Use Case Guide · Updated February 2026

HTML to PDF API: Convert Web Pages to PDF

Q: Can I add headers and footers to PDFs?

Yes. Use the headerTemplate and footerTemplate parameters with HTML. You can include page numbers, dates, and custom text.

Generating PDFs from web content is one of the most common developer tasks — and one of the most painful. Invoices, reports, certificates, dashboards — they all need pixel-perfect PDF output from HTML/CSS. Running wkhtmltopdf or headless Chrome yourself means managing servers, dealing with font rendering issues, and fighting CSS print styles. A PDF generation API eliminates all of that.

📄 HTML to PDF in One API Call

Convert any URL or HTML to PDF. Custom sizes, headers, footers. 200 free/month.

Get Free API Key →

Generate PDFs from URLs

curl

curl "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf?url=https://example.com/invoice/123" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o invoice.pdf

With Custom Options

curl "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf?url=https://example.com/report&paperWidth=8.5&paperHeight=11&marginTop=1&marginBottom=1&printBackground=true" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -o report.pdf

Node.js — Invoice Generation

async function generateInvoice(invoiceId) {
  const response = await fetch(
    `https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf?` +
    `url=${encodeURIComponent(`https://app.yoursite.com/invoices/${invoiceId}`)}` +
    `&paperWidth=8.5&paperHeight=11&printBackground=true`,
    { headers: { 'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY' } }
  );

  const pdfBuffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());

  // Save or email the invoice
  await fs.promises.writeFile(`invoices/${invoiceId}.pdf`, pdfBuffer);
  return pdfBuffer;
}

Python — Report Generation

import requests

def generate_report_pdf(report_url, output_path):
    response = requests.get(
        'https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf',
        params={
            'url': report_url,
            'paperWidth': 8.5,
            'paperHeight': 11,
            'marginTop': 0.5,
            'marginBottom': 0.5,
            'printBackground': True
        },
        headers={'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY'}
    )
    with open(output_path, 'wb') as f:
        f.write(response.content)
    return output_path

# Generate a dashboard PDF
generate_report_pdf('https://app.yoursite.com/dashboard', 'dashboard.pdf')

PDF Generation: API vs DIY

Aspect	DIY (wkhtmltopdf / Puppeteer)	SnapAPI
Setup	Install Chrome/wkhtmltopdf, manage deps	Zero setup — API call
Font rendering	Install fonts on server, font issues common	Full web font support
CSS support	wkhtmltopdf: outdated WebKit; Puppeteer: full	Full modern CSS (Chromium)
JavaScript rendering	wkhtmltopdf: limited; Puppeteer: full	Full JS execution
Memory usage	500MB+ per Chrome instance	Zero — serverless
Concurrent generation	Complex queue management	Auto-scaling
Print CSS support	Varies by tool	Full @media print support

Common PDF Generation Use Cases

🧾 Invoices & Receipts

Generate professional invoices from HTML templates. Consistent rendering across all platforms.

📊 Reports & Dashboards

Convert data dashboards to shareable PDFs. Charts, tables, and graphs render perfectly.

📜 Certificates

Generate personalized certificates, diplomas, and awards from templates at scale.

📋 Contracts & Documents

Create legal documents, proposals, and contracts from structured data and templates.

PDF Generation Tips

Use @media print CSS — hide navigation, ads, and non-essential elements in your print stylesheet
Set printBackground=true — without this, background colors and images won't render
Use proper paper sizes — US Letter (8.5×11"), A4 (8.27×11.69"), or custom dimensions in inches
Add page breaks — use page-break-before: always CSS to control multi-page layouts
Test with web fonts — ensure your fonts load before the PDF is generated (SnapAPI waits for network idle)
Use waitForSelector — if your page has dynamic content, wait for a specific element to ensure it's loaded

Advanced: HTML String to PDF

Don't want to host a template page? You can send HTML directly:

curl -X POST "https://api.snapapi.pics/v1/pdf" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "html": "<html><body style=\"font-family: Arial; padding: 40px;\"><h1>Invoice #1234</h1><p>Amount: $99.00</p></body></html>",
    "paperWidth": 8.5,
    "paperHeight": 11
  }' \
  -o invoice.pdf

Start Generating PDFs

Convert any webpage or HTML to PDF. No servers to manage.

Get Free API Key →

FAQ

What paper sizes are supported?

Any custom size in inches. Common presets: US Letter (8.5×11"), A4 (8.27×11.69"), Legal (8.5×14"). Set paperWidth and paperHeight parameters.

Can I add headers and footers to PDFs?

Yes. Use the headerTemplate and footerTemplate parameters with HTML. You can include page numbers, dates, and custom text.

Does it support JavaScript-rendered content?

Yes. SnapAPI uses a full Chromium browser, so React, Vue, Angular, and any JavaScript framework renders correctly before PDF generation.

How long does PDF generation take?

Typically 2-5 seconds depending on page complexity. Simple pages are under 2 seconds. Pages with heavy JavaScript or many images take longer.