How would I convert a HTML5 / CSS3 document to PDF?

Question

We're currently generating reports for our web application using html5 / css3, and they look good on screen, but obviously when the user hits print who knows what is going to come out of the printer. So, what I would like to know is what is the best way to convert these reports to PDF for download / printing while maintaining the same visual quality of the on screen reports.

Update 2010-10-26 16:01: We're using both .NET and Perl

That depends of the platform being used - I am aware of some good solutions for windows/.NET, but maybe that's not what you're searching for... — rsenna, Oct 26 '10 at 19:42
These reports will primarily be created by windows/.net applications — Jeffrey Fuller, Oct 26 '10 at 20:01

Mark Storer · Accepted Answer · 2021-06-24T17:07:35.413

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The only think I can think of that might work is wkHTMLtoPDF. It's a QT app that sits on top of WebKit to generate its PDF.

The good news is that it even evaluates JS so just about anything goes.

The other good news is that QT is available across a wide selection of platforms. Whatever you might be using, chances are you can use QT.

edited Jun 24 '21 at 17:07

answered Nov 03 '10 at 23:28

Mark Storer

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I think we may have a build server setup with this, and we'll just setup a service that receives the static files, and returns a nice pdf – Jeffrey Fuller Nov 04 '10 at 14:20
We'll be evaluating it for our own purposes in the near future. Let me know how it goes. – Mark Storer Nov 04 '10 at 16:42
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Qt is more than 'an X11 windowing thingy' :) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qt_(framework) – Sam Dutton Dec 06 '11 at 17:13
this library does not support CSS3 – LI HO TAN Jun 23 '21 at 09:41
If you have a look at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_browser_engines_(CSS_support) you'll see that no browser fully supports css3, but all of them support some of it. Which parts they support vary. wkhtmltopdf is also not using the most recent version of WebKit. Depending on what you're using, the web kit embedded will be 2 to 9 years old. – Mark Storer Jun 25 '21 at 13:05

score 2 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 28 '10 at 08:30

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Try Prince XML, the results are pretty to look at.

answered Oct 28 '10 at 08:30

foolip

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score 1 · Answer 3 · answered Nov 18 '14 at 15:43

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ExpertPdf (www.html-to-pdf.net) supports html5 / css3.

You can try the online demo here: http://www.html-to-pdf.net/free-online-pdf-converter.aspx

answered Nov 18 '14 at 15:43

charpdevel0p3r

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score 1 · Answer 4 · answered Oct 26 '10 at 20:06

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If you are using some of the new HTML5 elements like Canvas, then probably even the popular PDF converter wont help you.

I suggest you to put suitable print-friendly version of your CSS. This could be achieved by using media="print" attribute in the <link rel="stylesheet"... tag of a separate CSS file, which is containing the definitions for print version.

answered Oct 26 '10 at 20:06

Lachezar

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We've held off on using canvas for reports, essentially what we have is xhtml and css3 – Jeffrey Fuller Oct 26 '10 at 20:44

score 1 · Answer 5 · edited May 23 '17 at 12:17

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Some options (all proprietary):

Aspose.Pdf for .NET: Expensive, very good though.
Winnovative HTML to PDF Converter: I've already use their tool, gets the job done.
ExpertPDF: Another good one.

For open-source alternatives, please see here:

Open Source HTML to PDF Renderer with Full CSS Support

edited May 23 '17 at 12:17

Community

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answered Oct 27 '10 at 10:41

rsenna

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score 1 · Answer 6 · answered Aug 12 '17 at 12:11

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There is a node module html5-to-pdf that works pretty well.

Is free and open source.

It runs on Electron. There are some bugs (for example anchor tags render the hyperlink as well) - but it might be an easy fix.

answered Aug 12 '17 at 12:11

dwjohnston

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How would I convert a HTML5 / CSS3 document to PDF?

6 Answers6