What happens when you convert XPS to PNG
- Each page of the XPS is drawn by MuPDF, the open-source PDF and XPS renderer, on our conversion server at 150 dpi, so an A4 page becomes about 1240 by 1750 pixels.
- A one-page XPS gives a single PNG; a longer one comes back as a ZIP file with one PNG per page, named page-01.png, page-02.png and so on, for up to 100 pages.
- PNG is lossless, so text and lines stay exactly as crisp as the page rendered them.
- 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 XPS to PNG online
- Press "Choose XPS 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 PNG". 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 PNG with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your XPS and the PNG by then.
Why convert XPS to PNG?
XPS files usually come from documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. People convert them to PNG because PNG keeps sharp edges, text and transparency without any loss.
In short, XPS is good at what it was made for, and PNG is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. XPS does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it, while PNG opens in every browser and image viewer.
How to convert XPS to PNG on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android
On Windows
Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your XPS files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each PNG is saved to your Downloads folder.
On a Mac
Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the XPS files from Finder onto the drop zone and the PNG files land in Downloads.
On iPhone and iPad
Open the page in Safari and tap Choose XPS files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted PNG appears in Files, in the Downloads folder; to put it in your photo library, open it there, tap Share and choose Save Image.
On Android
Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose XPS files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The PNG is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.
Best settings for XPS to PNG
There are no settings: every page is rendered at 150 dpi, the longest side is capped at 6,000 pixels, and at most the first 100 pages are converted.
For a document that must stay sharp at any size, convert to PDF instead.
XPS vs PNG: the differences
| XPS | PNG | |
|---|---|---|
| Full name | XML Paper Specification | Portable Network Graphics |
| Type | document | image |
| Created by | Microsoft | the PNG Development Group |
| First released | 2006 | 1996 |
| Compression | Lossless | Lossless |
| Transparency | No | Yes |
| Animation | No | No |
| Vector or raster | Vector | Raster |
| Colour | any colour, pages of text, vector shapes and images | up to 16 bits per channel with a full alpha channel |
| In a browser | does not open in browsers; the XPS Viewer, an optional Windows feature, opens it | opens in every browser and image viewer |
| Common uses | documents printed with the Microsoft XPS Document Writer | screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency |
| MIME type | application/vnd.ms-xpsdocument | image/png |
About XPS and PNG files
What is an XPS file?
XPS is Microsoft's fixed-layout page format, a ZIP of XML pages, fonts and images, meant as an alternative to PDF. Windows printed to it through the Microsoft XPS Document Writer, but it never caught on, and since 2018 Windows no longer installs its viewer by default.
What is a PNG file?
PNG compresses without losing a single pixel, so screenshots and text stay razor sharp, but a photograph saved as PNG is often three to five times the size of the same photo as JPG.
XPS to PNG not working? Common problems
- "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
- "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 XPS format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .xps is refused. Choose the page for its real format.
Convert XPS to PNG from the command line
MuPDF does the same on your own computer:
mutool draw -r 150 -o page-%d.png input.xpsConverting 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.
XPS to PNG converter FAQ
Will I lose quality converting XPS to PNG?
150 dpi is sharp for reading on screen and fine for printing text. The pixels are stored losslessly.
Why is the PNG a different size from the XPS?
Each PNG holds a full page of pixels, so together they are usually larger than the XPS.
Are my XPS files uploaded?
Yes, for this conversion. A faithful XPS to PNG conversion needs MuPDF, the open-source PDF and XPS renderer, 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 PNG as soon as the result has been sent back to you. We do not keep, read or share it.
Can I convert several XPS files to PNG 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 PNG file?
PNG opens in every browser and image viewer. PNG is common for screenshots, logos, diagrams and anything with transparency.
Is this XPS to PNG 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 XPS to PNG 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 PNG is saved to your Downloads folder.