Preview Not Exporting or Converting PDF to JPEG like it used to after Big SUR OS

I appreciate your help and have read through this thread....however using this Automator app is over my head. I also don't want to use a new design app for something so basic as converting a pdf without loosing image quality. I don't use photoshop etc. I just want to covert a pages document with images to a jpg. In the past I have converted my page document to PDF then to JPG. Is there a 'simple' fix for an artist who is not computer savvy?? thank you!

Instead of Preview, why not try an Automator application using the Render PDF Pages as Images action, where you can choose the image type, resolution, and compression level (e.g. best). You can drag and drop your PDF documents onto this application, and it will generate 300 dpi (if you choose) images from the PDF page. Compare this output to that of Preview.

From your Dock, select Launchpad, and then select the Others icon, to access and launch Automator. You want to drag two actions from the Library side onto the larger workflow window in the following order:

1. Automator : New Document : Application : Choose
2. Library : PDF : Render PDF Pages as Images
3. Library : Files and Folders : Move Finder Items (you can tell it the specific folder rather than just generically the Desktop)

Looks like this (right-click and open in a new browser window for a larger view):

Save this workflow as an Application to your Desktop (I called mine PDF2JPG. Now, as written, you can drag and drop your single-page, Pages exported to PDF documents onto it, and the resultant .jpeg files bear the original PDF filename where you told it to move them.

The quality of the resulting jpeg is very much dependent on you not using features in Pages that include low resolution images, or images with transparent backgrounds. Do not use Text boxes with transparent backgrounds, borders, shadows, gradients, and opacity which also introduce transparency — resulting in that content rendered at 72 dpi in the PDF. No amount of DPI settings in Preview, or the Automator solution presented here, will alter 72 dpi content already within the PDF.

It is very likely that the Automator actions are not using the same code as Preview to perform the PDF to image conversion. One can successfully perform the PDF to image conversion using the command-line sips(1) image processing system, or for extra points, using ImageMagick from a package manager.

Apple product teams are not here, nor do they read these posts. What they do read is direct feedback using the proper channel with clear descriptions of the extent problem. A good many people complain here about this or that product feature not working correctly but very few bother to send feedback to the product teams.

Yes, in a perfect world, Apple should have caught this issue with PDF to image conversion, and quality control is a subject for another time.

You may need a tool that provides its own PDF library, and not that included by Apple in the operating system for use by Preview, Pages Export To, or PDF saves from the Print… panel. Provided, the image exported from Pages is not still at fault in some manner.

Why not download the free trial of Affinity Designer; start with a new 300 dpi page; produce all of your artwork in it,. and then export directly to jpg. That will entirely omit any PDF to jpg conversion by Apple tools, and I expect that you find the resulting jpg substantially sharp.

I have this exact same problem and I've been on hold with tech support for forever now because this is a seriously HUGE part of my daily workflow & it's getting really irritating, to say the least. I already use an Automator script for converting but sometimes it doesn't convert PDFs properly but Preview can, so the Automator conversion workaround won't even work for me as a permanent solution to this. @Apple please for the love of god fix this because my actual career is impeded due to this issue...

Hi C,

" please… fix this because my actual career is impeded due to this issue..."

That sounds like a compelling reason to follow Viking OS X's advice to…

"download the free trial of Affinity Designer; start with a new 300 dpi page; produce all of your artwork in it,. and then export directly to jpg. That will entirely omit any PDF to jpg conversion by Apple tools, and I expect that you find the resulting jpg substantially sharp."

Regards,

Barry

How many people actually read through the threads in a post before posting their own "me too" missives? I have addressed this Preview PDF to image issue multiple times in the MacOS & System Software communities too.

I for one whole heartedly agree that you should read through the threads in a post before posting their own "me too" missives! I had solved this issue myself (Photoshop being a wonderful thing), was seeing if it was just me - and in finding out it wasn't, was showing sympathy with fellow sufferers!

What I don't agree with is self appointed gurus being incredibly dismissive of this sympathy! :)

LeeHKeller wrote:

Is there a 'simple' fix for an artist who is not computer savvy?? thank you!

No simple fix. You still have to export to PDF, and then use some reliable means to convert from PDF to jpg. If Preview is still not doing this correctly, then I thought I had sufficiently described the steps to make that Automator solution that by-passes Preview, and does a proper export to jpg.

You don't need a YouTube video to follow the steps I outlined in my previous post, and following YouTube instead may lead you down the wrong path or further confuse you depending on that video content and date recorded.

when the workarouind to an Apple bug is to download a free trial of software from the internet - i have a problem. I've paid enough money for my appple ecosystem and if Apple creates a defect they should fix it. ASAP.

Welp, I'm glad I finally checked here instead of continuing to question my own sanity. I agree it seems a little absurd to have to download a free trial (which I haven't yet, but guess will eventually lead to a charge somewhere down the line?) when a conversion from PDF to JPG is such a common function. The loss of this functionality as part of an 'update' seems a bit perverse. I hope it is addressed by Apple so individuals don't have to rely on the kindness of Viking OSX to find solutions.

Surely the ability to do this so readily through Automator indicates that the coding of Preview 11.0 is flawed. While it is useful to have the work-around in the interim, one would expect Apple to rectify Preview. If Apple software doesn't maintain the attention to detail that gained it its reputation, it will no longer be distinctive.

I was also frustrated with this change. I just found that increasing the export size to 144 pixels/inch (twice the 72 size) allowed the image to be the correct size without any blur. Hope that helps.