How to crop an image and save it as a PDF
- Open a picture — JPG, PNG, HEIC and the rest all work.
- Crop it. For several pages from one picture, add crops to a Crop Set; each one becomes a page.
- In the PDF panel choose the page size — fitted to the picture, A4, Letter or Legal — the margin, and how the picture sits on the page.
- Optionally set a size limit for the whole PDF, such as 500 KB for an upload form.
- Press Crop Picture. The PDF is made in your browser; download or share it.
The JPEG goes in untouched
A PDF can carry a JPEG exactly as it is. Many converters ignore that, decode the picture and compress it a second time, so a scan or photo comes out softer than the file you had. Here a JPG crop is written into the PDF byte for byte, and the result line says so. Combined with Lossless JPG — which cuts the original on its own block grid without re-encoding — the pixels in the PDF are the very pixels your camera or scanner saved.
Page size follows the job. “Fit to picture” makes each page exactly the size of its picture at the DPI it carries (96 when it has none), which is what most online forms want. A4, Letter and Legal pages turn to landscape for wide pictures and place the picture fitted, filled or at its actual size, inside a margin of up to 20 mm.
For forms that ask for a PDF
Upload portals often want a single PDF under a size limit. Set the print size and DPI first in the “Print size · DPI · KB limit” section — the same controls as crop to size — then turn on the PDF size limit; the encoder settles the quality so the whole file fits. Nothing is uploaded while you do it.
Frequently asked questions
Does the picture lose quality in the PDF?
Not from the PDF step: a JPG crop goes in as its own JPEG data, with no second compression. Turn on Lossless JPG and even the crop is not re-compressed — see lossless crop.
Can this crop pages of an existing PDF?
No. This turns pictures into a PDF; it does not open or crop pages inside an existing PDF.
How do I put several pictures in one PDF?
From one picture, use a Crop Set — each crop is a page. For many pictures, use batch crop and press “All as one PDF” after the run.
Can I keep the PDF under a KB limit?
Yes. Tick “Keep the PDF under” and type the limit; the pictures are re-encoded at the highest quality that fits, and the result says whether it does.
What about transparent PNGs?
Kept — PNG crops are stored as lossless pixels with a soft mask, so the page shows through.
Is anything uploaded?
No. The crop and the PDF are both made in this tab.