# Export as PDF results in rasterisation and compression **URL:** \ **Category:** Self-host\ **Created:** [November 11, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017 "2024-11-11T17:33:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![tudorcelstan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/tudorcelstan/32/6815_2.png) [@tudorcelstan](https://community.penpot.app/u/tudorcelstan)\ **Post date:** [November 11, 2024, 5:33pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/1 "2024-11-11T17:33:07Z")
Steps to reproduce: 1. Create a Penpot document that includes large scale images, gradients, or clipping masks. 2. Export the document or board as PDF 3. The images are excessively compressed and gradients are needlessly rasterised since PDF supports vector gradients. Masks also don’t function as expected. I know that the image blurryness has been reported before, but it’s been over two years and the PDF export feature has seen no improvement. I think about 90% of my exports from Penpot are PDF either as slides or as website prototypes. This coupled with the performance worries renders Penport sadly unusable for me. Whenever I finally get to using it professionally I experience a deal breaker. Please take this seriously. ---
**Author:** ![carolina.portugal](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/carolina.portugal/32/36_2.png) [@carolina.portugal](https://community.penpot.app/u/carolina.portugal)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 4:46pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/2 "2024-11-12T16:46:57Z")
Thank you for sharing your feedback. We recognize that the PDF export feature is a key part of your workflow and understand the frustration regarding image quality and performance. While this is indeed a known area, we have done some work on it in the past year. However, given the technical complexity involved, it’s not a current priority for our team. Your input is valuable, and we’ll certainly keep it in mind as we consider future improvements. ---
**Author:** ![tudorcelstan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/tudorcelstan/32/6815_2.png) [@tudorcelstan](https://community.penpot.app/u/tudorcelstan)\ **Post date:** [November 12, 2024, 6:30pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/3 "2024-11-12T18:30:19Z")
Thank you for your timely reply. I understand that you have other priorities. Although PDF exporting has proven to be a more challenging task than expected, I have to wonder whether two years should have been enough time to finalise basic features before moving towards Penpot’s extensibility. Sadly, given the lackluster state of the most basic design workflows, giving feedback or recommending Penpot cannot be a priority for me. I value your work in key areas, like bringing web concepts to design and bridging the gap between the two, but without a solid foundation or commitment to achieve it, I regrettably have to cease using or following Penpot from now on. ---
**Author:** ![carolina.portugal](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/carolina.portugal/32/36_2.png) [@carolina.portugal](https://community.penpot.app/u/carolina.portugal)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2024, 8:35am UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/4 "2024-11-13T08:35:16Z")
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us. Improving Penpot’s existing features is an ongoing focus for us, and we even have a full dedicated team working to refine core functionalities, you can see the ongoing work here: [Taiga](https://tree.taiga.io/project/penpot/taskboard/quality-sprint-1?order_by=status) While PDF export hasn’t received priority compared to other areas, we understand that this feature is essential for your workflow. We appreciate your recognition of our efforts in bridging design and web concepts, and we hope to continue making meaningful improvements in the future. Your feedback is valuable, and we’ll certainly take it into account as we evolve. ---
**Author:** ![Juan\_Carlzon](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/juan_carlzon/32/4643_2.png) [@Juan\_Carlzon](https://community.penpot.app/u/Juan_Carlzon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 11:49am UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/5 "2024-11-14T11:49:16Z")
I second this on the PDF export over-compressing images. One of the key sticking points I can’t fully migrate my workflow to PenPot. ---
