Image to PDF API - Python

Convert various image formats to PDF in Python using the Pdfcrowd API v2. The API is easy to use and the integration takes only a couple of lines of code.

Installation

Install the client library from PyPI

pip install pdfcrowd

Learn more about other install options.

Authentication

Authentication is needed in order to use the Pdfcrowd API. The credentials used for accessing the API are your Pdfcrowd username and the API key.
Sign up for a Free Trial

Examples

Convert a local PNG file to a PDF file

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # run the conversion and write the result to a file
    client.convertFileToFile('/path/to/logo.png', 'logo.pdf')
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert a local PNG file to in-memory PDF

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output file for conversion result
    output_file = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and store the result into a pdf variable
    pdf = client.convertFile('/path/to/logo.png')

    # write the pdf into the output file
    output_file.write(pdf)

    # close the output file
    output_file.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert a local PNG file and write the resulting PDF to an output stream

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output stream for conversion result
    output_stream = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and write the result into the output stream
    client.convertFileToStream('/path/to/logo.png', output_stream)

    # close the output stream
    output_stream.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert url with PNG file to a PDF file

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # run the conversion and write the result to a file
    client.convertUrlToFile('http://pdfcrowd.com/static/images/logo.png', 'logo.pdf')
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert url with PNG file to in-memory PDF

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output file for conversion result
    output_file = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and store the result into a pdf variable
    pdf = client.convertUrl('http://pdfcrowd.com/static/images/logo.png')

    # write the pdf into the output file
    output_file.write(pdf)

    # close the output file
    output_file.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert url with PNG file and write the resulting PDF to an output stream

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output stream for conversion result
    output_stream = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and write the result into the output stream
    client.convertUrlToStream('http://pdfcrowd.com/static/images/logo.png', output_stream)

    # close the output stream
    output_stream.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert an in-memory PNG to a PDF file

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # run the conversion and write the result to a file
    client.convertRawDataToFile(open('/path/to/logo.png', 'rb').read(), 'logo.pdf')
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert an in-memory PNG to in-memory PDF

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output file for conversion result
    output_file = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and store the result into a pdf variable
    pdf = client.convertRawData(open('/path/to/logo.png', 'rb').read())

    # write the pdf into the output file
    output_file.write(pdf)

    # close the output file
    output_file.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Convert an in-memory PNG and write the resulting PDF to an output stream

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # create output stream for conversion result
    output_stream = open('logo.pdf', 'wb')

    # run the conversion and write the result into the output stream
    client.convertRawDataToStream(open('/path/to/logo.png', 'rb').read(), output_stream)

    # close the output stream
    output_stream.close()
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Get info about the current conversion

import pdfcrowd
import sys

try:
    # create the API client instance
    client = pdfcrowd.ImageToPdfClient('your_username', 'your_apikey')

    # configure the conversion
    client.setDebugLog(True)

    # run the conversion and write the result to a file
    client.convertFileToFile('/path/to/logo.png', 'logo.pdf')
    
    # print URL to the debug log
    print('Debug log url: {}'.format(client.getDebugLogUrl()))
    
    # print the number of available conversion credits in your account
    print('Remaining credit count: {}'.format(client.getRemainingCreditCount()))
    
    # print the number of credits consumed by the conversion
    print('Consumed credit count: {}'.format(client.getConsumedCreditCount()))
    
    # print the unique ID of the conversion
    print('Job id: {}'.format(client.getJobId()))
    
    # print the size of the output in bytes
    print('Output size: {}'.format(client.getOutputSize()))
except pdfcrowd.Error as why:
    # report the error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # handle the exception here or rethrow and handle it at a higher level
    raise

Tips & Tricks

Error Handling

try: 
    # call the API 
except pdfcrowd.Error as why: 
    # print error
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error: {}\n'.format(why))

    # print just error code
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error Code: {}\n'.format(why.getCode()))

    # print just error message
    sys.stderr.write('Pdfcrowd Error Message: {}\n'.format(why.getMessage()))

    # or handle the error in your way

Troubleshooting

Check API Status Codes in case of the error code is returned.
You can use setDebugLog and getDebugLogUrl to get detailed info about the conversion, such as conversion errors, time, console output.
Take a look at the FAQ section.

API Reference - class ImageToPdfClient

Conversion from an image to PDF. All setter methods return ImageToPdfClient object unless otherwise specified.

Constructor

def __init__(self, user_name, api_key)

Constructor for the Pdfcrowd API client.

Parameter	Description	Default
user_name	Your username at Pdfcrowd.
api_key	Your API key.

Conversion Input

def convertUrl(self, url)

Convert an image.

Parameter	Description	Default
url	The address of the image to convert. The supported protocols are http:// and https://.

Returns

byte[] - Byte array containing the conversion output.

def convertUrlToStream(self, url, out_stream)

Convert an image and write the result to an output stream.

Parameter	Description	Default
url	The address of the image to convert. The supported protocols are http:// and https://.
out_stream	The output stream that will contain the conversion output.

def convertUrlToFile(self, url, file_path)

Convert an image and write the result to a local file.

