Screenshots, charts and the limits of PNG to PDF
PNG is the format of the screen. Screenshots, charts exported from a spreadsheet, diagrams, interface mock-ups, logos and icons are usually PNG, because its lossless compression keeps sharp edges, thin lines and small text clean. PNG to PDF is made for gathering those into one document: the steps of a bug report, a set of charts for a meeting, the screens of an order confirmation. Add PNG images, put them in order and tap Save PDF.
If your images are camera photos, they are usually JPG, and JPG to PDF is made for them. For a mix of JPG, PNG, WebP and HEIC, use Image to PDF.
Screenshots: what to watch for
- Long scrolling screenshots go in at full size, up to the device limit of 16,777,216 pixels. On an A4 page they become a thin strip; Fit to image gives them a page of their own shape. With Smaller file, their short side stays at least 600 px, so the text remains readable. Page size for PNG images has the numbers.
- What you can see stays. Names in a chat, an email address in a header, the clock and notifications in the status bar are part of the picture and go into the PDF. Crop or cover them before you add the image.
Animated PNGs
An animated PNG (APNG) can’t play inside a PDF, so the animation does not go in. PNG to PDF uses the image’s own still picture instead: the one any viewer that doesn’t animate shows. In most animated PNGs that is the first frame. The card says Animated PNG: only its still image goes in, and the same frame is chosen in Chromium-based browsers and in Safari. If you want a different frame, save it as a separate PNG first.
Colour
Your browser decodes each PNG and applies the colour information inside it — an embedded ICC profile, an sRGB marker or a gamma value — so the PDF holds the colours your browser shows. The profile itself is not embedded in the PDF; the pixels are stored as plain RGB or grey.
- An ordinary sRGB PNG looks the same in the PDF; we measured no difference.
- A PNG with an unusual gamma or a wide-gamut profile, such as a screenshot from a wide-gamut display, is stored the way your browser renders it. Extremely saturated colours outside sRGB can be clipped to the nearest sRGB colour.
Hidden data that is removed
A PNG can carry more than its pixels, in chunks you never see. None of these reach the PDF:
- Text chunks: comments, author, software and XMP data.
- EXIF data: camera details, GPS location and dates, when a PNG has them.
- The ICC profile bytes, once the colours have been applied, and your file names.
The PDF itself has no title, author or creation details filled in. It is named after the day it was made, for example images-2026-10-03.pdf. Nothing visible in a picture is removed.
Text stays a picture
PNG to PDF does not recognise text; it doesn’t run OCR. The words in a screenshot stay a picture of words: you can read them, but you can’t search for them, select them or copy them, and a screen reader can’t read them aloud. If you need the text itself, copy it from the original app.
Your files stay on your device
The images are read and the PDF is built in your browser. Nothing is uploaded, and your original PNG files are not changed.
What we haven’t tested on real devices
We measured this product in Chromium and in WebKit, the engine behind Safari, using automated browsers. We have not yet measured on real iPhones and Android phones:
- how many large images a phone’s memory can handle at once — if a phone struggles, make the PDF in parts;
- the share sheet behind Share;
- whether the download starts by itself. If it doesn’t, use Download PDF.