DEV Community

IronSoftware profile picture

IronSoftware

Tired of the endless trial and error that comes with PDFs and OCR? We build the libraries that handle it, and share what we learn along the way.

Location Chicago , Illinois Joined Joined on  Personal website https://ironsoftware.com github website

Work

Iron Software

Four Year Club
2 Week Community Wellness Streak
1 Week Community Wellness Streak
Three Year Club
Writing Debut
Two Year Club
One Year Club
ActiveReports in 2026: Three Report Models, One-Way Door

ActiveReports in 2026: Three Report Models, One-Way Door

Comments
6 min read

Want to connect with IronSoftware?

Create an account to connect with IronSoftware. You can also sign in below to proceed if you already have an account.

Already have an account? Sign in
SSRS in 2026: The Report Server You Still Have to Run

SSRS in 2026: The Report Server You Still Have to Run

Comments
6 min read
DevExpress Reporting in 2026: Where HTML-to-PDF Lives

DevExpress Reporting in 2026: Where HTML-to-PDF Lives

Comments
7 min read
FastReport.OpenSource in 2026: The PDF Is an Image

FastReport.OpenSource in 2026: The PDF Is an Image

Comments
6 min read
Telerik Reporting in 2026: What $499 a Year Commits You To

Telerik Reporting in 2026: What $499 a Year Commits You To

Comments
7 min read
Winnovative vs IronPDF: The Per-Object Licence Trap

Winnovative vs IronPDF: The Per-Object Licence Trap

Comments
5 min read
Spire.PDF's License Key Trial vs IronPDF's Setup

Spire.PDF's License Key Trial vs IronPDF's Setup

Comments
7 min read
SharpShooter Reports in 2026: What Still Works

SharpShooter Reports in 2026: What Still Works

Comments
5 min read
Nevron Vision for SSRS vs IronPDF: The Report-Server Bet

Nevron Vision for SSRS vs IronPDF: The Report-Server Bet

Comments
6 min read
Fluent by Apryse: Word Templates vs Rendered PDFs

Fluent by Apryse: Word Templates vs Rendered PDFs

Comments
5 min read
What SAP Crystal Reports Really Costs Over Five Years

What SAP Crystal Reports Really Costs Over Five Years

Comments
8 min read
Crystal Reports for Visual Studio's Runtime Install Trap

Crystal Reports for Visual Studio's Runtime Install Trap

Comments
5 min read
Aspose.PDF vs IronPDF: Licensing Tiers and the HTML Gap

Aspose.PDF vs IronPDF: Licensing Tiers and the HTML Gap

Comments
7 min read
SelectPdf in 2026: Two Tiers, Three Rendering Engines

SelectPdf in 2026: Two Tiers, Three Rendering Engines

Comments
5 min read
Bold Reports in 2026: The .NET Core Export Gap

Bold Reports in 2026: The .NET Core Export Gap

Comments
5 min read
EvoPdf in 2026: Two Products, One Price List

EvoPdf in 2026: Two Products, One Price List

Comments
5 min read
Apryse SDK in 2026: HTML2PDF Is a Separate Module

Apryse SDK in 2026: HTML2PDF Is a Separate Module

Comments
7 min read
@react-pdf/renderer in 2026: The StyleSheet Isn't CSS

@react-pdf/renderer in 2026: The StyleSheet Isn't CSS

Comments
4 min read
Playwright in 2026: The PDF Method That's Chromium-Only

Playwright in 2026: The PDF Method That's Chromium-Only

Comments
4 min read
jsPDF in 2026: When .html() Photographs Instead of Renders

jsPDF in 2026: When .html() Photographs Instead of Renders

Comments
4 min read
html-pdf in 2026: Archived, Deprecated, One Unpatched CVE

html-pdf in 2026: Archived, Deprecated, One Unpatched CVE

Comments
4 min read
pdfmake in 2026: The SSRF Fix That Isn't On by Default

pdfmake in 2026: The SSRF Fix That Isn't On by Default

Comments
4 min read
html-pdf-node in 2026: A Puppeteer Wrapper Left Behind

html-pdf-node in 2026: A Puppeteer Wrapper Left Behind

Comments
5 min read
PDFKit in 2026: When a Design Change Becomes a Code Change

PDFKit in 2026: When a Design Change Becomes a Code Change

Comments
