Resolution is not what you think it is
So there are two different ceilings. If your export is blurry, raise the DPI and look again: if it sharpens, you were exporting too low; if it does not, the image inside the PDF is the limit and no setting will fix it.
Choosing the output
Screenshots, diagrams, charts, logos, anything with flat colour or transparent areas.
PDFnoted: No compression artefacts, so text stays crisp, and transparency is preserved for figures placed on coloured backgrounds.
Photographs, scans, continuous-tone images.
PDFnoted: Much smaller files for photographic content, with artefacts that are invisible in continuous tone and very visible around text.
One figure out of a long report.
PDFnoted: Export a range or a list of page numbers rather than rendering the whole document.
A reviewed contract with highlights and comments.
PDFnoted: Annotations are rendered as part of the page. If the exported image is going to a client, check whether the review markups should be visible.
How PDFnoted exports
- Read the page geometryPage sizes are read from the document so the export matches them rather than guessing.
- Render at your resolutionVector content renders sharply; placed images are limited by their own resolution, and the export does not pretend otherwise.
- Encode in the format you chosePNG lossless with alpha, or JPG with quality you control.
- Download individually or as an archiveOne file per page, or a single archive for a batch.
Compared with the usual options
| Screenshot / snipping tool | Typical online converter | PDFnoted | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Where the file goes | Local | Uploaded to a server | Your browser |
| Resolution you control | Screen only | Sometimes | Yes |
| PNG with transparency | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Selected pages only | Manual | Sometimes | Yes |
| Matches the page size | No | Sometimes | Yes |
| Batch export as archive | No | Sometimes | Yes |
Frequently asked questions
Why are my exported images blurry?
Because the PDF did not contain enough detail to begin with. Exporting at 300 dpi does not invent information: if a page holds a 96 dpi image, that is the ceiling, and the export will look soft no matter what you set. Vector content — text, lines, shapes — renders sharply at any resolution. Raise the export DPI and see whether it improves; if it does not, the source image is the limit.
What resolution should I use?
For screen use — a slide, a webpage, a support ticket — 150 dpi is plenty and keeps files small. For print, 300 dpi. For a figure that will be zoomed into, go higher, but remember that it only helps if the source has the detail.
JPG or PNG?
PNG for anything with flat colour, text, diagrams or transparency — it is lossless, so text stays crisp. JPG for photographs and scans, where its lossy compression is far more efficient and the artefacts are invisible in continuous-tone images. A screenshot saved as JPG is the classic mistake: the compression smears the text.
Can I export only some pages?
Yes. Give a range or a list of page numbers and only those are rendered — which is what you want when you need one chart out of a hundred-page report.
Will annotations and form values appear in the image?
Annotations are rendered as part of the page, so highlights, comments and stamps appear in the exported image. This matters when you are exporting a reviewed document: decide whether the markups should be in the output before you export, not after.
Does transparency survive?
In PNG, yes — transparent areas are preserved, which is what you want for logos and figures placed on a coloured background. JPG has no alpha channel, so transparency is flattened, usually to white.
Is there a limit on pages?
No quota. Rendering is fast, but high-resolution export of a long document produces very large files, so pick the resolution for the actual use.
Can I extract the original images instead of rendering the page?
That is a different operation — pulling the embedded image objects out of the file at their native resolution, rather than rendering the page as a picture. If you want the photo that was placed in the document, extract it; if you want the page as it looks, render it.
Try it on your own file
Upload a document and see what comes back. Free to start, nothing to install.
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Sources and further reading: ISO 32000 (PDF specification); Adobe PDF Reference; Schema.org structured data; Aggarwal et al., GEO: Generative Engine Optimization (arXiv:2311.09735). This page is a technical guide, not legal advice.