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Convert BMP files to PDF
Hello,
What is the best way to convert BMP files to PDF?
A few days ago someone scanned some documents for me so I can send them to another party via email. I just assumed they'd come back as PDFs but when I opened the folder today, I discovered that all of the scans were saved as bitmap files — at about 24 MB each. The documents are simple black and white (eg tax forms, accounting reports, etc.) but they include a large number of pages and I would really like to avoid rescanning them if possible.
Is there a good way to convert BMP files to PDF and what application would you use?
Hopefully something in Windows 7 or MS Office 2013, etc. will do it.
Thanks
What is the best way to convert BMP files to PDF?
A few days ago someone scanned some documents for me so I can send them to another party via email. I just assumed they'd come back as PDFs but when I opened the folder today, I discovered that all of the scans were saved as bitmap files — at about 24 MB each. The documents are simple black and white (eg tax forms, accounting reports, etc.) but they include a large number of pages and I would really like to avoid rescanning them if possible.
Is there a good way to convert BMP files to PDF and what application would you use?
Hopefully something in Windows 7 or MS Office 2013, etc. will do it.
Thanks
Asked:
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1 Solution
LVL 7
Do you have acrobat? Or cute pdf writer? If so you can open the image in windows preview or any other image viewer and print to the pdf writer.
There are many web sites that will do this for you but I have generally found that (a) the results are never quite what I wanted, (b) the size of the files they accept as input is limited, and (c) they don't do multipage PDFs.
There is a product that can produce PDFs from any Windows application. The freeware Bullzip printer emulator can be used as a pseudo-printer from any Windows application and converts the program printout directly to PDF.
Bullzip printer emulator
If this is a one-time issue and you have made your needs known to the supplier to prevent this from happening again, then you could:
1. Import the BMPs into Word as images
2. Size them to the desired size
3. Set page breaks manually
and then print them through Bullzip. You wouldn't want to do this on an ongoing basis, though; there is too much manual intervention involved.
There is a product that can produce PDFs from any Windows application. The freeware Bullzip printer emulator can be used as a pseudo-printer from any Windows application and converts the program printout directly to PDF.
Bullzip printer emulator
If this is a one-time issue and you have made your needs known to the supplier to prevent this from happening again, then you could:
1. Import the BMPs into Word as images
2. Size them to the desired size
3. Set page breaks manually
and then print them through Bullzip. You wouldn't want to do this on an ongoing basis, though; there is too much manual intervention involved.
Why BMP?
For example if the purpose of the documents is just to be read then a conversion to JPEG might be better. You'd end up with much smaller files than going to PDF.
An application like Irfanview (free) would handle this with no problems.
Keeping them as PDF may not shrink the file size.
For example if the purpose of the documents is just to be read then a conversion to JPEG might be better. You'd end up with much smaller files than going to PDF.
An application like Irfanview (free) would handle this with no problems.
Keeping them as PDF may not shrink the file size.
As mentioned above, CutePDF Writer
You can select the entire lot of bmp images, right-click and select Print. When the print panel comes up, select Bullzip PDF Printer.
Installation RequirementsOr Bullzip PDF Printer:
Supports Microsoft Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/2003/Vista/7/2012/8/8. 1 (32-bit/64-bit).
Requires PS2PDF converter such as Ghostscript (recommended).
You can get the free GPL Ghostscript 8.15 here.
The Bullzip PDF Printer works as a Microsoft Windows printer and allows you to write PDF documents from virtually any Microsoft Windows application.I prefer Bullzip PDF Printer, since it requires no additional software.
This program is FREEWARE with limitations, which means that there is a FREE version for personal and commercial use up to 10 users. It does not contain any advertising or popups. For commercial applications with more than 10 users there are commercial versions available with advanced features.
You can select the entire lot of bmp images, right-click and select Print. When the print panel comes up, select Bullzip PDF Printer.
Thanks for all of the comments.
I have CutePDF Writer but was not aware of Bullzip PDF Printer. I began trying some of the suggestions but kept getting a larger print area then I wanted (ie so the inserted BMP image ended up relatively smaller with a useless blank border around it).
I have CutePDF Writer but was not aware of Bullzip PDF Printer. I began trying some of the suggestions but kept getting a larger print area then I wanted (ie so the inserted BMP image ended up relatively smaller with a useless blank border around it).
dbrunton >>This was definitely the easiest solution. Thanks for suggesting it.
…a conversion to JPEG might be better."
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