Blog

Engineering essays on edge PDF rendering.

Comparison reviews, deep dives, and the why-we-built-it-this-way notes that don't fit on the homepage.

  1. #logistics#ecommerce#shipping-labels

    Shipping label TCO 2026: iText vs Puppeteer vs gPdf Edge API

    Cross-border fulfillment faces severe latency and multi-language rendering challenges. When volume scales to 10 million+ labels, how does the true TCO of global edge computing compare to legacy centralized architectures?

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  2. #logistics#ecommerce#shipping-labels

    Why logistics and ecommerce are a natural fit for gPdf

    Shipping labels are only the first proof point. For logistics and ecommerce teams, gPdf fits the operational document layer: fast label design, vector barcodes, deterministic reprints, and stateless high-volume PDF generation.

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  3. #emoji#comparison#pdf-generation

    Color emoji in PDFs: support, file size, and why it matters

    Emoji are now status, sentiment, and context in receipts, tickets, chat exports, and support records. Here is how PDF generators handle color emoji, and why file size matters.

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  4. #pdf-metadata#pdf-spec#technical-reference

    PDF metadata fields, explained: title, language, author, subject, creator, producer

    Field-by-field walkthrough of the six standard PDF metadata fields gPdf exposes — title, language, author, subject, creator, producer. What each one is for, who reads it, common mistakes, and how to verify what shipped.

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  5. #pdf-metadata#white-label#branding

    PDF properties should show your brand, not someone else's tool

    Most white-label PDF stacks render the page in your brand but quietly stamp a third-party tool name into the file's Producer field. For B2B SaaS that ships PDFs on behalf of customers, that gap matters. Here's why, and what to do about it.

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  6. #pdf-a#compliance#archival

    PDF/A-3 explained — and how to verify your file is actually compliant

    PDF/A-3 is the only PDF/A profile that legally holds embedded attachments — the basis for Factur-X / ZUGFeRD e-invoicing. How it differs from PDF/A-2, what to check, and a free dual-engine validator.

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  7. #e-invoice#zugferd#factur-x

    Validating ZUGFeRD with Mustang — what passes, what fails, and why

    Mustang is the de-facto Factur-X / ZUGFeRD reference checker. A walkthrough of the common failure modes when embedding CII XML in a PDF/A-3 — and how to verify before you ship.

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  8. #pdf-a#compliance#validation

    Why two PDF/A validators are better than one

    Single-engine PDF/A conformance results are not audit-grade. Why dual-engine validation matters — and how to run it free at gpdf.com/validator/.

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  9. #barcodes#vector#logistics

    Vector vs raster barcodes in PDFs: the chargeback you don't see coming

    A barcode that looks perfect in Acrobat can fail at the warehouse scanner — costing real money in retailer chargebacks. Why it happens, what it costs, and how to verify your PDFs in three minutes. For buyers, ops leads, and engineers.

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  10. #decision-framework#evaluation

    Choosing a PDF API in 2026: 8 questions you should ask

    A vendor-agnostic decision framework for picking a PDF generation API. The eight questions that actually predict whether you'll be happy in 12 months.

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  11. #comparison#docraptor#pricing

    gPdf vs DocRaptor: why edge rendering beats HTML-to-PDF

    DocRaptor uses Prince to convert HTML to PDF on a hosted backend. gPdf renders structured JSON directly at the edge. The price gap is 18×. Here's why that's not a teaser.

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  12. #comparison#puppeteer#edge

    gPdf vs Puppeteer: when 800 MB of Chromium is the wrong answer

    Puppeteer renders any web page to PDF, but you're paying for a headless browser you mostly aren't using. A pragmatic comparison for engineers picking a PDF stack in 2026.

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