Generating PDFs with the API

Render print-ready PDFs from templates with control over margins, DPI, color mode and page ranges.

Published Mar 25, 2026·Updated Oct 27, 2026

Orshot generates high-quality PDFs from your Studio templates — perfect for certificates, invoices, reports, tickets, and print-ready materials. Set response.format to pdf and use pdfOptions to control output quality and formatting.

PDFs are print ready by default. Text and shapes stay sharp at any print size, and your images keep their full original resolution. For crisp printed photos, upload high resolution images to your template; no extra settings needed.

Quick Start#

To generate a PDF, set the response.format to "pdf" in your API request:

JavaScript

const response = await fetch("https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: "<YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID>",
    modifications: {
      recipient_name: "Jane Smith",
      certificate_title: "Course Completion Certificate",
      date: "March 25, 2026",
    },
    response: {
      format: "pdf",
      type: "url",
    },
  }),
});

const data = await response.json();
console.log(data.data.content); // PDF URL

How It Works#

Design a template in Orshot Studio — the same template can render as an image or PDF
Call the API with response.format: "pdf" and any content overrides
Receive your PDF as a hosted URL or as the raw PDF file

The same template that generates a PNG social post can generate a PDF document — just change the format.

API Request Structure#

Field	Type	Required	Description
`templateId`	`string`	Yes	Your Studio template ID
`modifications`	`object`	No	Content overrides
`response.format`	`string`	Yes	Set to `"pdf"`
`response.type`	`string`	No	`"url"` for a hosted link. `"binary"`, `"base64"` or no type return the raw PDF file
`response.scale`	`number`	No	Scale factor for output size
`response.fileName`	`string`	No	Custom filename (without extension)
`response.includePages`	`array`	No	Template pages to include, for example `[1, 3]`
`pdfOptions`	`object`	No	PDF-specific settings (title, margin, DPI, color mode, image compression)

PDF Options#

Use the pdfOptions object to fine-tune your PDF output:

JSON

{
  "templateId": "<YOUR_TEMPLATE_ID>",
  "modifications": {
    "title": "Quarterly Report"
  },
  "response": {
    "format": "pdf",
    "type": "url"
  },
  "pdfOptions": {
    "title": "Quarterly Report Q1 2026",
    "margin": "20px",
    "colorMode": "rgb"
  }
}

Option	Type	Default	Description
`title`	`string`	`response.fileName`	Document Title metadata, shown in browser tabs and PDF readers
`margin`	`string`	`"0px"`	Margin around the PDF content, in whole pixels (`"20px"` or `20`). Other units return a 400
`dpi`	`number`	`72`	Scales the PDF page by `dpi / 72`. Leave unset for paper sizes. Details
`colorMode`	`string`	`"rgb"`	Color mode: `"rgb"` for screen, `"cmyk"` for print
`outlineText`	`boolean`	`false`	`true` turns all text into vector outlines so the PDF has no fonts, for print shops that ask for it. Details
`imageFormat`	`string`	`"auto"`	Set to `"jpeg"` to compress embedded photos, often 80 to 90% smaller
`imageQuality`	`number`	`85`	JPEG quality from 1 to 100, used with `imageFormat: "jpeg"`
`maxImageDpi`	`number`	`300`	Downsample ceiling for embedded images, `0` keeps source resolution

Response#

The response structure is the same as image generation:

JSON

{
  "data": {
    "content": "https://storage.orshot.com/cloud/w-1/renders/images/invoice-001-a1b2c3d4e5f.pdf",
    "type": "url",
    "format": "pdf",
    "responseTime": 1840.2
  }
}

responseTime is in milliseconds. A custom fileName gets a short unique suffix, so two renders never overwrite each other.

Set type: "url" to get JSON with a link. With binary, base64 or no type, a PDF render returns the raw PDF file, not JSON.

Common Use Cases#

Certificates#

JavaScript

const response = await fetch("https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: "<CERTIFICATE_TEMPLATE>",
    modifications: {
      recipient: "Alex Johnson",
      course: "Advanced JavaScript",
      date: "March 25, 2026",
      certificate_id: "CERT-2026-001",
    },
    response: {
      format: "pdf",
      type: "url",
      fileName: "certificate-alex-johnson",
    },
  }),
});

Invoices#

JavaScript

await fetch("https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: "<INVOICE_TEMPLATE>",
    modifications: {
      invoice_number: "INV-2026-0042",
      client_name: "Acme Corp",
      amount: "$2,450.00",
      due_date: "April 15, 2026",
      cta_button: "Pay Now",
      "cta_button.href": "https://pay.example.com/inv-0042",
    },
    response: {
      format: "pdf",
      type: "url",
    },
  }),
});

Event Tickets#

JavaScript

await fetch("https://api.orshot.com/v1/studio/render", {
  method: "POST",
  headers: {
    "Content-Type": "application/json",
    Authorization: "Bearer <YOUR_API_KEY>",
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    templateId: "<TICKET_TEMPLATE>",
    modifications: {
      event_name: "Tech Conference 2026",
      attendee: "Sarah Chen",
      seat: "Row A, Seat 14",
      qr_code:
        "https://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?size=200x200&data=TICKET-001",
    },
    response: {
      format: "pdf",
      type: "url",
    },
  }),
});

Print-Ready PDFs#

For print, design the canvas at the paper size and leave dpi unset. Use CMYK color mode:

JSON

{
  "response": {
    "format": "pdf",
    "type": "url"
  },
  "pdfOptions": {
    "colorMode": "cmyk",
    "margin": "0px"
  }
}

CMYK color mode ensures accurate color reproduction when printing. Use it for business cards, flyers, and other print materials.

What's Next#

PDF Options

Control margins, DPI, color mode, and image compression

Interactive Links

Add clickable links to text and image elements

Multi-Page PDFs

Generate multi-page documents from a single template

PDF generator APIs compared

How Orshot stacks up against DocRaptor, PDFMonkey and others

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Generating PDFs with the API

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