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To sum up: If you want a simple, convenient way to generate PDFs for your application, using an API is the perfect solution. You can use a self-hosted PDF processor that you add on your server to do this. In situations where you want to control your data completely, it makes more sense to manage your own server.
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However, foregoing a server and using a PDF generation API isn’t always the best solution. You won’t have to deal with server management issues (keeping it secure, keeping the operating system up to date, fixing breakdowns, upgrading it to keep it fast, etc.) or keeping your PDF generation library updated. Not only is using an API to generate PDFs easier to set up initially it’s also easier to maintain. Now, you just need to add a small piece of code to your application to start generating PDFs. Using a PDF generator API simplifies that process. Traditionally, if you wanted your application to generate a PDF, you’d have to set up a server and integrate a PDF generation library on that server. The pros and cons of the most popular PDF generator APIsĪ PDF generator API is a hosted service where you send structured data via an API call to a server and receive a PDF document back. The selection criteria for PDF generator APIs To help you pick the best one for your use case, we’ll cover: In this post, we’ll provide a detailed breakdown of the most popular PDF generator APIs.
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