PdfMini 1.2.0

PdfMini 🚀

Ultra-fast, allocation-minimal PDF 1.7 writer for .NET
No rendering engine. No DOM. No bloat.

✔ netstandard2.0
✔ zero external PDF dependencies
✔ stream-first design
✔ ideal for receipts, reports, invoices

A tiny, no-BS PDF generator for .NET — built for speed, predictability, and full control.

If you’re tired of heavyweight PDF “frameworks” that spend more time thinking about layout than producing bytes, this is your antidote.

var doc = new PdfDocument();

var fontBytes = File.ReadAllBytes("arial.ttf");           // put arial.ttf next to exe
var font = doc.EmbedTrueTypeUnicode("F1", fontBytes);

var page = doc.AddPageA4();
var c = new Composer(doc, page, font, margin: 24);

c.Paragraph("Hello PDF!");

doc.Save("hello.pdf");

Why PdfMini exists

Most PDF libraries are designed to be everything for everyone:

• sprawling object models
• multi-pass layout engines
• layers of abstraction
• hidden “helpful” features (and hidden costs)

PdfMini is the opposite:

• single-purpose
• straight-line rendering
• minimal allocations
• no DOM, no reflow circus
• you own the bytes

When PdfMini is the right choice

Benchmark (1000 pages)

Real numbers. Same machine. Same job: generate a 1000-page PDF.

• iText 7: 7.02s
• PdfMini: 1.76s

✅ PdfMini is ~4.0× faster (7.02 / 1.76 ≈ 3.99)
✅ PdfMini saves 5.26 seconds on 1000 pages

Features

• Text layout with wrapping + measurement
• Tables with row splitting / header repeat
• Images (PNG decode to raw RGB/Alpha)
• EAN barcodes (EAN-13 / EAN-8/ Code39) rendered as vector bars
• TrueType font loading + metrics
• TrueType subsetting/remap support
• PDF reading/import (page extraction + import flow)

This is not a “toy”. It’s a fast, deterministic PDF pipeline.

Quick start (concept)

Typical flow:

1. Create a PdfDocument
2. Add an A4 page
3. Use Composer to place content
4. Export to bytes / write to disk

You’ll see classes like:

• PdfDocument (writer + resources)
• PdfPageEx / content streams
• Composer (simple layout driver)
• Paragraph, Table, Image, BarcodeEan

Design goals

✅ Deterministic performance

No “surprises” on page 800.

✅ Minimal overhead

No giant layout engine doing interpretive dance around your content.

✅ Explicit control

If something costs time, you can see it. If it allocates, you can fix it.

What PdfMini is NOT

• A full HTML/CSS renderer
• A general “document model” framework
• A feature kitchen sink

If you want a Swiss army knife, use a Swiss army knife.
If you want speed, use this.

When to use it

• High-volume invoice/report generation
• Batch PDFs (hundreds/thousands of pages)
• Server-side PDF generation where latency matters
• Systems where you want predictable CPU + memory

License

Add your license here.

Respectfully (but not gently)

Big libraries have their place — complex docs, standards, long tail features.

But for raw throughput on known layouts? PdfMini doesn’t ask permission. It just prints.

🔥

This library is built around a small set of primitives:

• PdfDocument / Page: low-level PDF + resources (fonts/images/shadings)
• Composer: flow layout (margins, cursor, paging, split tables)
• Paragraph + Text: rich text fragments inside one paragraph
• Table + Cell: grid layout, spans, per-cell box styling (borders/gradients/padding)
• Blocks: IPdfBlock (Image, Barcode, Paragraph, Table, RotatedBlock …)

Install

dotnet add package PdfMini

Killer Sample (real-world invoice/report)

This is the kind of code people actually want: watermark underlay, page numbering overlay, themed gradients, split table with repeating header, barcodes, image cells, spanning, and rich text.

var doc = new PdfDocument();
var page = doc.AddPageA4();

string logoPath = Util.ModulePath + "media/sbla.jpg";
doc.EmbedJpegDct("ImLogo", File.ReadAllBytes(logoPath));

var (iwLogo, ihLogo) = doc.GetImageSize("ImLogo");

doc.EmbedJpegDct("WM", File.ReadAllBytes(Util.ModulePath + "media/mmh_water.jpg"));

