Flatten PDF File (Free & Safe)

Flatten a PDF online. Turn a fillable PDF into a read-only document with this app
Flatten PDF File (Free & Safe)
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Flatten PDF File (Free & Safe)
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How you can flatten a PDF file

You can flatten a PDF file with SignHouse by uploading your document and selecting whether to flatten all elements or only form fields. When finished selecting what to flatten, apply changes and download your PDF file.

First, upload the PDF file that you want to flatten, and then select the flatten method. You can either leave the settings as they are, or you can choose to customise the way of flattening. Up next, you have to apply the changes and wait about 30 seconds. Then, you can download the document so you can scan the PDF to email and print it.

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1. Upload the file

The first step is to choose the document that you want to flatten.

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2. Adjust settings & Flatten

Make the fillable forms fields of your PDF file un-fillable and apply the flattening changes.

3. Download the new file

Wait about 30 seconds for the system to do its magic and download the new PDF as an image.

What does it mean to flatten a PDF?

To flatten a PDF means to turn it into an image so you could print it. Into more detail, a PDF flatten software looks for transparency information within your file, and it removes that info so you can easily print the PDF document. If you're trying to print a PDF file and you've heard someone say that you first have to flatten it, you now know 100% what that means. With SignHouse, you can easily flatten a PDF document in just a single click and a couple of seconds of your time.

How to flatten a PDF file

Easier to print

Flattening a PDF document is basically getting rid of the transparent data within that document. With less extra data such as images (e.g. PNG files in PDFs), it's easier to print PDF documents.

Go beyond flattening

With SignHouse, you can customize documents and get the most out of their abilities. From resizing PDFs to even merging multiple files, SignHouse helps you improve your workflow with PDF documents.

It's really fast

To flatten a PDF document, you need nothing but one single click and less than 30 seconds of your time. We do our best to save your time and to earn you more of that instead of wasting it on non-sense.

Price for this: $0

That's right! Not only that you can flatten as many PDF files as you need, but you get to do it for free. Our PFD flattening software is free, and it's going to stay like this forever. No gimmick!

Why flatten a PDF file with us?

We're as transparent as it gets, and so, at SignHouse, we're doing our best to help you earn more time that's better spent on other, more important work of yours. Flattening a PDF file doesn't take much of your energy, and neither much of your time, as we want to help improve your workflow.

Flatten on any device

Use your favourite device to turn a PDF document into an image so you could scan and print it faster and easier. Our PDF flattener works on all mobile phones, tablets, and desktop computers.

Your data is safe

We never look at your PDF files or data in general, and we're also deleting the pre-flattening PDF file from our system a few hours after uploading it (at most). We care about our personal data as much as you do.

Made for everybody

Turning your PDF file into an image or an image to PDF is really not that hard. In fact, the process we presented to you above can be translated as this: drag and drop. That's all you have to do!

Live chat, one-click away

Need any help with the PDF flattening software? Chat with us via live chat, as we're one click away. Simply hit the bubble in the bottom-right corner of this page, and you'll get in touch with our live support agents.

What they say about us

No-brainer pricing for a small business - or even big business, I reckon : - )

Tried the product. Worked like a charm. Never had any problem + the clean UI got us. Wish there would be more features, but I believe in the team behind.
S
Harsh G.
Founder, CEO
SignHouse has been nothing short of convenient, efficient and fast. Oh and top notch customer support too...

Couldn't ask for more!
J
Julie M.
Executive Administrative Assistant
SignHouse has made a big difference in the workflow of my business. Sure there are other, more mature e-signing platforms out there, but they are all convoluted and too focused on big, enterprise companies. It feels like SignHouse is on our side.
M
Michael B.
Photography Consultant
Getting documents to parents is significantly simpler now. However, even more importantly, parents aren't getting lost in the signing process anymore. 👍
S
Sandy T
Teacher
SignHouse was AMAZING for what we needed. "Do one thing and do it well" - they've nailed that, as everyone is very happy with the product here.

