Family Historian User Group

Could anyone point me in the direction of a jpg to pdf converter plse? I see there are many when I Google it but would like to have a free one that has some recommendation from forum users. I have about 70 scanned pages of my mother's life story and would like to distribute this around the family. Any suggestions re a better method than using pdf would also be welcome. Many thanks,
Dagwood

ID:4747

A simple option maybe to insert the images into a Word doument (or something similar) and then use one of the PDF printer drivers you can get to print the word document as a pdf.

Richard

You could simply download a PDF printer (such as BullZip) and simply print the images into a single PDF, or just drop all the images into word and if you have a newish version you can download a PDF extension for Word which creates PDF documents directly.


remember even if you do that it will still be images in the PDF and not a text.

May I recommend IrfanView http://www.irfanview.com which is a free download for everything from Windows 95 to Windows 7. It is also a portable program on USB memory sticks, CD, etc.

It edits and converts just about every popular image / video / audio format, including jpg to pdf, and can work in batch mode to convert a whole folder of files in one go. It can even password protect the pdf file against modification, etc.

I use it regularly to convert the FindMyPast DjVu files to jpg files, and to perform simple image edits such as crop image, improve colour balance, convert to gray-scale, print with file-name caption, etc, etc.

P.S.
IrfanView also has an option to convert all the input files and place them in one output PDF file with one image per page.

Picture Images
If your original document was mostly photos / document images / handwritten text, then PDF is probably your best option.

Textual Images
If your original document was mostly typed / printed text, then can you obtain the original word-processing document file from which it was created? If so you have many more options.
Otherwise, you should be able to convert the jpg images of the text into a word-processor document by using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The scanner you used to scan the original document probably has OCR software included on its installation CD. This software should be able to input your jpg images, and output either Rich Text Format (.rtf) &/or Microsoft Word (.doc) files with text and embedded photos included. You can then edit these files with Microsoft Word/Works and eventually create a better quality PDF as suggested in the earlier posts.

You guys never fail to impress me with your willingness to share information and give assistance. Many thanks for taking the time to give such helpful information!
A much wiser Dagwood[smile]

Whilst fiddling around with the jpeg images for conversion I happened to use Photoshop Elements 6 for improving sharpness. As I went to save the documents I found there was a PDF option which worked perfectly. I felt I had to let others know that this is available if they have PSE. I have version 6 but guess it is available in earlier versions and almost certainly in later ones. I will still be trying out the advice given earlier as not all my documents will open in PSE. A big thanks again,
Dagwood

Does Photoshop Elements 6 let you place all your jpeg files in one PDF file, so you have one complete document of your mother's life story?

If not, then IrfanView is a better choice.

I have to confess to sending batches of jpegs at the moment as all receiving it said they can see photos (ie myjpgs) normally and not all wanted pdf's . I will however continue trying to assemble as one pdf once all the scanning is completed and will therefore look at Irfanview. Thanks
Dagwood
ps If anyone knows how to create an audiobook see my next thread please [confused]