How to Print to PDF on Mac with macOS Built-in Features

Printing to PDF often indicates that users wish to convert a range of content types, such as web pages, documents, images, or emails, into the PDF format. On a Mac, creating a PDF from other file formats is a simple and effortless process.

Without the hassle of downloading third-party software, we will show you how to print to PDF on Mac with native applications in the following post.

Use Preview to Print an Image to a PDF File on Mac

The Preview program is a simple and easy-to-use option for viewing or editing images and PDFs on Mac. It enables users to utilize the annotation tools to highlight PDFs, add notes or shapes to PDFs, and digitally sign PDFs.

Preview can convert PDFs to images, and change images to different file formats like JPEG, PNG, or TIFF.

Step 1. Open an Image with Preview

Launch the Preview app on your Mac, hold “Command + O” to open an image, navigate to File, and select Print from the menu.

Step 2. Save as PDF Setting

Choose Save as PDF from the PDF dropdown menu in the printing window.

Step 3. Save the Converted PDF Document

Enter a name for the PDF file, select a location where you like, and hit Save to save the PDF.

If you need to password-protect a PDF file, you can click the Security Options. Then set a password in the PDF Security Options pop-up, hit the OK button, and finally click Save to finish the printing.

Combine Multiple Images into One PDF with Preview

Preview can not only save an image as a PDF file, but it also allows users to combine various pictures into a single PDF document. Let’s explore the detailed steps for this process below.

Step 1. Open Several Images with Preview

Select the images you want to convert in Finder by drawing a box over the images with your mouse, or holding the command key and clicking the images one by one. Then open them with Preview.

Step 2. Rearrange the Pages in Preview

In the Preview’s sidebar, you can reorder the images to the desired position. If you need to change the orientation of the image, click the Rotate icon in the toolbar.

Step 3. Print Multiple Images into One Single PDF

Navigate to File in the menu bar, select Print which will trigger a printing window. Set the printing parameters in the print dialog, and choose Save as PDF from the PDF drop-down menu in the left lower corner of the dialog.

Step 4. Save the PDF Containing Several Images

In the saving window, specify the file name, pick a destination folder, and click Save to save the PDF document.

Save a Web Page/Website as a PDF within Safari Browser

Safari is the default web browser on Mac computers. It’s easy to export a web page to a PDF file with the Apple Safari web browser on the Mac.

When you save a web page to PDF, you can share it so that the information looks identical to how it appears on the browser.

There are two options to convert a web page to PDF with Safari: Use the print functionality File > Print > Save as PDF > Save or Export as PDF.

Step 1. Open a Web Page in Safari

Open the Safari browser, and enter the webpage/website you want to convert to PDF. Then navigate to File, and select Export as PDF.

Step 2. Save PDF from Webpage/Website

Name your PDF file, choose a desired location, and hit the Save button to save the PDF document.

Utilize TextEdit to Print Word Files to PDF Form

TextEdit, a pre-installed tool that comes with macOS, allows you to open and edit rich text documents created in other word-processing apps, including Microsoft Word.

Additionally, you can save your documents in a variety of formats, ensuring compatibility with other software programs.

Step 1. Open a Word with TextEdit, navigate to File, and select Print

Step 2. Save the Word File as a PDF

Check Save as PDF in the drop-down list, name your file, choose where to save it, and click Save to save the PDF.

Bonus Tips: How to Edit a PDF with a Free PDF Editor for Mac

The built-in program Preview is a PDF editor for Mac users, with the exception that it can’t edit pre-existing text. For more advanced editing features, you can try the free PDF editor – PDFgear for macOS.

PDFgear is a free PDF editing tool on Mac with AI integration, which allows you to talk to your PDF to streamline your PDF workflow. With PDFgear, you can edit text freely, just like editing a Word file in a Word-processor tool.

In addition to its basic editing feature, PDFgear offers a solution to compress PDF documents to a reduced size, available in three PDF file compression modes. It also provides users with comprehensive conversion features to convert PDF to Word or other formats, without losing format and quality.

Download PDFgear for Mac now to experience the versatile PDF-related features and intuitive UI design without an email sign-up or annoying ads.

FAQs

How do I print to PDF on Mac in Google Chrome?

Open a webpage in Google Chrome, hold “command + P” to print the page, select Save as PDF in the Destination drop-down list, and hit the Print button to save the page as a PDF document.

How do I print to PDF on Mac with Adobe Acrobat?

Open a file in any application that can open and print it, click File, choose Print, and select Adobe PDF from the Printer’s dropdown menu.

Why doesn’t my Mac give me the Print to PDF option?

Ensure your Mac is running a recent enough version of the operating system and that the printer’s software is the correct, up-to-date version. You can go to the System Preferences settings, and choose Printers & Scanners to set the printers.

How to print a PDF on a Mac for free?

To physically print a PDF, you can open the file with Preview, go to File, select Print, choose an available printer from the Printer’s list, and hit Print to print the PDF document.

How to print a double-sided PDF on a Mac?

You can try PDFgear, a free batch PDF printing tool that supports duplex printing, which will assist you in printing a double-sided PDF with a few clicks.

The Bottom Line

Printing to PDF on a Mac is a straightforward process, thanks to the native tools integrated within the macOS operating system. They are handy enough but have limitations as well.

If you need a professional PDF editor, or you need to generate a PDF from other formats like EPUB, HTML, PSD, etc., PDFgear would be your preferred option.