PDF files are so popular because, once created, they remain so even when they are disseminated and read by other users (as opposed to Word files that can always be edited). On the internet, however, there are a lot of PDF files with scans from professional and official documents, which become very useful for taking ideas or for replicating presentations.
In order to properly exploit these images or these scans enclosed in PDFs, we will have to use tools capable of extracting the images, so that we can also reuse them in other PDFs or documents.
In this guide we therefore see the best free sites and programs to extract all the images from a PDF file.
Using these tools (all free) we will be able to obtain the desired images without having to purchase expensive PDF editing programs, which could also be difficult to use for this need.
READ ALSO -> Compress PDF to reduce file size
1) Extraction with the STAMP key (screenshot)
To save the images inserted in the PDF document, the easiest method involves using the desktop screenshots with the "Stamp" key on the keyboard, so that you can obtain a copy of the entire image to be pasted and cut out on an Irfanview- like program.
As an alternative to the STAMP key, we can use one of the programs designed for screenshots (even just a specific area of the screen); for example we can use ShareX, one of the best tools to capture every portion of the visible screen.
Other programs to take screenshots on Windows are available in the dedicated guide -> Capture screenshots and screenshots in Windows: 7 free programs .
2) PDF 24 Tools (online)
One of the best tools (if not the best) to extract images from a PDF document does not even require the installation of programs on the computer, so it can work in any environment and on any operating system: we are talking about PDF 24 Tools.
By opening the page dedicated to the extraction of the images (already linked above) we can proceed with the extraction by dragging the PDF file on the site or using the Choose files button to be able to manually select the file to be uploaded.
At the end of the upload of the files, click on Extract the images, wait a few seconds then click on the Download button to start downloading a compressed file in ZIP format (with the same name as the PDF file), containing all the images inside contained in the PDF.
In a short time and without effort we will have extracted the images from the document, ready to be used.
3) Smallpdf (online)
Another very useful site for extracting images or entire pages from PDFs is Smallpdf.
The operation is similar to what has already been seen in the previous lines: we load the PDF on the site by simply dragging it inside or using the Choose file, From Google Drive or From Dropbox buttons (to upload a PDF stored on these two cloud services).
Once the PDF has been loaded, a window of choice with two options will be shown to the side: with Extract single images we will be able to extract the images contained in the PDF, while with Convert whole pages, we will be able to obtain JPG image files for each page of the document.
We choose the best option for our work, wait a few minutes then click on the Download button to start downloading the compressed ZIP file containing the extracted images or the converted pages; alternatively we can also download the pages individually by clicking on them, so that we can use them immediately.
In addition to downloading the images, we can also send them by email or save them on the cloud.
4) Sejda PDF Desktop
If, on the other hand, we want to go offline without uploading precious documents to the sites, the first completely free program that we recommend to use is Sejda PDF Desktop that really works in a simple way.
With this software we can save all images and photos from more than one PDF file at the same time, using the PDF to JPG menu.
This tool allows you to upload PDFs and to extract images or entire pages in JPEG, PNG, TIFF and GIF formats, with the possibility to choose the quality of the saved images.
The best thing is that it also works with protected PDF files because, in that case, it allows you to enter the password to open the document or to try to extract the contents even from the PDFs of which we do not know the password.
In the case of long documents, only a few images can be extracted by specifying which pages to analyze and convert.
5) Fusion PDF Image Extractor
Fusion PDF Image Extractor is another free and open source program very simple to use, which allows you to extract all the images in a PDF document and save them on your computer in image format.
The interface is very simple: you insert the PDF document with the Browse for PDF button, choose the destination folder with Select Folder and finally press the Extract Images button to extract all the images in the PDF.
6) Conclusions
The programs and sites that we have recommended are without a doubt the best tools we can use, in the workplace and at home, to be able to extract images from a PDF document.
If you use the sites, we won't even have to worry about not being able to install a program (perhaps on a station blocked by a system administrator) or not being able to proceed because we use a Mac or a computer with Linux.
In another guide we have seen how to convert the PDF file into a series of images, very useful for integrating the programs and sites that we have shown you.
If, on the other hand, we are looking for complete programs to be able to also edit the texts in the PDF, we refer you to reading our dedicated guide, present below.
READ ALSO -> Top 10 programs to edit PDF
