JPG or PNG: which format should you use for PDF pages?
JPG is usually smaller; PNG is usually sharper. The right choice depends on what is actually on the PDF page.
Use JPG for photographic pages
JPG uses lossy compression designed for continuous tones. It works well for photographs, textured backgrounds and scans where a small amount of visual approximation is acceptable. The files are typically much smaller than equivalent PNG images.
Repeated JPG editing can add visible artifacts around letters and edges. Export once from the best source available and avoid repeatedly opening and resaving the same image.
Use PNG for screenshots and sharp graphics
PNG preserves exact pixel values and handles flat colors, interface screenshots, diagrams and small text well. Edges remain crisp because the format does not create the block artifacts associated with JPG compression.
The tradeoff is size. A photo exported as PNG may be several times larger than a JPG without looking meaningfully better. Use PNG when precision matters more than transfer size.
Think about the next step
For a website thumbnail or email preview, JPG is often practical. For OCR, design review or a screenshot containing code, PNG usually gives the next tool cleaner input. If you are converting images back to PDF, choose the format closest to the source instead of converting between JPG and PNG unnecessarily.
PDF Creator exports every page separately and places multi-page results into a ZIP, so page order remains explicit and files are easy to reuse.
Use the workflow
Related PDF tools
PDF to JPG
Export each PDF page as a compact JPG image.
PDF to PNG
Export each PDF page as a sharp PNG image.
JPG to PDF
Combine JPG images into a single PDF document.
PNG to PDF
Combine PNG images into a single PDF document.