Merge XCF to PDF

How to Merge XCF Files into a PDF Online

1. Upload and Order Your XCF Files: Drag and drop your GIMP project files, or click "+ Add Files." Batch upload is supported — every XCF becomes one page. Drag thumbnails to reorder; the top-left tile is page 1, then left-to-right, top-to-bottom.
2. Pick Page Layout, Paper Size, Placement, and Margin (Optional): Set Page Layout to "Portrait" or "Landscape." Pick a Paper Size preset (A4, Letter, Legal, A3, Tabloid, Ledger, Executive, ARCH A/B, ISO B4/B5, or "Same as image size"). Set Image Placement to "Cover" (fill the page edge-to-edge, may crop) or "Contained" (fit inside the margins, never crop). Set Image Alignment to Top, Center, or Bottom. Pick a Margin: No margin (0"), Narrow (0.5"), Moderate (0.75×1"), Normal (1"), or Large (2×1").
3. Tune Compression, Transparency, and Combine Mode (Optional): Drag the Quality Percentage slider (default 75) to balance file size against image fidelity. Pick a Compression Type — Screen (smallest), Ebook, Default, Prepress, or Printer (largest, best for print). Set Image Transparency to "Unchanged" to keep the alpha channel or "Removed" to flatten transparent pixels onto white. Choose "Single PDF" to merge everything or "Individual PDFs" to get one PDF per XCF.
4. Merge and Download: Click "Merge." Files process in your browser session — no GIMP install, no Script-Fu, no watermark, no sign-up.

Why Merge XCF Files into a PDF?

XCF (eXperimental Computing Facility, named after GIMP's birthplace at UC Berkeley) is GIMP's native project format. It preserves layers, channels, paths, selections, guides, and text-layer metadata — everything GIMP needs to keep editing non-destructively. The trade-off is that almost nothing else opens it cleanly: Photoshop ignores it, web browsers won't render it, email previews won't thumbnail it, and print shops can't import it. Wrapping a folder of XCF outputs into a single PDF gives every recipient a viewable, printable document, while you keep the original XCF files for future edits.

• Design portfolios and case studies — Bundle a series of GIMP comps (logo round 1, round 2, final) into one PDF so a hiring manager or client doesn't have to install GIMP just to flip through your work.
• Print-ready proofs — Send the print shop a PDF instead of XCFs they can't open. Pick "Cover" placement with "No margin" and a Prepress compression preset for full-bleed press files.
• Coursework and tutorial handouts — Instructors who teach GIMP can export each lesson's XCF state to one PDF page, producing a step-by-step handout students can read without opening the editor.
• Archive and version snapshots — Keep working in XCF, but stamp out a dated PDF every few iterations so non-GIMP team members (or your future self) can audit the history without spinning up GIMP.
• Open-source-only client deliverables — When a client's stack is GPL/free-software (Krita, Inkscape, GIMP, Scribus), a flattened PDF made from XCF is a clean handover that doesn't drag in Adobe-ecosystem assumptions.
• Multi-image submissions — Job applications, grant applications, and stock-photo review boards typically want one PDF, not a zip of project files.

XCF vs PDF — Format Comparison

Compression Type Quick Guide

Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I just open my XCF directly in a PDF viewer?

XCF is GIMP's working format — it stores not just pixels but layer trees, masks, paths, selections, parasites, and tool state. PDF viewers don't speak XCF, and the GIMP project explicitly recommends against using it for interchange because the on-disk structure changes with new GIMP versions (most notably the v4 update bundled with GIMP 2.10 in April 2018). Converting to PDF flattens every XCF into a viewable, printable page that any device can render.

Are GIMP layers preserved as PDF layers (OCGs)?

No. Each XCF is rendered as a flattened composite — every visible layer merged into a single image — and that image becomes one PDF page. PDF does support optional content groups (OCGs) for layers, but mapping XCF's parasites, masks, channel ops, and blend modes onto OCGs is not a lossless round-trip. If you need layered PDF output, the workflow is GIMP itself: File → Export As → PDF, with "Layers as pages" checked. If you just need a multi-XCF deliverable, this tool is the right path.

What happens to transparency in my XCF?

You choose. Set Image Transparency to "Unchanged" and the PDF will include the alpha channel — most modern viewers honor it, and a print shop's RIP will too. Set it to "Removed" and transparent pixels are flattened against white before encoding, which is what you want for typical office printers and any viewer that draws checkerboards or black behind alpha.

Should I pick "Cover" or "Contained" image placement?

Use "Cover" when the XCF is already sized for the page (e.g., a full-page poster, a print-ready spread) — it fills edge-to-edge but will crop if the aspect ratios don't match. Use "Contained" for portfolio-style PDFs where you want the whole image visible inside a margin frame, no cropping. With "Contained," your Image Alignment (Top / Center / Bottom) decides where the image sits inside leftover space.

What paper size should I pick for a print shop?

In North America, "Letter" (8.5×11") is the safe default; for tabloid spreads pick "Tabloid" (11×17") or "Ledger." Outside North America, "A4" is standard, with "A3" for posters and "ISO B4/B5" for some Asian-market print runs. Architects and engineers often want "ARCH A" (9×12") or "ARCH B" (12×18"). If your XCFs are pre-sized for a specific document and you don't want any rescaling, pick "Same as image size" — every page takes the dimensions of its source XCF.

What does the Quality Percentage slider actually do?

It controls JPEG-style lossy compression of the rasterized images embedded inside the PDF. At 75 (the default), most viewers can't tell the difference from the original; below 50, you'll start seeing blocking and color banding on gradients and skin tones; above 90, file size grows fast with very little visible benefit. For print-shop deliverables, push it to 90-95; for emailable proofs, 60-70 is usually enough.

Can I get one PDF per XCF instead of a single combined file?

Yes — set Combine to "Individual PDFs" and you'll get a separate PDF for each XCF in the upload, all delivered as a zip. That's useful when each design is a standalone deliverable (one-pager flyers, individual stock submissions) but you still want the convenience of batch processing.

Will text layers stay editable in the output PDF?

No. XCF text layers are rasterized into the page during conversion, just like in GIMP's own "Flatten Image" command. If you need editable, searchable text, the right move is to add the text in a vector tool (Inkscape, Scribus) on top of your raster export — or set the type in GIMP using "File → Export As → PDF" with text-layer support, which writes Unicode text glyphs into the PDF.

What other free tools open XCF files?

GIMP itself (gimp.org, free, all major platforms) is the canonical reader. Krita opens many XCFs and is a strong second option for digital painting workflows. Photopea (the browser-based editor) imports XCF with partial fidelity. Paint.NET supports XCF via a community plugin. For programmatic batch flattening, ImageMagick can read XCF on most builds (convert input.xcf output.png). To convert a single XCF to a flat image first, see XCF to PNG or XCF to JPG; to merge other source formats into a single PDF, see PNG to PDF or PSD to PDF.