Pdf.js Express
Dev tools
pdf viewer sdk
SHOW HN2020
334points
132comments
#115of 3,028 in 2020
Top 4%of 2020 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
3 positive, 31 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 33 critical, out of 68 comments about the project. Thread score -0.47.
Pricing: 2 for, 7 againstDocs: 0 for, 8 againstExecution: 0 for, 6 againstIdea: 0 for, 4 againstDesign: 1 for, 1 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Polished product and demo
From 1 comment
Hi Nick, Your product looks pretty awesome. It's super polished for your initial launch! Congrats! I'm curious how long it took to build the product and how large your team is?…
akdarrah on HN
Fills a gap in the market for PDF SDKs
From 1 comment
I work in an industry that marks up PDFs extensively (construction) and have wanted to build a bespoke PDF markup tool for a long time. In designing concrete floor slabs, we need…
ggcdn on HN
Objections
Pricing too high for small developers and startups
From 4 comments
I'm all about the open core business model.. but are you guys affiliated with the core pdf.js team? $440 / month is pretty hard to swallow. I love that you guys included a build…
transitivebs on HNI have a startup and we are highly reliant on PDF rendering in our application. But here's the thing, Nik: your pricing model doesn't make sense to me. In general, most PDF SDK…
2pointsomone on HNThis looks like a fantastic solution. If there were an affordable price point, I would immediately implement this in the edtech platform that we're developing, but the price…
richardkeller on HNThe pricing of 440 USD/month must be an April's joke. It might be worth 9 USD/month compared the many competitors and free solutions.
longtermd on HN
Not open source; licensing unclear
From 3 comments
Their website and marketing of this fact (is it a fact?) is very confusing or misleading. The comparison at https://pdfjs.express/pdfjs-vs-express says "PDF.js is an open-source…
williamstein on HNPDF.js Express is not open source.
patrickaljord on HNEvidently I should clarify that by "open source", I mean "released under an OSI approved license" (https://opensource.org/licenses). Maybe robocop2018 means "open source" in the…
williamstein on HN
Does not support XFA forms
From 1 comment
Does not support XFA forms
skratlo on HN
Form print output is a low-quality bitmap
From 1 comment
The form fill demo only prints a bitmap. Is that intentional? The quality is completely unacceptable.
phonon on HN
Requests
Usage-based or cheaper pricing tier
From 2 comments
I have a startup and we are highly reliant on PDF rendering in our application. But here's the thing, Nik: your pricing model doesn't make sense to me. In general, most PDF SDK…
2pointsomone on HNThis looks like a fantastic solution. If there were an affordable price point, I would immediately implement this in the edtech platform that we're developing, but the price…
richardkeller on HN
Discounts for startups and educational institutions
From 1 comment
This looks like a fantastic solution. If there were an affordable price point, I would immediately implement this in the edtech platform that we're developing, but the price…
richardkeller on HN
Questions
Is it open source?
From 1 comment
Their website and marketing of this fact (is it a fact?) is very confusing or misleading. The comparison at https://pdfjs.express/pdfjs-vs-express says "PDF.js is an open-source…
williamstein on HN
How long did it take to build and how large is the team?
From 1 comment
Hi Nick, Your product looks pretty awesome. It's super polished for your initial launch! Congrats! I'm curious how long it took to build the product and how large your team is?…
akdarrah on HN
Alternatives named
Syncfusion PDF viewer
From 1 comment
How would this compare to something like syncfusion pdf viewer - https://www.syncfusion.com/angular-ui-components/angular-pdf-viewer It handles chopping up the pdf into pieces on…
social_quotient on HN
Adobe Acrobat
From 1 comment
I literally needed this just a few hrs ago and instead had to resort to a free trial of adobe reader pro (ugh). I’ll check this out for next time, looks great.
hanklazard on HN
Photopea
From 1 comment
I spent about three years building the support for PDF into my graphics editor https://www.Photopea.com . While other editors "add stuff on top of PDF", Photopea "chews through"…
IvanK_net on HN