Converting DjVu to PDF makes scanned books and documents easier to open and share. DjVu is a file format designed for scanned pages, especially books with text and images, and it compresses scans very efficiently. But many devices and apps don’t support DjVu, while PDF opens almost everywhere.
Free ways to convert: on Linux and Mac, the command-line tool ddjvu (part of DjVuLibre) can convert DjVu files to PDF, for example ddjvu -format=pdf input.djvu output.pdf. Document viewers like SumatraPDF on Windows and Okular on Linux can open DjVu files, and printing to PDF from them is a simple workaround. Online converters are fast for small, non-private files.
Quality and size: DjVu files are often much smaller than equivalent PDFs because of their specialized compression. When converting, the PDF may be larger, especially at high resolution. Choose a resolution that balances readability and file size. If the DjVu file includes a hidden text layer from OCR, some converters preserve it, keeping the PDF searchable; others don’t, so you may need to run OCR again.
Tips: check page order and image quality after converting, compress the PDF if it’s too large to email and keep the original DjVu file as a backup. Many old digitized books from libraries and archives are available in DjVu format, and converting them lets you read them on any tablet or e-reader that supports PDF.
Privacy note for DjVu to PDF: avoid uploading sensitive documents, like tax forms or IDs, to tools you don’t trust. Built-in apps on your phone or computer handle most PDF tasks without sending your file anywhere.
Quick tip for DjVu to PDF: always keep a copy of your original file before converting, compressing or editing, and open the final PDF on a second device to confirm fonts, images and page order came through correctly.
Learn more on Wikipedia’s DjVu article. Find EPUB to PDF, scan to PDF and reduce PDF file size guides on Minedit.