Mark Stephens Mark has been working with Java and PDF since 1999 and is a big NetBeans fan. He enjoys speaking at conferences. He has an MA in Medieval History and a passion for reading.

How to Rasterize PDF files

52 sec read

Convert PDF to Image

What is rasterizing a PDF file?

When you rasterize a PDF file, you convert the pages of the document into image files. The advantage of rasterizing the file is that the pages cannot be edited and a PDF viewer is no longer needed to display the pages. The disadvantage is that you lose all the features of the PDF file and Viewer and have all the limitations of a bitmap display.

To rasterize a PDF file, some additional software is needed. We will show you the process using JPedal and Java.

How to Rasterize a PDF file

Step 1 Download a trial copy of JPedal.
Step 2 Make sure your Computer has Java installed.
Step 3 Open up a Command line or console window
Step 4 Type in this command (adding in your own values).

java -jar jpedal.jar --convert "inputFileOrDir" "outputDir" png

 

If you are a Java Developer, you can also add this functionality into your own code.

How to Rasterize a PDF file in Java

Step 1 Download a trial copy of JPedal and add it to your IDE.
Step 2 Create a File handle, InputStream or URL pointing to the PDF file

ConvertPagesToImages extract=new ConvertPagesToImages(path);

Step 3 Include a password if file password protected

extract.setPassword("password");

Step 4 Open the PDF file

if (extract.openPDFFile()) {

Step 5 Iterate over the pages

int pageCount = extract.getPageCount();
  for (int page = 1; page <= pageCount; page++) {
      BufferedImage img = extract.getPageAsImage(page, hasAlpha);
  }
}

Step 6 Close the PDF file

 extract.closePDFfile();


Do you need to...

Display PDF files in Java Apps →

Convert PDF Files to image →

Mark Stephens Mark has been working with Java and PDF since 1999 and is a big NetBeans fan. He enjoys speaking at conferences. He has an MA in Medieval History and a passion for reading.