What happens when you convert PPM to PDF
- ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, reads the PPM on our conversion server and places it on a PDF page the size of the image, stored losslessly.
- This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.
How to convert PPM to PDF online
- Press "Choose PPM files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
- There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
- Press "Convert to PDF". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
- Save each PDF with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your PPM and the PDF by then.
Why convert PPM to PDF?
PPM files usually come from output of scientific tools, camera and video software, and image-processing scripts. People convert them to PDF because a PDF looks the same on every device and is what forms, portals and printers ask for.
In short, PPM is good at what it was made for, and PDF is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. PPM does not open in browsers; GIMP, IrfanView and Photoshop open it, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert PPM to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your PPM files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the PPM files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PDF files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose PPM files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PDF appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose PPM files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PDF is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for PPM to PDF
There are no settings: the image keeps its full size.
Keep the PPM as your original, and convert from it again if you need another format.
PPM vs PDF: the differences
| PPM | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Portable Pixmap | Portable Document Format |
| Type | image | document |
| Created by | Jef Poskanzer (Netpbm) | Adobe |
| First released | 1988 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | No | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Vector |
| Colour | 8 or 16 bits per channel, RGB | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; GIMP, IrfanView and Photoshop open it | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | output of scientific tools, camera and video software, and image-processing scripts | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | image/x-portable-pixmap | application/pdf |
About PPM and PDF files
What is a PPM file?
PPM is about as simple as an image format gets: a short header with the width, height and maximum value, then the red, green and blue value of every pixel, uncompressed. That makes it easy for programs to write and very large on disk.
What is a PDF file?
A PDF fixes the layout of every page so it looks the same on any device. Converting a PDF to an image renders each page to pixels; converting an image to PDF wraps it as a page.
PPM to PDF not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Save the image at a smaller size first.
- "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
- "This file is not really in PPM format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .ppm is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert PPM to PDF from the command line
ImageMagick does the same on your own computer:
magick input.ppm output.pdfConverting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.
PPM to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting PPM to PDF?
No. PDF is stored losslessly, so every pixel of the PPM is kept.
Why is the PDF a different size from the PPM?
Often larger than the PPM, because the pixels are stored in the PDF without lossy compression, and PDF adds its own page description around them.
Are my PPM files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful PPM to PDF conversion needs ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, which cannot run in a browser. The file travels over an encrypted connection, is converted in a private temporary folder, and is deleted together with the PDF as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several PPM files to PDF at once?
Yes. Select or drop as many files as you like; they are converted one after another and each gets its own download button.
How do I open a PDF file?
PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer. PDF is common for documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files.
Is this PPM to PDF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up and no watermark. Because this conversion uses our server, there is a fair-use limit of 25 MB per file and a number of files per hour, which stops the service being overloaded.
Can I convert PPM to PDF on my phone?
Yes. It works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. The conversion happens on our server, so it is as fast on a phone as on a computer; the PDF is saved to your Downloads folder.