**Author:** ![carolina.portugal](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/carolina.portugal/32/36_2.png) [@carolina.portugal](https://community.penpot.app/u/carolina.portugal)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2024, 5:03pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/6 "2024-11-14T17:03:53Z")
I’ve brought this issue to the team’s attention, and I’ve got an update. We are in the process of rewriting the rendering engine, which will ultimately impact how things are exported. This overhaul will give us the opportunity to rethink and hopefully correct the issues you’ve mentioned. You can read more about our rendering changes in this forum post: > [@It's time for Penpot to (almost) move away from the DOM](https://community.penpot.app/t/its-time-for-penpot-to-almost-move-away-from-the-dom/6437): > > This will yield massive improvements on performance while respecting interoperability. As Open Source fans and product builders, we have always believed in the idea of [standing on the shoulders of giants](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_on_the_shoulders_of_giants) and being completely transparent about how we’re building Penpot and why. When we started building our open source design & prototyping tool a few years ago, we made a very smart decision: we offloaded all the visual rendering hard work to the browser. This allowed us to focus … We understand that the PDF export feature remains a significant concern for some users. While it’s currently not a top priority and likely to be addressed later in this process. You can follow it here: > **[Taiga](https://tree.taiga.io/project/penpot/us/9199)** > > Taiga is a project management platform for startups and agile developers & designers who want a simple, beautiful tool that makes work truly enjoyable. ---
**Author:** ![72dpigraphics](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/72dpigraphics/32/3175_2.png) [@72dpigraphics](https://community.penpot.app/u/72dpigraphics)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2024, 4:09pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/7 "2024-11-18T16:09:53Z")
> [@Juan\_Carlzon](#): > > I second this on the PDF export over-compressing images. One of the key sticking points I can’t fully migrate my workflow to PenPot. Had the same Problem today. Most Clients also wants a PDF-File of the Layouts. If there are images in the Layouts, the PDF-Export is not usable, because of the heavy compressed images. I used Penpot also for a small layout for a information paper with grid and flex layout for a Spec-Table and Reference Screenshots. Again no appealing PDF-Export. I know Penpot is no DTP-Tool, but at the current state, the PDF-Export is only usable if there are no Pixel-Graphics involved. JPG Export has a similar Problem with over-compressing. At the moment I find only PNG and SVG usable. But good to hear that your changes to the rendering engine maybe also bring improvements to the Export-quality. ---
**Author:** ![tudorcelstan](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/tudorcelstan/32/6815_2.png) [@tudorcelstan](https://community.penpot.app/u/tudorcelstan)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2024, 7:55pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/8 "2024-11-18T19:55:29Z")
Not even for vectors! See my report about gradients being rasterised and masks being completely broken even though PDF supports these features. PDF export is just a mess. Don’t be misled into thinking you can use it on vector layouts. It’s _completely_ unusable. ---
**Author:** ![salernoelia](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/salernoelia/32/9113_2.png) [@salernoelia](https://community.penpot.app/u/salernoelia)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2025, 10:57am UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/9 "2025-10-18T10:57:03Z")
As a workaround try to export as high-res pngs and then convert to pdf with any of the freely availible cli/web tools. It’s a pain but gets the job done ---
**Author:** ![sara.dndg](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/sara.dndg/32/10759_2.png) [@sara.dndg](https://community.penpot.app/u/sara.dndg)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 7:24am UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/10 "2026-07-22T07:24:56Z")
I agree that this is an important feature! Good PDF export is essential because it allows to use Penpot not only for UI design, but also for creating presentations to share with clients. At the moment, the loss of image quality makes the PDFs unsuitable even for short presentations, which limits Penpot’s potential as a complete design tool. I hope this can be prioritized, as it would unlock an important use case for Penpot. ---
**Author:** ![elenatorro](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/elenatorro/32/7407_2.png) [@elenatorro](https://community.penpot.app/u/elenatorro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 1:20pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/11 "2026-07-22T13:20:31Z")
Hi @sara.dndg, it’s already being prioritized, we’re actively working on it. Here’s the [main ticket](https://github.com/penpot/penpot/issues/10046) We’ve already done some tests locally and it looks promising. There’s no due date, but we’ll announce it as soon as it is available. Any feedback is more than welcome! ---
**Author:** ![sara.dndg](https://dub1.discourse-cdn.com/flex017/user_avatar/community.penpot.app/sara.dndg/32/10759_2.png) [@sara.dndg](https://community.penpot.app/u/sara.dndg)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2026, 1:37pm UTC](https://community.penpot.app/t/export-as-pdf-results-in-rasterisation-and-compression/7017/12 "2026-07-22T13:37:07Z")
That is great news! Awesome. Thanks for the quick response ⭐ Looking forward to it!