HTML to PDF Converter
How It Works
- Step 1: Paste complete HTML including DOCTYPE, , with CSS stylesheets, with semantic tags like
, , - Step 2: Browser rendering engine parses HTML into DOM tree structure, resolves CSS cascades applying specificity rules (ID > class > element), computes final styles for every element, loads external resources (fonts, images), and renders layout with box model calculations (margin, border, padding, content widths).
- Step 3: PDF generation library (jsPDF, pdfmake, html2canvas) captures rendered DOM by traversing node tree, converting HTML elements to PDF primitives (text, rectangles, lines, images), applying fonts (web-safe or embedded custom fonts), and handling pagination with automatic page breaks at block boundaries.
- Step 4: Download vectorized PDF preserving text selectability, embedded images at original resolution, clickable links ( tags become PDF annotations), consistent fonts, and proper color spaces (RGB for screen) ready for printing, archiving, or distribution maintaining exact layout across all PDF viewers.
Manual vs Automated HTML to PDF Conversion
| Feature | Print to PDF | HTML to PDF Converter |
|---|---|---|
| Formatting | Browser print dialog with limited control | Professional PDF with custom page size and margins |
| Speed | Manual print dialog, adjust settings, save | One-click conversion with instant download |
| CSS Support | Print CSS often breaks layout and styles | Full CSS rendering with exact visual fidelity |
| Automation | Must manually print each HTML file | API-ready for batch processing and automation |
| Quality | Inconsistent across different browsers | Consistent high-quality PDFs every time |