Parameter	Description	Default
url	The address of the image to convert. The supported protocols are http:// and https://.
file_path	The output file path. The string must not be empty.

def convertFile(self, file)

Convert a local file.

Parameter	Description	Default
file	The path to a local file to convert. The file can be either a single file or an archive (.tar.gz, .tar.bz2, or .zip). The file must exist and not be empty.

Returns

byte[] - Byte array containing the conversion output.

def convertFileToStream(self, file, out_stream)

Convert a local file and write the result to an output stream.

Parameter	Description	Default
file	The path to a local file to convert. The file can be either a single file or an archive (.tar.gz, .tar.bz2, or .zip). The file must exist and not be empty.
out_stream	The output stream that will contain the conversion output.

def convertFileToFile(self, file, file_path)

Convert a local file and write the result to a local file.

Parameter	Description	Default
file	The path to a local file to convert. The file can be either a single file or an archive (.tar.gz, .tar.bz2, or .zip). The file must exist and not be empty.
file_path	The output file path. The string must not be empty.

def convertRawData(self, data)

Convert raw data.

Parameter	Description	Default
data	The raw content to be converted.

Returns

byte[] - Byte array with the output.

def convertRawDataToStream(self, data, out_stream)

Convert raw data and write the result to an output stream.

Parameter	Description	Default
data	The raw content to be converted.
out_stream	The output stream that will contain the conversion output.

def convertRawDataToFile(self, data, file_path)

Convert raw data to a file.

Parameter	Description	Default
data	The raw content to be converted.
file_path	The output file path. The string must not be empty.

Image operations

Settings used for operations with images.

def setResize(self, resize)

Resize the image.

Parameter	Description	Default
resize	The resize percentage or new image dimensions.	100%

Examples:

setResize("200%")
setResize("1024x768")

def setRotate(self, rotate)

Rotate the image.

Parameter	Description	Default
rotate	The rotation specified in degrees.	0

Miscellaneous

def setDebugLog(self, debug_log)

Turn on the debug logging. Details about the conversion are stored in the debug log. The URL of the log can be obtained from the getDebugLogUrl method or available in conversion statistics.

Parameter	Description	Default
debug_log	Set to True to enable the debug logging.	False

def getDebugLogUrl(self)

Get the URL of the debug log for the last conversion.

Returns

string - The link to the debug log.

def getRemainingCreditCount(self)

Get the number of conversion credits available in your account.
This method can only be called after a call to one of the convertXYZ methods.
The returned value can differ from the actual count if you run parallel conversions.
The special value 999999 is returned if the information is not available.

Returns

int - The number of credits.

def getConsumedCreditCount(self)

Get the number of credits consumed by the last conversion.

Returns

int - The number of credits.

def getJobId(self)

Get the job id.

Returns

string - The unique job identifier.

def getOutputSize(self)

Get the size of the output in bytes.

Returns

int - The count of bytes.

def setTag(self, tag)

Tag the conversion with a custom value. The tag is used in conversion statistics. A value longer than 32 characters is cut off.

Parameter	Description	Default
tag	A string with the custom tag.

def setHttpProxy(self, http_proxy)

A proxy server used by Pdfcrowd conversion process for accessing the source URLs with HTTP scheme. It can help to circumvent regional restrictions or provide limited access to your intranet.

Parameter	Description	Default
http_proxy	The value must have format DOMAIN_OR_IP_ADDRESS:PORT.

Examples:

setHttpProxy("myproxy.com:8080")
setHttpProxy("113.25.84.10:33333")

def setHttpsProxy(self, https_proxy)

A proxy server used by Pdfcrowd conversion process for accessing the source URLs with HTTPS scheme. It can help to circumvent regional restrictions or provide limited access to your intranet.

Parameter	Description	Default
https_proxy	The value must have format DOMAIN_OR_IP_ADDRESS:PORT.

Examples:

setHttpsProxy("myproxy.com:443")
setHttpsProxy("113.25.84.10:44333")

API Client Options

def setUseHttp(self, use_http)

Specifies if the client communicates over HTTP or HTTPS with Pdfcrowd API.

Parameter	Description	Default
use_http	Set to True to use HTTP.	False

def setUserAgent(self, user_agent)

Set a custom user agent HTTP header. It can be usefull if you are behind some proxy or firewall.

Parameter	Description	Default
user_agent	The user agent string.	pdfcrowd_python_client/4.4.2 (http://pdfcrowd.com)

def setProxy(self, host, port, user_name, password)

Specifies an HTTP proxy that the API client library will use to connect to the internet.

Parameter	Description	Default
host	The proxy hostname.
port	The proxy port.
user_name	The username.
password	The password.

def setRetryCount(self, retry_count)

Specifies the number of retries when the 502 HTTP status code is received. The 502 status code indicates a temporary network issue. This feature can be disabled by setting to 0.

Parameter	Description	Default
retry_count	Number of retries wanted.	1