PDF to JPG at the resolution you actually need

Export pages as JPG or PNG at 150, 300 or 600 DPI. This is the one place where pixels are the point, so we say it plainly: the output is an image, and the DPI is your choice.

Fixed DPI Default 300 DPI 1 image per page

The output is a picture — that is the format

JPG and PNG cannot hold text or vectors, so pages are rendered to pixels. Text stops being selectable and zooming stops being crisp. 300 DPI is the default because it is print quality for A4; 600 DPI is for large-format or archival use and quadruples the pixels.

When an image is the right answer

Sometimes you do not want a PDF at all. A page has to go into a slide deck, a chat thread, a marketplace listing or a print shop's upload box that only accepts JPG. A client cannot open PDFs on their phone and asks for “a picture of it”. A thumbnail is needed for a document preview. In those cases the pixel version is not a compromise, it is the deliverable.

What matters then is resolution, and that is the number most converters hide. A 72 DPI render looks fine on a 14-inch screen and is unusable when printed; a 300 DPI render is 4.3 times the pixels; 600 DPI is 17 times. Getting the number right the first time is cheaper than re-exporting after the print shop complains.

What each setting actually produces

For a standard A4 page (210 × 297 mm), the pixel dimensions and rough JPG sizes look like this. A dense page with photographs lands at the higher end; a text-only page compresses far better.

DPI	Pixels (A4)	Good for	Rough JPG size
150	1240 × 1754	Screen reading, chat, thumbnails	200–500 KB
300	2480 × 3508	Office printing, most print shops	0.8–2.5 MB
600	4960 × 7016	Large format, archival, fine detail	3–10 MB

How to convert

Add the PDFThe preview lists every page with its render size at the selected DPI, before anything is produced.
Pick DPI and formatJPG for photographs and small files; PNG when the page has sharp edges, transparency or text that must stay legible.
ExportOne image per page, named document-page-1.jpg and so on. Browsers may ask before saving several files.

FAQ

Can I get the text back out of the JPG?

Only with OCR, and OCR introduces its own errors. If you need editable text, use PDF to Text or PDF to Word on the original PDF instead of round-tripping through an image.

Why is 300 DPI the default?

Because it is the lowest resolution that reliably prints well on A4 and Letter. It is also the point where file sizes stay manageable for email attachments.

Is 600 DPI worth it?

For a poster, a fine-art reproduction or a document with tiny print that will be zoomed, yes. For a page that will be read on screen, no — you are quadrupling the pixels for no visible gain.