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pdfconversionapi

SVG to TIFF API

POST an SVG to /v2/convert/svg/to/tiff to receive a single-page RGBA TIFF. ImageResolution=300 in the sample writes 300 DPI into the tags without changing the 300 × 300 pixel size; ImageWidth is what adds pixels.

Endpoint
POST /v2/convert/svg/to/tiff
Accepts
svg
Sample timing
11 ms median of 5 runsHow we measure
Request size
Up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files together

Request and response

Every sample below ran against the API before this page was published. Set PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY to your key and run it as is.

curl -sS -X POST \
  https://api.pdfconversionapi.com/v2/convert/svg/to/tiff \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $PDFCONVERSIONAPI_KEY" \
  -F File=@water-day-icon.svg \
  --form-string ImageResolution=300 \
  -o response.json

# FileData is base64. Save the first file in converted/,
# or print the JSON error.
if jq -e '.Files' response.json > /dev/null; then
  mkdir -p converted
  name=$(jq -r '.Files[0].FileName' response.json)
  jq -r '.Files[0].FileData' response.json \
    | base64 --decode > "converted/$name"
else
  cat response.json
fi
200 OK11 ms median1 file, 352 KB
{
  "ConversionCost": 1,
  "ConversionTime": 0.011,
  "Files": [
    {
      "FileName": "water-day-icon.tiff",
      "FileExt": "tiff",
      "FileSize": 360214,
      "FileData": "SUkqAGh+BQAsAQAAAQAAACwB…"
    }
  ]
}

Response from our test run on 2026-11-03. ConversionTime shows the median of 5 runs. FileData is shortened here; the real response carries the whole file as base64.

The sample, converted

The same file the code sends. Download the input and the output and compare them yourself.

First page of water-day-icon.tiff, rendered by the API
Input
water-day-icon.svg (2.1 KB)
Output
water-day-icon.tiff (352 KB)
Source
An app icon for a fictional plant-watering reminder, with two gradients, a soft drop shadow and a text label, which we drew by hand. (CC0-1.0). How it was made
Made by
2026-11-04, API build 9eeeb0640aba

Parameters

Send these as form fields next to the file. Names are case-insensitive. If you set one of the documented options below that we don't support yet, the request fails with a 400 that names it instead of returning a file made without it.

ParameterWhat it does
ImageResolutionintegerDPI written to XResolution and YResolution with inches as the unit. It sets how large the image prints, not how many pixels it has. Without it the tags say 1 with no unit.Values: 10–800
ImageWidthintegerPixel width of the render. To print the icon 2 inches wide at 300 DPI, send ImageWidth=600 with ImageResolution=300.Values: 1–20000
ImageHeightintegerPixel height of the render.Values: 1–20000
ScaleProportionsboolean, default truefalse fills both sizes exactly.
ScaleIfLargerboolean, default falsetrue never makes the render larger than the SVG's own size.
ScaleImageboolean, default truefalse crops from the top left instead of scaling.
TransparentColorstringClears pixels of exactly this color: #FFFFFF added 695 transparent pixels to the sample.Values: Color names (white, black, red, green, blue, gray), #RRGGBB or R,G,B
ColorSpaceenum, default defaultgray and monochrome on a drawing with transparent pixels, like the sample, give an RGBA page holding gray values, alpha kept (360,214 bytes at 300 px). On an SVG with an opaque background, gray gave an 8-bit gray TIFF. rgb drops an alpha channel that no pixel uses: that opaque SVG came back as 3-channel RGB, 270,210 bytes instead of 360,214. cmyk returns 400.Values: default, rgb, gray, monochrome
MultiPageboolean, default trueAccepted, but an SVG always gives one page.
FileNamestringName of the TIFF without extension.
StoreFileboolean, default falseReturns a URL to the file, kept 3 hours.

Not supported yet

Setting one of these to anything but its default returns 400.

OptionWhat to do instead
ImageQualityThe TIFF is lossless. 75, ConvertAPI's default, is accepted; other values return 400 "ImageQuality is not supported yet for SVG → TIFF".

What carries over, and what doesn't

Kept

  • Every pixel and alpha value: the sample decodes to exactly the PNG render
  • The DPI you send, as 300/1 with ResolutionUnit inch
  • The soft shadow's partial transparency
  • Crisp edges at the pixel size you ask for

Lost or not yet supported

  • Compression: the page is stored raw, 360,214 bytes for 300 × 300 where the PNG is 26,512.
  • A one-channel gray file for drawings with transparency: they stay RGBA, with equal red, green and blue (see ColorSpace).
  • CMYK: output is RGB only.
  • A label for the fourth channel: there is no ExtraSamples tag, though the three readers we tried all treated it as alpha.
  • Text in fonts we don't have and images not embedded in the SVG.

Limits

  • One SVG per request, one page per TIFF.
  • Requests up to 10 MB on the Free plan or 100 MB on paid plans, all files and fields together.
  • Renders above 100,000,000 pixels return 413.
  • ImageWidth and ImageHeight 1 to 20,000; ImageResolution 10 to 800.
  • 120 seconds per conversion, then 504.

Where teams use it

Print layouts that need a size in inches

Pair ImageWidth with ImageResolution so the TIFF carries both the pixels and the physical size the layout should use: 600 px at 300 DPI is a 2-inch icon.

Systems that store TIFF only

Archive and document systems that accept TIFF can take vector logos and diagrams once they are rendered, with alpha kept for later compositing.

Questions

Does ImageResolution give me more pixels?

No. The SVG's own size (or ImageWidth) sets the pixels; ImageResolution only fills in the resolution tags. Multiply the print size in inches by the DPI to get the width to send.

Why is the TIFF so large?

The page is written without compression: 4 bytes per pixel, 360,214 bytes for the 300 × 300 sample and 1,440,230 bytes at 600 × 600. If size matters, PNG or WebP keep the same pixels in a fraction of that.

Can I get a grayscale TIFF?

Yes. With the sample's clear corners, ColorSpace=gray keeps four channels: gray values in red, green and blue, and the alpha as it was. A drawing without transparent pixels gets a true 8-bit gray TIFF: with a full-size white rectangle behind the icon, it was 90,198 bytes.

Is the TIFF multi-page?

No, an SVG is one page. MultiPage is accepted and has nothing to combine.

Convert your first SVG file in a minute.