Making a PDF "print" of photo image with EXIF metadata

Introduction 

JPEG photos will contain EXIF metadata which gives information about the time and date the photo was taken, the phone/camera model used to take it, and other data including the technical settings such as ISO number and focal length. It is important that the JPG file itself is preserved so that the full metadata can always be examined, but also, particularly if the JPG photo was not taken with a setting which stamped date/time stamp in the image at the time it was taken, it is important that the file is printed to a PDF (or captured in a screenshot) in such a way that metadata is shown below the image - so that the date and time the photo was taken can be seen at a glance. This should be done in a way which makes it obvious how the PDF "print" was produced and should show a reasonable size image with EXIF data below all in a single PDF in portrait orientation. 

The reason why it is important  that image and EXIF data should be shown together in a single PDF - or in a screenshot of a single window (rather than having the EXIF data shown in one window and the image in another window) - is that if there are two  separate windows (or two separate PDFs) that does not prove that the metadata in one window is actually from the same JPG as the image displayed in the other window. Of course any proof is relative: ultimately any computer data can be forged but deliberately putting forged evidence before a tribunal is a serious crime which is rare. Having image and EXIF data together in a single window, or in a single PDF, at least establishes that the image from one JPG is not being accidentally shown with the metadata from a different another JPG.

The filename, which is part of file-system metadata (not EXIF metadata) may provide corroboration for the EXIF date/time taken data if it is in the yyyyMMdd_hh.mm.ss format (rather than in the IMGnnnnn format). Other file-system metadata may be of less value - file-system "date/time last modified", for example, may have been updated when the JPG was copied from one device to another.     

There are not many programs available which show EXIF data together with a reasonable sized image. Many programs which show EXIF data do not show the image or only show a thumbnail image. In fact there is only one program that I can suggest which can do this (see below). If you know of any others, please tell me. it is important to note that some other apps will display the ordinary file-system date/time if the EXIF date/time data is missing  without giving any obvious indication that that is what they are doing. It is important that any app which is used gives a clear indication if EXIF date/time taken data is missing rather than automatically substituting the file-system date in the display.    

Create a PDF "print" using Acute Photo EXIF Viewer

Acute Photo EXIF Viewer is available for Windows computers and can be used both for any JPGs on the computer itself and for JPGs on phones, tablets, and SDCards by plugging into the computer. If the JPGs are on a phone or tablet which, for some reason, cannot be plugged into the computer, you could, instead, create (on the phone/tablet) a ZIP, 7-ZIP or RAR archive file containing the JPGs and send the archive file (e.g. by email) to the computer. When you extract from the archive file onto the computer the EXIF metadata of each JPG will be intact, as will the filename, albeit some other file-system metadata may be changed by the compress/extract process. 

To print to PDF you need a PDF printer which can produce a left hand margin so use PDF X-Change Printer Lite rather than Windows' built-in PDF printer.  

When using Acute Photo EXIF Viewer, tap Settings and tick Show Image Preview and untick Show embedded preview if available. Tap File - Open and select the JPG - or click and drag it. Drag the blue preview bar to the right to show a reasonably large image. Tap File - Print and in the Print panel select a PDF printer of PDF X-Change Lite and choose the following printer options: Page size B4, Margin 10mm, Orientation Landscape, Layout type Standard, Sheet Size A3, Scale to Fit, and tap Print.

Note 

If the photo is in portrait AND there is GPS EXIF data AND the blue slider is fully to the right to produce a maximum-sized portrait image, that will cause the GPS data group to be pushed below the bottom of the page produced and, instead of appearing on a second page, it will be cropped and a blank second page will be generated. In this case do not have the blue slider fully to the right - move it so that it is still right of centre but not fully to the right. This reduces the size of the image and allows all the GPS data to fit in. The DPI values in the EXIF XResolution and YResolution tags are essentially meaningless for digital photos - the tags having been designed for scanners - and so it does not matter that the image size is less than the calculated "Print size" dimensions shown under "Image Summary" as long as all relevant details in the image can be clearly seen. If, in order to include the GPS data, you have to reduce the size of the image so that it is pixelated, or otherwise not sufficiently clear, you may need to use the original image file, together with the image-and-metadata PDF print. The original image file can then be consulted for the finer detail whilst the image within the image-and-metadata print is your proof that the metadata is from the same JPG.           

 How to create PDF prints in bulk efficiently for a number of JPGs

Starting off with JPGs in a folder - the "source folder" -  you can do the following to create PDF "prints" from each JPG each named the same as the JPG:

1. Copy the source folder to a new folder PDFs Image and Metadata

2. Use a file renamer to rename the extensions of all files in the PDFs Image and Metadata folder from .jpg to .pdf

3. Click and drag the first JPG from the source folder into the Start Acute Photo EXIF Viewer panel.

4.  File - Print then Print and select and overwrite the corresponding PDF file in the PDFs Image and Metadata folder. You can tell which is the corresponding PDF file by comparing the date and time in the filename of the JPG (shown in the Viewer panel just above the image) with the date and time in the filename of the PDF.

5. Click and drag the second JPG from COPIES OF JPGs into the Start Acute Photo EXIF Viewer panel, then File - Print then Print and select and overwrite the corresponding PDF file in the PDFs Image and Metadata folder.

6. Continue like this until all JPGs have been processed. 

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else. 

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in December 2024. Disclaimer