Knowing how to convert PDF to PNG, or to JPG and TIFF, is a routine but high-stakes task in textile production. A supplier sends a catalog as a PDF, a tech pack arrives as a multi-page document, and you need clean, print-ready images of each page. Get the DPI and format right and every page lands crisp. Get them wrong and the whole catalog prints soft. This tutorial covers rasterizing each page correctly, choosing between formats, and batching a full document in one pass.
Why a PDF Is Not an Image
A PDF is a page-description format. It can hold vector art, embedded fonts, and high-resolution raster content, all at once, with no fixed pixel dimension. PNG, JPG, and TIFF are raster formats: a fixed grid of pixels. Converting means rasterizing, which is choosing the resolution at which the page becomes pixels. That single decision, the DPI, drives everything about print quality downstream.
Set the Right DPI
DPI is dots per inch. The more dots you rasterize into each inch, the more detail the print holds. The standard targets:
| DPI | Use | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 72 to 96 | Screen only | Never send this to print; it looks soft on paper |
| 150 | On-screen review, proofs | Acceptable for viewing, not for final print |
| 300 | Standard print | The professional target where pixels disappear |
| 600 | Archival, fine line art | Worth it for masters; overkill for most pages |
The trap is pushing far above what you need. Rasterizing a standard catalog page at 1200 DPI does not make it print better; it makes a file so large it can choke layout software with no visible benefit. Match the DPI to the job. For the full logic of resolution and print, see our guide to DPI for fabric printing explained.
Choose the Format
The three raster formats each have a clear home:
- PNG is lossless. It keeps sharp edges perfect, so it is the right choice for pages with text, logos, line art, and tech-pack diagrams.
- JPG is smaller but lossy. Use it for photographic catalog pages where file size matters and there are no crisp edges to smear.
- TIFF is lossless, print-shop-safe, and supports multiple pages in one file. It is the format to hand a commercial printer or archive.
If you are unsure which lossless format a supplier expects, our comparison of TIFF versus PSD versus PNG for textile printing breaks down the tradeoffs.
Convert Per Page, in Batch
A catalog is not one image; it is many. A good converter rasterizes each page as its own numbered file so a 20-page catalog becomes 20 images in order. That is per-page export, and doing it in batch means you set the DPI and format once and process the whole document in a single pass.
- Load the PDF and confirm the page count.
- Set the output format (PNG for spec pages, JPG for photo pages).
- Set DPI to 300 for print.
- Export per-page so filenames keep the page order.
- Spot-check the first and last page at 100 percent zoom before sending.
Our converter tool handles multi-page PDFs, exports each page to PNG, JPG, or TIFF at your chosen DPI, and keeps the page order in the filenames so nothing gets shuffled on the way to the mill.
Tech Packs and Spec Sheets
Tech packs are the highest-stakes conversion case. They are dense with fine lines, dimension callouts, and small text, exactly the content JPG compression smears. Always rasterize tech-pack pages as PNG at 300 DPI, and keep the sequence intact so the mill can read the spec in order.
- PNG over JPG, always, for the line work.
- 300 DPI so measurements and callouts stay legible.
- Numbered filenames so page order survives the handoff.
If you are assembling the spec itself, our walkthrough on how to make a textile tech pack spec sheet covers what belongs on each page before you rasterize it.
Avoid Blurry Output
The single most common complaint after conversion is a blurry PNG. The cause is nearly always a DPI that was set too low at rasterization. Once a page is rasterized at 96 DPI it is a screen-resolution image; upscaling that blurry PNG later cannot recover detail that was never captured. The fix is to go back to the original PDF and re-export at 300 DPI.
The broad principles of print resolution are documented in the Wikipedia entry on image resolution. If a file has already gone soft and you cannot re-export, our guide to fixing blurry textile designs before printing covers the recovery options.
What to Read Next
Conversion is one link in the prepress chain. Next, work out how large a converted image can actually print in our DPI and print-size guide, understand the resolution numbers in DPI for fabric printing explained, and pick the right archival format with TIFF versus PSD versus PNG. Convert once at the correct DPI and you never fight a soft catalog again.