// 🔑 FONT (required)
var fontBytes = File.ReadAllBytes(Util.ModulePath + "fonts/Helvetica.ttf");
var font = doc.EmbedTrueTypeUnicode("F1", fontBytes);

doc.DrawUnderlay = (cs, pageIndex, pageCount, size) =>
{

cs.SaveState();
cs.SetExtGStateAlpha(0.33f);  // 85% transparent

var (iw, ih) = doc.GetImageSize("WM");

float maxW = size.Width * 0.60f;
float maxH = size.Height * 0.60f;
float scale = Math.Min(maxW / iw, maxH / ih);

float w = iw * scale;
float h = ih * scale;

float x = (page.Width - w) * 0.5f;
float y = (page.Height - h) * 0.5f;

cs.DrawImage("WM", x, y, w, h);

cs.RestoreState();
};

float rightPad = 0f;
float bottomPad = 2f;

doc.DrawOverlay = (cs, pageIndex, pageCount, size) =>
{
var st = new TextStyle
{
Font = font,
FontSize = 9f,
Wrap = WrapMode.None,
Align = HAlign.Right,
AnchorY = YAnchor.Baseline,
TextColor = PdfColorRgb.Gray
};



var p = new Paragraph(st, $"Page {pageIndex + 1} / {pageCount}");

float x = 0f;
float w = size.Width - rightPad;

// baseline from bottom; height=0 => auto one-line box height
p.Draw(cs, x, bottomPad, w, 0);
};


PdfTheme.Ensure(doc);

var c = new Composer(doc, page, font, margin: Units.Mm(15));


// ---- styles ----
var headerBox = new BoxStyle().BackgroundShading(PdfTheme.SteelW_Top)  // ✅ gradient per cell
.Border(0.6f, PdfColorRgb.Gray)
.Padding(Padding.HV(4, 3));

var cellBox = new BoxStyle().Border(0.4f, PdfColorRgb.LightGray).Padding(Padding.HV(4, 3));

var headerText = c.DefaultTextStyle.Clone();
headerText.Font = font;
headerText.FontSize = 11;
headerText.LineHeightFactor = 1.1f;

var bodyText = c.DefaultTextStyle.Clone();
bodyText.Font = font;
bodyText.FontSize = 10;
bodyText.LineHeightFactor = 1.15f;

// ---- table ----
var t = new Table()
.SetColumnsPercent(30, 50, 20)
.SetColumnsHAlign(HAlign.Left, HAlign.Left, HAlign.Right);

// Header row (each header cell draws its own gradient background)
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Item", headerText).Box(headerBox),
Cell.Text("Description", headerText).Box(headerBox),
Cell.Text("Amount", headerText).Box(headerBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

// Data rows
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Apples", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Fresh red apples (kg)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("12.50", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Oranges", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Juicy oranges (kg)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("9.20", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Delivery", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Local delivery fee", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("3.00", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Apples — Fresh red apples (kg)", bodyText)
    .Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Center)
    .Span(2),                              // 👈 spans first 2 columns
Cell.Text("12.50", bodyText)
    .Box(cellBox)
    .Align(HAlign.Right)
);



// Row 2 — span Item + Description
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Oranges — Juicy oranges (kg)", bodyText)
    .Box(cellBox)
    .Span(2),                              // 👈 spans first 2 columns
Cell.Text("9.20", bodyText)
    .Box(cellBox)
    .Align(HAlign.Right)
);

var bc = new BarcodeEan(EanKind.Ean13, "520123456789", font)
{
BarHeight = Units.Mm(8),
HumanFontSize = 9,
HumanGap = 2,
Align = HAlign.Center,
TargetWidth = 180 // optional, else it fills the cell width
};

t.AddRow(new Cell(bc).Box(cellBox).Span(3)  // 👈 spans all 3 columns                
);

// Additional sample rows
t.AddRow(Cell.Text("Bananas", bodyText).Box(cellBox), Cell.Text("Ripe bananas (kg)", bodyText).Box(cellBox), Cell.Text("7.80", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right));
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Grapes", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Seedless grapes (kg)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("15.00", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Discount", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Span(2),
Cell.Text("-2.50", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

// Yet another three sample rows
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Pears", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Conference pears (kg)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("6.40", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Melons", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Cantaloupe (each)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("4.50", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Service Charge", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Span(2),
Cell.Text("1.75", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