Looking forward to seeing how the product develops, as the team is super ambitious.
Kate Gross
Manager at Fixthephoto.com
"Simpler, yet does the job better than most of the clunky eSignature software out there"
"SignHouse cut down on our signing processes by at least 50% - and we were using eSignature software before as well"
"I just never thought signing documents can ever become a pleasurable experience"

Frequently asked questions

Can you un-flatten a PDF?

Flattened PDFs cannot be edited, as they were meant to be like that when they were flattened.

However, one could use text recognition from that very image → then paste that into a new PDF.

One could take screenshots of the pictures found in the flat PDF → paste that into a new PDF.

When it comes to forms or checkboxes, they just have to be re-created from scratch.

While that’s not un-flattening, replicating the PDF is the closest method for you to get to the original file.

Why do I need to flatten a PDF?

In a PDF file, you might want to only want to restrict the filling of forms, copying of text/images.

When flattening everything, images, text, checkboxes, buttons, etc all get flattened (meaning: turning them into elements you can’t interact with).

That makes a PDF non-interactive for anyone that sees it — except for viewing.

What does it mean to flatten a PDF?

Flattening a PDF is the process of converting all of the PDF’s layers to one single layer, which will allow you to edit and save it in a much smaller file size.

The only implication is that this process will make text and images in the document inaccessible.

With PDF flattening, the exact way the PDF looks like will be turned into an image, so that it looks the exact same.

However, it will not be editable anymore in any way.

Same looks, no more functionality.

How can you tell if a PDF is flattened?

The short answer is this: if you try to highlight any text, forms, buttons, images and you can’t — that means the PDF is flat.

In other words, it’s been turned into an image. Or a collection of images (each page is an image).

That’s a flat PDF for you.

Are your electronic signatures legal?

Our signatures are 100% legally binding, as SignHouse is built around US and International Laws concerning digital signatures. SignHouse eSignatures are on par with paper signatures, from a legal point of view!

Signing papers digitally started being equal to physical, handwritten signatures in the U.S. eSignature Act of 2000 (U.S. Federal Act) + the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act (UETA). As a consequence, laws in other countries have followed suit. SignHouse is built around these laws.

Are you adding an actual eSignature or just an image?

All signatures are a real, eSignature that is 100% legally binding.

We save important, relevant data (that can be used legally in all types of situations, including in courts) such as identifiable details of a person, IP addresses, etc, just so our electronic signatures can be as valid as digital signatures can get.

What about privacy and security?

SignHouse's signatures are secure for all kinds of businesses and companies. All our signatures happen on a secure, SSL-connected domain. Documents are not made public and unique keys are generated through SignHouse so that privacy and security are at the foundation of the documents on our platform.

How do my signees get to sign with SignHouse?

We've streamlined the signing process so that your signees can sign your documents with no hurdles at all — and with the smallest amount of steps required. It can take as little as 30 seconds! 

How do you compare to ______?

We have a generous free plan, so we highly encourage you to make the comparison yourself! It costs you nothing - and no hard feelings if you don't want to go with us.

We would really love to know what made you go with us or somebody else! If you could take a moment to write to us about that, we'd highly appreciate it.

What if I have more questions?

Then we're standing by to help. Contact us, and we'll do our best to help 🤗

What's different about SignHouse?

Free
SignHouse is completely free to start. Just upload a doc and start signing in a few minutes!
Mobile-first
What’s your cost of losing doc signatures just because signing didn't work on mobile? We fix that.
Optimized for 0 headache
SignHouse was made to simplify the eSigning. Long gone are the days of clunky solutions.
Trackable documents
Documents signed with SignHouse come with simple analytics that just don’t give you a headache.
It Just Works™
Big, old software is buggy, clunky and slow. Built with simplicity in mind, we make signing a breeze.
Fast
Fast to use, fast to load. The SignHouse experience will be snappy for you and your signers.

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