PDFGym
EN

Turn a CBZ into a PDF, or a PDF into a CBZ

or drop one here
Choose a CBZ or image-only PDF first.

A CBZ is a ZIP full of page scans, and most tablets cannot open one. This page repacks those scans into a PDF any reader displays, or unpacks an image-only PDF back into a CBZ for a comic reader. Page order sorts by the numbers in the names, original bytes stay untouched, and every output page is reopened before the download appears.

The tablet that never heard of CBZ

When the reading device only speaks PDF, convert the archive rather than hunting for a reader app. The pictures survive the trip untouched.

Marek boards a flight with saga-volume-7.cbz, 168 scanned pages, and a tablet whose reader opens PDF and nothing else. He drops the archive on this page, glances at the Natural page order list to confirm chapter folders landed in sequence, leaves the paper on Match image, and presses Convert CBZ to PDF.

The tablet reads saga-volume-7.pdf offline at the gate, every page its own size, bytes identical to the archive. Going home he runs the reverse trip for a friend with a comic reader: the image-only PDF becomes a CBZ again, pages named page-001 onward in PDF order.

Four passes from archive to readable file

  1. Open the archive or the PDF

    Press Choose a CBZ or PDF, or drop the file on the page. ZIP-based archives and image-only PDFs are both welcome, and the file never leaves your device.

  2. Check the page order

    Folder paths and file names sort numerically, so issue-2 lands ahead of issue-10 however the archive packed them. PDF input keeps its existing page order instead. Each card shows its format and pixel size for a last glance.

  3. Set the paper, when it applies

    For CBZ input, pick Match image, A4, or US Letter, plus a Margin of None, Narrow, or Standard. Fixed paper turns itself for landscape art and pads without cropping, and original pixels are never resampled. The PDF direction needs no layout, since an archive holds files rather than pages.

  4. Convert and download

    The button reads Convert CBZ to PDF or Convert PDF to CBZ depending on what you loaded. The result is reopened and checked, kept JPEG streams compared byte for byte, before Download PDF or Download CBZ appears under the source name.

What each direction accepts

A CBZ holds image files and nothing else; a PDF page can also carry text, vector shapes, transparency, and a stack of images. That gap sets the rules. The archive direction takes JPG and PNG pages only, skips the usual stowaways such as ComicInfo.xml, .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, and __MACOSX folders, and caps out at 2,000 entries, 128 MB per file, and 768 MB unpacked.

The PDF direction is stricter: every page must map to exactly one standalone JPG or PNG, with no selectable text, no vector drawing, and no inline fragments. Anything ambiguous is refused with its page number rather than flattened into a guess, which is what keeps both directions lossless. Nothing here resamples a pixel; the verifier reopens each output page and compares the kept JPEG streams byte for byte.

Why a file gets refused

CBR tops the list: it is RAR under the hood, not ZIP, so the tool reports a non-standard archive. Unpack it on your computer and repack the pages as a ZIP renamed to .cbz, then load that. The other common stop is foreign image formats inside the archive. WebP, GIF, AVIF, BMP, HEIC, and TIFF pages cannot be embedded without touching the artwork, so the run names their count and halts instead of converting half the book.

From the PDF side, expect a refusal count whenever a page carries selectable text, two extractable images, vector drawing, or inline fragments. Each offending page is listed, nothing is silently dropped, and your original stays unchanged. One more honest edge: archive extras like ComicInfo.xml are skipped, so library tags and reading progress do not travel with the pages.

Jobs this converter is not for

Loose scans that never lived in an archive go straight to Images to PDF, and single-format batches to JPG to PDF or PNG to PDF. Several volumes become one book by converting each here and joining the results in Merge PDF; to cut or reorder pages afterwards, Organize pages does that. When the finished PDF is too heavy to send, Compress PDF trims the image data.

Short answers about comics and PDFs

My CBZ mixes JPG and PNG pages. Is that OK?
Yes. Both formats embed as they are, and the page list shows which card is which. Only foreign formats such as WebP or GIF stop the run.
Will ComicInfo.xml tags survive the trip?
No. Archive extras are skipped while the pages convert, so library tags and reading progress stay behind. Page order is what carries over.
Why does the PDF offer A4 when my pages are square?
Match image is the default and keeps every page its own size. A4 and US Letter exist for printing or uniform readers; they turn for landscape art and pad without cropping.
The PDF direction refuses page 1. What is wrong with it?
That page is not a lone image. Selectable text, a second extractable picture, vector drawing, or inline fragments each disqualify it, and the card names the reason. The tool refuses rather than dropping content.
How big a collection can I feed it?
Up to 2,000 archive entries, 128 MB per file, and 768 MB unpacked. Inside those walls the work is memory-bound, so a heavy volume simply takes longer.

More tools for picture-heavy files

Each tool below keeps the same habits: files stay on your device, outputs are rechecked before download, and no account stands at the door.

Finish the comic