What happens when you convert TGA to PDF
- The TGA is placed on a PDF page the same size as the image, stored losslessly.
- Browsers cannot read TGA, so this page includes its own TGA reader. It handles uncompressed and run-length compressed files at 8, 16, 24 and 32 bits, and keeps the alpha channel.
How to convert TGA to PDF online
- Press "Choose TGA files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. You can add files of any size your device can hold in memory.
- Adjust the settings if you need to. The output is lossless, so there is no quality setting to worry about.
- Press "Convert to PDF". Images convert in a second or two each.
- Save each PDF with its download button. Close the tab and every trace of the files is gone from memory.
Why convert TGA to PDF?
TGA files usually come from game textures, 3D rendering and video effects work. 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, TGA 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. TGA does not open in browsers; Photoshop, GIMP and game engines read it, while PDF opens in every browser's built-in viewer.
How to convert TGA to PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your TGA 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 TGA 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 TGA 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 TGA 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 TGA to PDF
Each image becomes one page sized to the image at 96 pixels per inch, so a 1200 pixel wide image makes a page 12.5 inches wide. PDF viewers and printers scale pages to fit, so the page size rarely matters on screen.
The TGA is stored with lossless compression inside the PDF, so it is exactly as sharp as the original. Transparent areas are placed on a white page.
TGA vs PDF: the differences
| TGA | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Truevision TGA image | Portable Document Format |
| Type | image | document |
| Created by | Truevision | Adobe |
| First released | 1984 | 1993 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossy or lossless |
| Transparency | Yes | No |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Raster | Vector |
| Colour | up to 32-bit colour with an 8-bit alpha channel | any colour, pages can mix text, vectors and images |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; Photoshop, GIMP and game engines read it | opens in every browser's built-in viewer |
| Common uses | game textures, 3D rendering and video effects work | documents, forms, invoices and print-ready files |
| MIME type | image/x-tga | application/pdf |
About TGA and PDF files
What is a TGA file?
TGA, also called Targa, stores pixels uncompressed or with simple run-length compression, plus an alpha channel. Its simplicity is why game engines and 3D tools still use it for textures decades after it was created.
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.
TGA to PDF not working? Common problems
- Colours look slightly different. Browsers convert images to the standard sRGB colour space when they decode them, so wide-gamut and CMYK images can shift a little.
- A phone photo comes out upright even though it looked sideways elsewhere. That is correct: the rotation stored in the photo is applied during conversion, so the PDF is always the right way up.
- Transparent areas turned white. PDF cannot store transparency; convert to PNG or WebP instead if you need it.
Convert TGA to PDF from the command line
If you work in a terminal, ImageMagick converts TGA to PDF in one line:
magick input.tga output.pdfTo convert every TGA in a folder at once, use magick mogrify -format pdf *.tga. The converter on this page does the same job without installing anything.
TGA to PDF converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting TGA to PDF?
No. PDF is written losslessly, so the result matches the TGA exactly.
Why is the PDF a different size from the TGA?
It depends on the settings. At the defaults, the PDF usually comes out close in size to the TGA; lower the quality for a smaller file.
Are my TGA files uploaded anywhere?
No. The conversion runs inside this browser tab using your browser's own image decoder, so your files stay on your device. You can disconnect from the internet after the page has loaded and it still works.
Can I convert several TGA 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 TGA to PDF converter free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no watermark and no limit on how many files you convert. The site is paid for by advertising, and because conversions run on your device there is no server cost per file.
Can I convert TGA to PDF on my phone?
Yes. The converter works in Safari on iPhone and iPad and in Chrome on Android. Converted files are saved to the Downloads folder.