40 posts tagged with "pdf generation"

PDFs generated from HTML or web pages with images can get large. A product catalog with high‑resolution photos might produce a 15 MB file. An annual report with charts and screenshots could hit 8 MB. These sizes cause real problems: slow downloads, email attachment limits, expensive storage, and poor user experience. Manual compression through Acrobat or online tools doesn't work when you're generating hundreds of PDFs programmatically. You need compression that runs as part of your generation pipeline – and with a PDF compression API, you can apply it in the same request that creates the PDF.

PHP remains the language behind most of the web, and PDF generation is a common task in PHP applications – invoices, reports, certificates, shipping labels. The library you pick affects performance, maintenance cost, and how much CSS/HTML you can reuse. The PHP ecosystem has several approaches: pure PHP HTML to PDF conversion, programmatic document construction, and browser-based rendering. This guide compares the most popular PHP PDF libraries with Packagist download numbers, working code examples, and a side-by-side feature table so you can choose the right fit for your project.

Ruby on Rails developers regularly need to generate PDFs – invoices, reports, certificates, shipping labels – and the choice of library affects both performance and long-term maintenance. The Rails ecosystem in 2025 offers many approaches, from programmatic libraries to browser-powered rendering engines. This guide compares the most popular Ruby PDF gems, backed by real download metrics and practical code examples, so you can pick the right Ruby HTML to PDF solution for your project.

Many Ruby on Rails applications need PDF features that go beyond basic document creation. HexaPDF is a pure Ruby library built for both generating and manipulating PDF files. Unlike libraries that focus only on PDF generation, HexaPDF covers the full PDF lifecycle – from programmatic document creation to modifying existing files. It supports digital signatures, encryption, form handling, and document merging, making it a good fit for Rails applications with complex document workflows.

Web applications frequently need to generate high-quality PDF documents from HTML content – invoices, reports, certificates, and business documentation. Puppeteer-Ruby is a pure Ruby port of Google's Puppeteer API that gives you direct access to Chrome's rendering engine for Ruby on Rails PDF generation. This guide walks you through implementing HTML to PDF conversion using Puppeteer-Ruby, producing high-quality results with full support for modern CSS and JavaScript.

Modern web applications frequently need to generate professional PDF documents for invoices, reports, contracts, and other business materials. The Grover gem is a widely used Ruby on Rails PDF generator that relies on Google Chrome's headless browser for accurate rendering with full CSS3, Flexbox, and Grid support. This tutorial walks you through Ruby HTML to PDF conversion using Grover's Chrome-based engine integrated with Rails' ERB templating system.

The Prawn gem is one of the most downloaded Ruby on Rails PDF generator libraries, used for creating complex, well-designed PDFs with clean and readable code. Below you'll learn how to set up Prawn, build an invoice PDF with tables and custom fonts, and configure the rendering options.

WickedPDF is the most popular HTML to PDF gem for Ruby on Rails, providing tight integration with Rails' built-in ERB templating system. Below you'll learn how to set up WickedPDF, build an invoice PDF with ERB templates, and configure the rendering options.

Java applications frequently need to produce PDF files – invoices, reports, contracts, shipping labels. The library you pick determines how much code you write, what web standards you can use, and what license restrictions apply. The Java ecosystem has several approaches, from low-level programmatic construction to browser-based HTML to PDF conversion. Below are code examples, feature tables, and recommendations for the most popular Java PDF libraries – from programmatic PDF builders to HTML to PDF converters.

Most Java HTML to PDF libraries rely on browser engines to render content. But if you need full control over layout, fonts, positioning, and structure – especially for invoices, reports, or certificates – Apache PDFBox offers a code-driven alternative. Rather than converting web pages, PDFBox lets you programmatically construct PDF documents from scratch using Java. This guide covers PDFBox's low-level API for creating formatted PDFs – you skip browser dependencies entirely and control exactly how your documents are styled, structured, and generated.