Images conversion
Convert DICOM to PDF
DICOM is the format MRI, CT, and X-ray machines save scans in, normally only viewable in specialized medical imaging software. PDF opens on any computer or phone. To convert, open the DICOM file in a converter and export it as PDF, on your own computer, so the scan images and the patient details in the file never get uploaded anywhere.
All 2,748 conversions verified on macOS, Windows, and Linux against the shipping release, this one included. Every conversion runs entirely on your own computer.
- Extension
- .dcm
- Type
- Images
- Typically
- Medical scans (MRI, CT, X-ray)
- Transparency
- None
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
- Extension
- Type
- Documents
- Typically
- The universal document format
- Metadata
- Carries EXIF
Convert DICOM to PDF on your own computer. Nothing uploads.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.
How to convert DICOM to PDF
- Open Morphjet and drag in the DICOM file, or the whole folder if the scan is split across multiple slices.
- Choose PDF as the output format.
- Convert. Each slice becomes a page, so a multi-image scan stays together as one document.
- The PDF is written next to your original, and nothing leaves your machine.
DICOM vs PDF: what actually changes
| DICOM | ||
|---|---|---|
| Opens everywhere | No, needs medical imaging (DICOM) viewer software | Yes, opens in any browser or PDF reader |
| Quality | Lossless, full diagnostic pixel data | Lossless, the pixel data is preserved as-is |
| Multi-slice scans | Stored as a series of individual image frames | Each slice becomes one page in a single file |
| Keeps patient info (metadata) | Yes, name, date of birth, and scan details are in the file | Yes, unless you strip it before converting |
| Zoom, windowing, and measurement tools | Yes, in proper viewing software | No, it's a flat image on a page |
| File size | Large, especially multi-slice studies | Similar or larger, since pages aren't recompressed |
When to convert, and when not to
Convert DICOM to PDF when you need to hand a scan to someone without medical imaging software, such as a patient, a referring office, or an insurer, or when you just want to attach it to an email or a record.
Keep the original DICOM if the scan still needs to be read or measured in medical imaging software, because a PDF is a flat image and loses the windowing and measurement tools a real viewer gives you.
Why not just use an online converter?
DICOM files usually carry the patient's name, date of birth, and other identifying details directly in the file header, alongside the scan itself. Sending that file through an online converter hands that patient data to their server too, not just the images. Converting on your own computer keeps the scan and everything written into it entirely on your machine.
Questions
Does converting DICOM to PDF lose image quality?
No, the pixel data itself is preserved. What you lose is the zoom, windowing, and measurement controls a proper DICOM viewer gives you, since a PDF is just a flat page.
Will the PDF still have the patient's name and other details in it?
Yes, if they're stored in the original file's header, they carry over unless you strip them before converting. Worth checking before you send it anywhere.
Can I convert a multi-slice CT or MRI scan to PDF?
Yes. Drop in the whole folder of slices and each one becomes a page, so the full study stays together in one document.
Can I convert DICOM to PDF without uploading the scan anywhere?
Yes. Morphjet converts it on your own computer, so the scan and the patient details in it never travel over the internet.
Will a hospital or another doctor accept the PDF instead of the DICOM?
For reference or review, usually. For actual diagnostic reading, most radiologists still want the original DICOM, since the PDF can't be zoomed or measured the same way.
Morphjet runs this conversion and 2,747 others, all on your machine. Available now.
One-time purchase, no subscription. 14 days to change your mind.