Why Designers Convert PDF to PNG
PDF is a great format for sharing finished documents, but design tools need raster images. Here are the most common reasons designers convert PDF to PNG:
- 1.Using client assets in Figma or Sketch. Clients often send logos, brand guidelines, or layouts as PDFs. Most design tools can't import PDFs directly, so converting to PNG is the fastest path to getting that content into your canvas.
- 2.Creating social media content from documents. Marketing teams frequently need to turn report pages, infographics, or one-pagers into Instagram posts, LinkedIn carousels, or Twitter images.
- 3.Building web pages with document previews. Embedding a PNG preview of a PDF on a website is far more performant and accessible than embedding the PDF itself.
- 4.Creating mockups and case studies. Designers often need to show PDF documents inside device frames, browser windows, or portfolio layouts. A high-quality PNG drops right into these compositions.
Why PNG (Not JPG) for Design Work
For design workflows, PNG is almost always the better choice over JPG. Here's why:
| Feature | Why It Matters for Design |
|---|---|
| Lossless quality | No compression artifacts around text, logos, or edges. What you convert is exactly what you get. |
| Transparency | Layer PNG images over backgrounds without white rectangles. Essential for overlays, mockups, and compositions. |
| Sharp text | Text in PDFs stays perfectly crisp as PNG. JPG smudges text edges, which is immediately visible in design presentations. |
| Color accuracy | PNG preserves exact colors without the subtle color shifts that JPG compression introduces. Critical for brand work. |
Want a deeper comparison? Read our full JPG vs PNG guide.
Choosing the Right Resolution for Your Project
The resolution you choose determines how much pixel data you have to work with. Here's a guide for common design scenarios:
| Project Type | Recommended DPI | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Web pages & blogs | 150 DPI | Balances quality and page load speed |
| Social media posts | 150-200 DPI | Platforms compress images anyway; 200 DPI gives headroom |
| Figma / Canva projects | 300 DPI | Enough pixels for zooming and Retina displays |
| Print materials | 300 DPI | Industry standard for professional print quality |
| Large format / posters | 300-600 DPI | Viewed from a distance, but higher DPI avoids visible pixels |
Using PDF-to-PNG in Figma
Figma doesn't support direct PDF import, which makes PDF-to-PNG conversion essential for Figma users. Here's the recommended workflow:
Convert at 300 DPI for flexibility
Use OmnisPDF's converter at 300 DPI. This gives you enough resolution to scale the image up or down within Figma without losing quality. An A4 page at 300 DPI produces a PNG that's roughly 2480 x 3508 pixels.
Drag and drop into your Figma file
Simply drag the PNG file from your desktop into your Figma canvas. Figma preserves the full resolution. You can then resize, crop, mask, or apply effects to the image.
Use as a reference layer
Many designers place the PDF-as-PNG on a locked background layer and trace over it to recreate the layout in native Figma components. This is especially useful when rebuilding client documents as interactive prototypes.
Using PDF-to-PNG in Canva
While Canva can import PDFs directly, converting to PNG first gives you more control:
Why convert instead of importing directly?
Canva's PDF import sometimes rearranges fonts and layouts. Converting to PNG first locks the visual exactly as it appears in the original PDF — no font substitutions, no layout shifts. What you see is what you get.
Upload PNGs to your Canva Uploads folder
After converting with OmnisPDF, upload the PNG images to Canva's "Uploads" section. From there, drag them into any Canva design — presentations, social posts, posters, or documents.
Using PDF-to-PNG for Web Projects
Converting PDF pages to PNG is a common pattern for web developers and content creators:
Document previews on websites
Instead of embedding a full PDF viewer (which is heavy and often breaks on mobile), convert the first page to PNG and display it as a preview image with a "Download PDF" link. This loads faster and works on every device.
Blog post images from reports
Pull charts, tables, or key pages from PDF reports and embed them as PNG images in blog posts. This makes the content accessible and shareable without requiring readers to download a PDF.
Optimize file size for web
For web use, 150 DPI is typically enough. If the PNGs are still large, compress the original PDF before converting to reduce embedded image data. You can also use WebP conversion for even smaller files.
When to Extract Images Instead of Converting Pages
Sometimes you don't need the full page as an image — you just need specific graphics embedded in the PDF:
- ✓ Need a logo from a PDF? Use Extract Images from PDF to pull out individual images at their original resolution.
- ✓ Need the full page layout? Use PDF to PNG to capture the entire page as rendered.
- ✓ Need both? Extract individual images for logo and photo assets, then convert full pages for layout reference. Both tools are free on OmnisPDF.