The short version

Drop JPGs and PNGs, drag them into order, pick a page size, download. JPGs are embedded byte for byte and PNGs stay lossless, so the PDF looks exactly like the images did. Its size is the sum of theirs plus a few kilobytes.

Choose Original for screen use and Letter or A4 for printing. If the PDF is too big to send, make it first and then compress it once; never shrink the images beforehand.

Both sides of an ID for a government form. A folder of receipt photos for an expense claim. Whiteboard shots from a meeting, in the order the meeting went. A dozen product photos for a client who wants "one file". The pattern is the same every time: images in, one PDF out, page order under your control. The interesting decisions are what size the pages should be and how to keep the result from being enormous.

How to combine images into a PDF

1

Add the images

Drop JPGs and PNGs onto the box, mixed freely, in any quantity. They are read into memory; nothing is uploaded.

2

Put them in order

Use the arrows on each row. The list order is the page order. Files arrive in the order the browser handed them over, which is not always the order you selected them in.

3

Pick a page size

Original makes each page exactly the image's size. Letter and A4 centre each image on a standard sheet with a small margin.

4

Press Create PDF and download

Each image is embedded with pdf-lib without re-encoding, and the file downloads.

Re-encoding of JPGs
None

The JPEG bytes are copied into the PDF as they are. No generation loss, ever.

PNG handling
Lossless

Screenshots and diagrams keep every pixel and their transparency.

Bytes uploaded
0

Photos of IDs, receipts and whiteboards stay on the device that took them.

Choosing a page size

Option by purposeWhich page size for which job
  • Photos, screenshots, on-screen viewingOriginal
  • Printing in North AmericaLetter
  • Printing almost everywhere elseA4
  • ID scans for a portalOriginal, or the size the portal names
  • Portfolios and product sheetsOriginal for screen, A4 for print
  • Original creates each page at the image's own pixel dimensions, so a 4000 × 3000 photo becomes a landscape page with no margin. Best for anything viewed on a screen, and for portals that want the image as it is.
  • Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and A4 (210 × 297 mm) place each image on a standard portrait page, scaled to fit with a small margin. A landscape photo sits in the middle of the sheet with white above and below, which is what a printer expects.
  • When in doubt, Original. If a printer or a portal later objects, come back and re-export as Letter or A4. The images are unchanged either way.

JPG and PNG in the same PDF

Both formats can share a document, and the reader does not care which page came from which. The choice affects only size and edge quality.

JPG pages

Photos and scans

  • Phone camera output and colour scans are already JPG
  • Embedded byte for byte, so nothing degrades
  • Compact for photographs
  • Soft edges on text if the source was a JPG screenshot
PNG pages

Screenshots, diagrams, logos

  • Every pixel preserved, hard edges stay hard
  • Transparency is kept
  • Larger files, especially for photographs
  • The right choice for anything with text in it

HEIC photos from an iPhone are decoded by a bundled decoder, so they work in Chrome, Firefox and Edge as well as Safari. The HEIC to PDF tool handles those in Safari, and on other browsers a one-line phone setting (Camera, Formats, Most Compatible) makes future photos come out as JPG.

Why the PDF is exactly as big as the photos

Because nothing is re-encoded, a 20 MB folder of phone photos makes a 20 MB PDF, plus a few kilobytes of structure. That is a feature: the alternative is a converter quietly recompressing your images and you not finding out until a client zooms in. It also means the file may be too large for the inbox it is heading to.

Try it

How big will the PDF be, and will it send?

Enter how many images and their average size. The estimate shows the PDF size, what Strong compression would bring it to, and whether it clears a Gmail attachment.

Compress after, never before
Make the PDF from the full-size images, then run it through Compress in Strong mode at Balanced. One pass of JPEG compression on the finished document gives a better result than compressing each photo first and then compressing the PDF again, because every pass costs quality. Keep the original PDF; send the compressed copy.

Getting the order right

OrderThree photos, one submission
1IMG_0412front of ID2IMG_0413back of ID3IMG_0398proof of addressThe list order becomes the page order, whatever the filenames say
Camera filenames count up in the order the photos were taken, which is rarely the order a form wants them in. Arrange the list, then create.
  • Add everything first, then arrange. Reordering is quicker with the full set on screen.
  • Ignore the filenames. The tool does not sort by name. The list is the order.
  • Check the first and last page of the result. Those are the two that matter most to whoever opens it.
  • Watch for sideways phone photos. Phones often store a portrait shot as a landscape image plus an orientation flag. The tool embeds the pixels as stored and does not read that flag, so such a photo comes out sideways. Fix it in one press with Rotate PDF afterwards, or open and re-save the photo on the phone first.

Why the photos never leave your phone

The images people turn into PDFs are passports, driving licences, bank cards, medical letters and receipts with card numbers on them. Online converters that upload photos to build the PDF end up holding a copy of exactly the documents identity fraud is built from.

Two ways to build the PDFOne of them never transmits a photo
Your devicePDFin memoryBrowser engineembedDownload0 bytes leavethe machineTypical online toolPDFon diskuploadServercopies filedownloadA full copy now sits on hardware you do notcontrol, under a policy you cannot audit
pdf-lib embeds each image inside the tab. The images are read into memory, the PDF is written there, and the download is the only copy that exists.

The tool is right above

Everything on this page runs in your browser. Scroll up, drop the file, and keep it on your machine.

Jump to the tool

Common questions

The questions that come up with a folder of photos selected.

01Which image formats work?

JPG and PNG. HEIC from an iPhone needs the HEIC to PDF tool in Safari, or a phone setting that saves future photos as JPG.

02What does the Original page size do?

Each page is created at the exact pixel dimensions of its image, with no margin. Best for on-screen viewing and for portals that want the image as it is.

03When should I pick Letter or A4?

When the PDF will be printed. Letter in the US and Canada, A4 almost everywhere else. Each image is centred on the page with a small margin.

04Does converting reduce quality?

No. JPGs are embedded without re-encoding and PNGs stay lossless. The PDF shows exactly the pixels you gave it.

05Why is the PDF so large?

Because it contains the images unchanged. Twenty 3 MB photos make a 60 MB PDF. Compress the finished PDF once in Strong mode if it needs to be smaller.

06How many images can I combine?

A few hundred before browser memory becomes the limit. Very large batches are easier in two PDFs merged afterwards.

07Why is a portrait photo sideways in the PDF?

The phone stored it as a landscape image with an orientation flag, and the tool embeds the pixels as stored without reading the flag. Rotate that page with the Rotate tool afterwards, or re-save the photo on the phone so the pixels are upright.

08Does it work on a phone?

Yes. Safari and Chrome on iOS and Android run it with the same interface, and it is the quickest way to turn camera photos into one file without an app.

09Is it free?

Free. Every tool, unlimited use, no signup.