PDF to images with MyPDFDone
- 01Decide which pages you needIf you only need a few pages from a long PDF, consider splitting them out first. You'll get fewer images to sort through.
- 02Upload the PDF to PDF to JPGOpen MyPDFDone's PDF to JPG tool and drop your file on the upload box. Files up to 100 MB are accepted.
- 03Choose JPG or PNGPick JPG for photos and smaller files, or PNG for pages that are mostly text, diagrams or screenshots, where sharp edges matter.
- 04Choose the resolutionUse 72 DPI for small previews, 150 DPI for screens, slides and uploads, and 300 DPI for printing or zooming into detail.
- 05Check the preview and downloadCheck the free preview, then download for $2.99, paid once. A multi-page PDF gives a ZIP with one image per page; a one-page PDF gives a single image.
Converting and the preview are free. If you download, you pay a one-time $2.99 for that file, and the whole ZIP of page images counts as one download. There is no subscription, and files are deleted automatically 2 hours after upload.
Only need one page?
Converting a 40-page PDF gives you 40 images. If you only need page 7, split it out first with Split PDF by typing 7 as the range, unzip the result, and convert that one-page PDF. You'll get exactly one image. Our guide on how to split a PDF and extract pages explains page ranges in detail.
Free ways to convert PDF pages to images
Mac
Open the PDF in Preview, go to the page you want, and choose File > Export. Pick JPEG or PNG as the format and set the resolution (for example 150 or 300 pixels per inch). Preview exports one page at a time, so this is practical for a few pages, not forty.
Windows
Windows has no built-in PDF-to-image converter. For a single page, open the PDF, zoom so the page fills the screen, and capture it with the Snipping Tool (Windows key + Shift + S). The image can only be as sharp as your screen, which is often fine for chat but not for print.
iPhone and iPad
Take a screenshot of the page while viewing it full screen. For better quality, zoom in and take several screenshots of parts of the page. Like on Windows, the result is limited to your screen's resolution.
Android
The same screenshot approach works: open the PDF, fit the page to the screen and capture it with your phone's screenshot buttons. Some PDF viewer apps also include a "share page as image" option.
Common uses and the right settings
- Upload portal that only accepts JPG: JPG, 150 DPI. Check the size limit; if it's strict, try 72 DPI only for pages with large text.
- Slide in a presentation: PNG, 150 DPI for text-heavy pages, JPG for photo pages.
- Social media post or flyer: JPG, 150 DPI. Crop it afterwards to the platform's preferred shape.
- Printing a page as a picture: PNG or JPG at 300 DPI.
- Website: JPG at 150 DPI, then resize to the width your site displays.
What you lose when a PDF becomes an image
An image is a flat picture. That means:
- No selectable text. You can't search, copy or edit text in the image. Keep the PDF as the original.
- No links or form fields. Clickable links and fillable fields become plain pictures.
- Fixed quality. Zooming past the resolution you chose makes pixels visible, so choose the higher setting if in doubt.
If you need to edit the content rather than show it, converting to Word is the better route; see how to convert PDF to Word and keep the formatting. And if you later need to turn images back into a document, JPG to PDF combines them into one PDF; our guide on converting photos to PDF has tips for that direction.
Final check
- The images are sharp when you zoom in to the size people will view them.
- The file sizes fit any upload limit.
- You have exactly the pages you need, numbered in order.
- Text-heavy pages use PNG, or JPG at 150 DPI or more.
Frequently asked questions
150 DPI is right for most screen uses: websites, slides, chat and upload forms. Use 300 DPI if the image will be printed or if readers need to zoom into small text. 72 DPI is only for thumbnails and previews.
PNG keeps text and lines perfectly sharp and has no compression artifacts, but files are larger. JPG is much smaller and best for photos, but can show faint smudges around text. For text-heavy pages, PNG usually looks better.
PDF to JPG converts every page. For a multi-page PDF you get one ZIP file containing one image per page, numbered in page order. Unzip it to get the individual images.
Yes. Split out the page you need with Split PDF first, then convert that one-page PDF. You'll get a single image instead of a ZIP.
No. An image is a picture of the page; text inside it can't be selected, searched or edited. Keep the PDF if you need the text, or run OCR on the images later.
Yes, with JPG to PDF. Note that the new PDF will contain images only, not the original text, so it won't be searchable unless you run OCR.