# Convert a PDF to jpeg or tiff? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343 "2018-07-21T21:30:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/1 "2018-07-21T21:30:56Z")
I have several documents scanned from microfilm into PDFs. They are just text but the original pages were thin and the print on the back shows through as light gray. I can readily get rid of the gray by using a color replacer in a graphics program (I use IrfanView). This makes the page far easier to read. But IrfanView cannot open a PDF and Adobe Reader does not offer any options to save the PDF as anything else. Is there a conversion program that works well for this purpose? Older computer running Win XP. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/2 "2018-07-21T21:34:57Z")
Try [zamzar.com](http://zamzar.com) ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/3 "2018-07-21T21:35:35Z")
Can you take a screenshot and edit that in Irfanview? It might be easier if you zoomed in and took 4 screenshots and then pieced them back together in to one large image, for readability. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/4 "2018-07-21T21:36:47Z")
[https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&ei=XadTW7e6F8eE0wLtzZDQBA&q=convert+pdf+to+jpg&oq=convert+pdf+to+jpg&gs\_l=psy-ab.3..0i71k1l8.0.0.0.3689.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.R\_fzPKOXqmI](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&ei=XadTW7e6F8eE0wLtzZDQBA&q=convert+pdf+to+jpg&oq=convert+pdf+to+jpg&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0i71k1l8.0.0.0.3689.0.0.0.0.0.0.0.0..0.0....0...1c..64.psy-ab..0.0.0....0.R_fzPKOXqmI) ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2018, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/5 "2018-07-21T22:36:57Z")
Ghostscript will do this. Example: [http://blog.pengyifan.com/how-to-convert-pdf-to-tiff/](http://blog.pengyifan.com/how-to-convert-pdf-to-tiff/) > ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/6 "2018-07-22T00:12:44Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > Ghostscript will do this. Example: [http://blog.pengyifan.com/how-to-convert-pdf-to-tiff/](http://blog.pengyifan.com/how-to-convert-pdf-to-tiff/) > > [Export Specific Page of a PDF to TIFF - Super User](https://superuser.com/questions/293641/export-specific-page-of-a-pdf-to-tiff) And if you have the Postscript plugin for Irfanview and Ghostscript is installed, you can open PDFs in Irfanview. I don’t know if you can also edit them as images, as I’ve never tried to do that. ---
**Author:** ![yearofglad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/b782af/32.png) [@yearofglad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yearofglad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2018, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/7 "2018-07-22T01:45:01Z")
Can confirm that [Zamzar.com](http://Zamzar.com) is the way to go for something like this, if you don’t want to mess with other software or doing a workaround like screenshots. No account needed, just upload your documents and usually within a few minutes get a link to download your converted files. I’ve used Zamzar many, many times in the past for conversions of all types, and they DO convert pdf to jpg as well as pdf to tiff. ---
**Author:** ![Anaglyph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Anaglyph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaglyph)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 11:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/8 "2018-07-23T11:07:13Z")
To avoid this problem: When you scan pages that are too thin so that the text on the back shines through - place a black sheet behind the sheet to be scanned. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/9 "2018-07-23T12:51:28Z")
Since the question’s been answered, I can butt in and say that the thread provides fodder for the familiar joke: _PDF_ is an acronym for Pnonportable Document File. As in ‘pneumonia,’ the ‘P’ is silent. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2018, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/convert-a-pdf-to-jpeg-or-tiff/818343/10 "2018-07-23T13:27:07Z")
For archival purposes you are supposed to compromise and pick a conforming standard like PDF/A (and, naturally, there is more than one flavour of that).