Introduction

This guide provides a step-by-step approach to converting HTML to PDF using Node.js, covering popular libraries like Puppeteer, jsPDF, and html-pdf. We’ll conclude with a comparison table to help you select the right tool for your needs.

Puppeteer: Full Web Page Rendering

Step 1: Install Puppeteer

npm install puppeteer

Step 2: Convert HTML to PDF

const puppeteer = require('puppeteer');

async function createPDF() {
    const browser = await puppeteer.launch();
    const page = await browser.newPage();
    await page.setContent('<h1>Hello, Puppeteer!</h1>');
    await page.pdf({ path: 'example.pdf', format: 'A4' });
    await browser.close();
}

createPDF();

jsPDF: Client-Side PDF Generation

Step 1: Include jsPDF

In Node.js, you can install jsPDF using npm:

npm install jspdf

Step 2: Generate PDF

const { jsPDF } = require("jspdf");
const doc = new jsPDF();

doc.text("Hello World!", 10, 10);
doc.save("a4.pdf");

html-pdf: Simple HTML to PDF Conversion

Step 1: Install html-pdf

npm install html-pdf

Step 2: Create PDF from HTML

const pdf = require('html-pdf');
const html = '<b>Hello world</b>';

pdf.create(html, { format: 'Letter' }).toFile('./output.pdf', (err, res) => {
  if (err) return console.log(err);
  console.log(res);
});

Comparison Table

Templated: A templated-based solution

For those looking for a more streamlined approach, especially when dealing with dynamic content or templates, Templated offers an efficient solution. Templated simplifies the process of generating PDFs from HTML content using an API-based platform, powered by a Chromium-based rendering engine that fully supports JavaScript, CSS, and HTML.

Using Templated you can design your PDF template using a drag-and-drop editor.
Check the video below to see an example of the editor:

Step 1: Set Up Templated API

First, ensure you have an account with Templated and obtain your API key from the dashboard. After logging in you will see your Dashboard where you can manage your templated or create new ones:

Then, set up your Node.js project to make HTTP requests. You can use libraries like axios for this purpose.

npm install axios

Step 2: Generate PDF with Templated

Create a Node.js script to call the Templated API, passing in your template data and desired options. Here’s an example of generating a PDF using Templated:

const axios = require('axios');

async function createPDFwithTemplated() {
  try {
    const payload = {
      template: "template_id",
      format: "pdf",
      layers: {
        date: { text: "02/10/2024" },
        name: { text: "John Doe" },
        signature: { text: "Dr. Mark Brown" },
        details: { text: "This certificate is awarded to John Doe in recognition of their successful completion of Computer Science Degree on 02/10/2024." }
      }
    };

    const response = await axios.post('https://api.templated.io/v1/render', payload, {
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
        'Authorization': 'Bearer ${YOUR_API_KEY}' // Replace ${YOUR_API_KEY} with your actual API key
      }
    });

    console.log("Response Code:", response.status);
    console.log(response.data); // The API response
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(error);
  }
}

createPDFwithTemplated();

In this example, replace template_id with the actual ID of your template and YOUR_API_KEY with your Templated API key. The data object should contain the data you want to use in your template.

Conclusion

Templated provides a powerful yet simple solution for generating PDFs, especially useful for applications requiring dynamic content generation, template management, and tracking. By leveraging Templated’s API, you can focus on your application’s core functionality without worrying about the complexities of PDF generation.