Response to Milan Jovanovic: Why IronPDF Is the Go-To Tool for Real-World PDF Generation in .NET

By Chipego Mweemba Kalinda – Support Engineer, Iron Software

We read Milan Jovanović’s article, How To Easily Create PDF Documents in ASP.NET Core. Milan does a great job comparing the popular .NET PDF library to IronPDF, giving developers a solid overview of the current landscape.

At Iron Software, we appreciate Milan’s transparency and real-world insights. As part of the IronPDF team, I wanted to follow up with a response not just to highlight what IronPDF offers, but to add a bit more context around the “why” behind our product decisions, especially for developers working on production-grade systems.

✅ IronPDF Is Built for HTML-to-PDF Rendering

Unlike libraries that require you to define your document structure in C# layout code, IronPDF renders from HTML, CSS, and JavaScript just like a browser. You can build documents using:

• Razor views
• MVC + ViewModels
• Blazor components
• Handwritten HTML templates

This approach provides complete design freedom, reuse of existing web components, and pixel-perfect outputs which are especially important for invoices, reports, certificates, and more.

Razor Views + Strong Typing = Maintainable PDFs

In the article, there’s an excellent example of how to use strongly typed Razor views to generate dynamic invoices. This is exactly how we intended IronPDF to be used in ASP.NET Core apps.

His approach:

// Convert a Razor view into an HTML string
var html = ConvertRazorViewToHtml(invoice);

// Create a new PDF renderer instance
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render the HTML to a PDF document
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);

// Save the PDF document to a file with a unique invoice number
pdf.SaveAs($"invoice-{invoice.InvoiceNumber}.pdf");

// Convert a Razor view into an HTML string
var html = ConvertRazorViewToHtml(invoice);

// Create a new PDF renderer instance
var renderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render the HTML to a PDF document
var pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html);

// Save the PDF document to a file with a unique invoice number
pdf.SaveAs($"invoice-{invoice.InvoiceNumber}.pdf");

' Convert a Razor view into an HTML string
Dim html = ConvertRazorViewToHtml(invoice)

' Create a new PDF renderer instance
Dim renderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()

' Render the HTML to a PDF document
Dim pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(html)

' Save the PDF document to a file with a unique invoice number
pdf.SaveAs($"invoice-{invoice.InvoiceNumber}.pdf")

We love this pattern because it’s:

• Easy to read and maintain
• Follows standard .NET architecture
• Scales with project complexity

It’s not just about making PDFs; it’s about making them part of your existing dev flow.

Features That Go Beyond Rendering

Milan also touched on another essential business need: merging multiple PDF files. This is common for accounting, auditing, or bundling customer documents.

With IronPDF, it’s one line:

// Merge multiple PDF files into a single PDF document
var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);

// Save the merged PDF document
merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");

// Merge multiple PDF files into a single PDF document
var merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3);

// Save the merged PDF document
merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf");

' Merge multiple PDF files into a single PDF document
Dim merged = PdfDocument.Merge(pdf1, pdf2, pdf3)

' Save the merged PDF document
merged.SaveAs("merged.pdf")

But we don’t stop there. IronPDF also includes:

• ✅ PDF/A export (for compliance and archival)
• ✅ Digital signing with certificates
• ✅ PDF editing (annotations, bookmarks, watermarks)
• ✅ Security (password protection, encryption)
• ✅ Header/footer/page numbering support
• ✅ PDF from Markdown, images, and URLs

This full-stack functionality means you don’t need to stitch together multiple tools, as IronPDF handles the entire document lifecycle.

Designed for Production - Not Just Prototypes

IronPDF isn’t just developer-friendly; it’s built for deployment in real-world systems. We’ve optimized it for:

• .NET Core, .NET 6/7/8+
• Linux, Windows, Docker, Azure
• Web apps, desktop apps, background services

No browser dependencies. No extra setup scripts. Just one NuGet install, and you're set.

Install-Package IronPdf

Install-Package IronPdf

We also offer extensive documentation and hands-on support from engineers (like myself!) to help with deployment, edge cases, and performance tuning.

Final Thoughts: Use the Right Tool for the Right Job

Milan closed his article with a great line:

“The hardest part is picking the right tool for the job.”

We couldn’t agree more.

• For code-first static layouts? QuestPDF is solid.
• For dynamic content, Razor integration, HTML/CSS fidelity, and document security? IronPDF is the tool built for the job.

Thanks again to Milan Jovanović for highlighting IronPDF. We’re always listening, always improving, and always here to help developers like you deliver production-ready PDF solutions.

💬 Try IronPDF Today

• 📦 Install from NuGet: Install-Package IronPdf
• 🔍 Explore docs: https://ironpdf.com/docs/