Regenerate a PDF file with a PDF printer

To programmatically print a PDF file to a new PDF file using the "Microsoft Print to PDF" printer in C#, you can use the PrintDocument class and the PrintControllerWithStatusDialog class to manage the printing process. The issue with generating empty files might be related to how the PrintDocument class handles the printing.

Here’s a more detailed example that should help you achieve your goal:

Add a reference to System.Drawing and System.Drawing.Printing in your project.

Use the following code to print the PDF:
using System;
using System.Diagnostics;
using System.Drawing.Printing;
using System.Runtime.InteropServices;

namespace PdfPrinter
{
class Program
{
[DllImport("kernel32.dll", SetLastError = true)]
[return: MarshalAs(UnmanagedType.Bool)]
static extern bool SetDefaultPrinter(string name);

static void Main(string[] args)
{
string filePath = @"C:\path\to\your\input.pdf";
string outputFilePath = @"C:\path\to\your\output.pdf";

try
{
PrintToPdf(filePath, outputFilePath);
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
Console.WriteLine($"Error: {ex.Message}");
}
}

static void PrintToPdf(string inputFilePath, string outputFilePath)
{
var printerName = "Microsoft Print to PDF";

// Set the default printer to Microsoft Print to PDF
if (!SetDefaultPrinter(printerName))
{
throw new Exception("Could not set the default printer.");
}

// Create the print process
ProcessStartInfo printProcessInfo = new ProcessStartInfo
{
Verb = "print",
FileName = inputFilePath,
CreateNoWindow = true,
WindowStyle = ProcessWindowStyle.Hidden
};

// Create a temp print document
using (PrintDocument printDocument = new PrintDocument())
{
printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = printerName;
printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrintToFile = true;
printDocument.PrinterSettings.PrintFileName = outputFilePath;
printDocument.PrintController = new StandardPrintController(); // Suppress the Print Dialog

// Start the print process
using (Process printProcess = Process.Start(printProcessInfo))
{
if (printProcess != null)
{
printProcess.WaitForExit();
}
}
}
}
}
}