Combining a handful of photos or scanned pages into a single PDF is one of the most common reasons people turn to a website: paste in your files, wait for the upload, download a PDF. It's also one of the easiest things to do entirely offline, on a machine you already own, in about the same number of clicks.
In this article
This guide covers the native way to do this on Windows and Linux, what each method actually gets you, and where it falls short.
Key takeaways
- Windows can combine images into a PDF natively through the Print dialog, no extra software needed.
- Linux has no universal built-in GUI for this, but a single command-line tool,
img2pdf, does it without re-compressing the images. - Neither native method offers much control over compression or final file size.
- A tool built specifically for this gives you that control, still without uploading anything.
Why this ends up on a website so often
Combining images into a PDF isn't something most people do often enough to already own software for it, so a search for "combine images to PDF" understandably leads to a website that does it for free. The tradeoff is that the images have to be uploaded to get the result, which matters if they're scanned documents, IDs, or anything else not meant for a stranger's server, even briefly.
Both Windows and Linux can do this without a browser involved at all.
How to combine images into a PDF on Windows
Select the images in File Explorer, in the order you want them to appear, by holding Ctrl and clicking each one. Right-click the selection and choose Print. On Windows 11, hold Shift while right-clicking if Print doesn't show up in the menu.
In the Print Pictures dialog, choose "Microsoft Print to PDF" from the printer list, pick a layout under Layout, usually Full page for one image per page, and click Print. Windows asks where to save the result instead of sending it to an actual printer.
This method is genuinely built in, but basic: there's no control over compression, and large or high-resolution images can produce a surprisingly large PDF.
How to combine images into a PDF on Linux
There's no single built-in GUI for this across every distribution, but img2pdf does the job in one line and, unlike most alternatives, doesn't re-compress the images in the process. Install it with sudo apt install img2pdf on Debian or Ubuntu, or sudo dnf install img2pdf on Fedora.
To combine a set of images into one PDF, in order: img2pdf image1.jpg image2.png image3.jpg -o output.pdf. To grab every image in the current folder: img2pdf *.jpg *.png -o output.pdf. ImageMagick's convert *.jpg output.pdf also works, but it re-encodes each image, which can reduce quality and, somewhat counterintuitively, produce a larger file than img2pdf.
Common mistakes
- Uploading sensitive scans to combine them. IDs, signed documents, and medical paperwork are exactly the files worth keeping off a server you don't control, even briefly.
- Not checking the order before printing (Windows). The Print Pictures dialog follows the selection order, not alphabetical order, so double-check it before saving.
- Using ImageMagick's `convert` for a large batch. It re-encodes every image, which is slower and often produces a larger file than
img2pdffor the same input. - Assuming a PDF viewer shows the real file size. Check the file on disk; some viewers round or estimate rather than show the exact size.
FAQ
Does combining images into a PDF reduce their quality?
With img2pdf on Linux or Microsoft Print to PDF on Windows, no. Both embed the images as they are. ImageMagick's convert command re-encodes them, which can reduce quality slightly.
Can I reorder images after combining them into a PDF?
Not with either native method directly. Reorder the image files first, or use a PDF editor afterward to rearrange pages.
Is there a file size limit for combining images into a PDF?
Not from the tools themselves. The result's size is roughly the sum of the images going in, so compressing large photos first keeps the final PDF manageable.
The bottom line
Combining images into a PDF doesn't require uploading anything. Windows has Microsoft Print to PDF built in; Linux has img2pdf as a single, fast command. Neither gives you much control over the final file size.
Image Tools combines any number of loaded images into one PDF directly, alongside resizing and compression, entirely on your machine. The free trial covers a limited number of images with no account needed.