// Additional sample rows (added on request)
t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Yogurt", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Greek yogurt (4-pack)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("3.20", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Cheese", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Aged cheddar (200g)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("5.50", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Olives", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("Mixed olives (jar)", bodyText).Box(cellBox),
Cell.Text("2.95", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);

var bodyBold = bodyText.Clone();
bodyBold.SimulateBold = true;
bodyBold.BoldStrokeWidthFactor = 0.020f; // try 0.022–0.03

t.AddRow(
Cell.Text("Honey is da best sweety tasty candy in the whole world!", bodyBold).Box(cellBox).Span(2).Align(HAlign.Center),
Cell.Text("8.00", bodyText).Box(cellBox).Align(HAlign.Right)
);



var gridBox = new BoxStyle
{
DrawBorder = true,
BorderWidth = 0.4f,
BorderColor = PdfColorRgb.LightGray,
padding = new Padding(0)
};

var imgBox = gridBox.Clone();
imgBox.padding = Padding.All(1.0f); // ~1pt safe gap from stroke

Cell ImgRow(float sizeMm = 14f)
{
float sz = Units.Mm(sizeMm);

return new Cell(new Image("ImLogo")
{
    Height = sz,
    FixedWidth = sz,
    Align = HAlign.Center,
    VAlign = VAlign.Middle
})
.VAlign(VAlign.Middle)   // 👈 THIS is the missing piece
.Align(HAlign.Center)    // (safe, explicit)
.Box(gridBox);
}

t.AddRow(ImgRow().Box(imgBox).Span(3));
//
var rp = new Paragraph(new TextStyle
{
Font = font,
FontSize = 11,
LineHeightFactor = 1.2f,
Wrap = WrapMode.Word
});

rp.Add(new Text("Hello ", color: PdfColorRgb.Blue));
rp.Add(new Text("BOLD ", font: font, color: PdfColorRgb.Red));
rp.Add(new Text("world", color: PdfColorRgb.Black));

t.AddRow(new Cell(rp).Span(3).Box(cellBox));



// ---- render ----
var pL = TextStyle.Heading2(font).SetAlign(HAlign.Left);
var pC = TextStyle.Heading2(font).SetAlign(HAlign.Center);
var pR = TextStyle.Heading2(font).SetAlign(HAlign.Right);

// remove Heading2 bottom padding so it's one tight line (optional)
pL.Box.PadB = 0;
pC.Box.PadB = 0;
pR.Box.PadB = 0;

var bL = new Paragraph(pL, "Test");
var bC = new Paragraph(pC, "Invoice Items");
var bR = new Paragraph(pR, "Page 1");

// one line height = max of the 3 (same band)
float w = c.ContentWidth;
float h = Math.Max(
bL.MeasureHeight( w),
Math.Max(bC.MeasureHeight( w), bR.MeasureHeight( w))
);

float y = c.ContentTop;

// draw all three into the SAME full-width box => true left/center/right
c.DrawAt(c.ContentLeft, y, bL, w);
c.DrawAt(c.ContentLeft, y, bC, w);
c.DrawAt(c.ContentLeft, y, bR, w);


// advance layout cursor ONCE
c.Spacer(h + Units.Mm(2));


// normal paging; header repeats automatically and keeps gradient
c.TableSplitRowsRepeatHeader(t, headerRows: 1);



doc.Save(Util.ModulePath + "hello_flow.pdf");
            

What this sample demonstrates

• Resources: embed JPEGs and TrueType Unicode fonts
• Underlay / Overlay: watermark + page numbering across pages
• Composer: margins + flow + paging + table splitting
• Per-cell theming: gradients, borders, padding
• Table power: column percentages, alignment, row spans
• Blocks: Image, BarcodeEan, Paragraph inside cells
• Rich text: Paragraph.Add(new Text(...)) fragments

API sketch

• PdfDocument
  • AddPageA4()
  • EmbedJpegDct(name, bytes)
  • EmbedTrueTypeUnicode(name, bytes)
  • GetImageSize(name)
  • DrawUnderlay, DrawOverlay delegates
• Composer
  • ContentLeft, ContentTop, ContentWidth
  • DrawAt(x, yTop, block, width)
  • Spacer(height)
  • TableSplitRowsRepeatHeader(table, headerRows)
• Paragraph
  • Add(string) or Add(Text)
• Text
  • Text(value, font: ..., color: ...)
• Table / Cell
  • SetColumnsPercent(...), SetColumnsHAlign(...)
  • Cell.Text(...), .Box(...), .Align(...), .Span(n)

License

Permissive (MIT/BSD/etc.). No AGPL. No dual-license surprises.