What happens when you convert PSD to PDF
- ImageMagick, the open-source image toolkit, reads the flattened copy of the whole picture that Photoshop saves inside every PSD, the image you see with all layers visible, on our conversion server, and places it on a PDF page the size of the image, stored losslessly.
- Layers are not exported one by one: the result is the finished picture. A PSD saved with Maximize Compatibility turned off in Photoshop may have no usable flattened copy, and then comes out blank; resave it with that option on.
- 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 PSD to PDF online
- Press "Choose PSD 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 PSD and the PDF by then.
Why convert PSD to PDF?
PSD files usually come from Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files. 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, PSD 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. PSD does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert PSD to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your PSD 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 PSD files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PDF files land in Downloads. Preview can do single images too: open the file, choose File, then Export, and pick PDF.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose PSD 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 PSD 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 PSD to PDF
There are no settings: the image keeps its full size.
If you need a single layer rather than the whole picture, hide the other layers in Photoshop and save a copy first.
PSD vs PDF: the differences
| PSD | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Adobe Photoshop document | Portable Document Format |
| Type | image | document |
| Created by | Adobe | Adobe |
| First released | 1990 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Vector |
| Colour | up to 32 bits per channel, in RGB, CMYK, Lab or greyscale | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| What it holds | layers, masks, adjustment and text layers, plus a flattened copy of the whole image | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; Photoshop opens it, and GIMP, Affinity Photo and Photopea read most PSD files | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | Photoshop artwork, photo retouching, mock-ups and design files | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | image/vnd.adobe.photoshop | application/pdf |
About PSD and PDF files
What is a PSD file?
A PSD keeps every layer, mask, adjustment and text layer separately so the work can be edited later, and stores a flattened copy of the whole picture beside them. A PSD is limited to 30,000 pixels a side and 2 GB; larger work is saved as PSB.
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.
PSD 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 PSD format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .psd is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert PSD to PDF from the command line
ImageMagick does the same on your own computer:
magick input.psd[0] 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.
PSD to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting PSD to PDF?
No. PDF is stored losslessly, so every pixel of the flattened picture is kept. The separate layers are not.
Why is the PDF a different size from the PSD?
Often larger than the PSD, because the pixels are stored in the PDF without lossy compression, and PDF adds its own page description around them.
Are my PSD files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful PSD 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 PSD 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 PSD 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 PSD 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.