4 min read
Gotenberg in 2026: A PDF Service to Run, Not Install

Gotenberg in 2026: A PDF Service to Run, Not Install

Comments
4 min read
wkhtmltopdf in Node 2026: An Archived, 2012-Era Engine

wkhtmltopdf in Node 2026: An Archived, 2012-Era Engine

Comments
4 min read
pdf-lib in 2026: It Edits PDFs, It Cannot Render One

pdf-lib in 2026: It Edits PDFs, It Cannot Render One

Comments
4 min read
Puppeteer in 2026: Thirty System Libraries to Make One PDF

Puppeteer in 2026: Thirty System Libraries to Make One PDF

Comments
4 min read
Syncfusion XlsIO in 2026: The Licence Gate Most Teams Miss

Syncfusion XlsIO in 2026: The Licence Gate Most Teams Miss

Comments
4 min read
ZXing.Net in 2026: Builds on Windows, Breaks on Linux

ZXing.Net in 2026: Builds on Windows, Breaks on Linux

Comments
4 min read
ExcelDataReader in 2026: The Half of the Job It Can't Do

ExcelDataReader in 2026: The Half of the Job It Can't Do

Comments
4 min read
QRCoder in 2026: The One Thing It Can't Do

QRCoder in 2026: The One Thing It Can't Do

Comments
4 min read
EPPlus in 2026: The Licence Change Half the Tutorials Missed

EPPlus in 2026: The Licence Change Half the Tutorials Missed

Comments
4 min read
Document Solutions for Excel: The Cost Past the List Price

Document Solutions for Excel: The Cost Past the List Price

Comments
4 min read
BarcodeLib in 2026: The Second Library You Add Later

BarcodeLib in 2026: The Second Library You Add Later

Comments
4 min read
Aspose.BarCode 2026: What Evaluating It Actually Costs

Aspose.BarCode 2026: What Evaluating It Actually Costs

Comments
4 min read
QuestPDF vs IronPDF: The Revenue Line the License Now Draws

QuestPDF vs IronPDF: The Revenue Line the License Now Draws

Comments
6 min read
PaddleSharp vs IronOCR: The Native-Dependency Tree

PaddleSharp vs IronOCR: The Native-Dependency Tree

Comments
6 min read
PDFsharp vs IronPDF: The Layer It Was Never Built to Add

PDFsharp vs IronPDF: The Layer It Was Never Built to Add

Comments
6 min read
PaddleOCR vs IronOCR: The Python Runtime a .NET Team Owns

PaddleOCR vs IronOCR: The Python Runtime a .NET Team Owns

Comments
6 min read
iText vs. IronPDF: Comparing .NET PDF Libraries, Licensing, and HTML-to-PDF Rendering

iText vs. IronPDF: Comparing .NET PDF Libraries, Licensing, and HTML-to-PDF Rendering

Comments
6 min read
wkhtmltopdf Is Archived: A .NET Migration Decision

wkhtmltopdf Is Archived: A .NET Migration Decision

Comments
7 min read
Tesseract C# Wrapper vs IronOCR: The Deployment Cost

Tesseract C# Wrapper vs IronOCR: The Deployment Cost

Comments
9 min read
ClosedXML vs IronXL: The Hidden Cost of Open-Source .NET Excel Libraries

ClosedXML vs IronXL: The Hidden Cost of Open-Source .NET Excel Libraries

Comments
9 min read
C# PDF Libraries: Evaluating Syncfusion’s License Cliff and Azure Limitations

C# PDF Libraries: Evaluating Syncfusion’s License Cliff and Azure Limitations

Comments
9 min read
C# Excel Generation: The Real Cost of Using the Free Open XML SDK

C# Excel Generation: The Real Cost of Using the Free Open XML SDK

Comments
9 min read
C# OCR Comparison: Windows.Media.Ocr Limitations vs. IronOCR

C# OCR Comparison: Windows.Media.Ocr Limitations vs. IronOCR

Comments
8 min read
List & Label vs a Single .NET Library

List & Label vs a Single .NET Library

Comments
10 min read
GcPdf vs IronPDF: Coordinates or HTML in .NET

GcPdf vs IronPDF: Coordinates or HTML in .NET

Comments
8 min read
Bold Reports and the .rdl You Cannot Leave

Bold Reports and the .rdl You Cannot Leave

Comments
10 min read
The Standing Server Tax on Scheduled PDF Jobs

The Standing Server Tax on Scheduled PDF Jobs

Comments
9 min read
FastReport .NET: When a .frx Is Really a PDF

FastReport .NET: When a .frx Is Really a PDF

Comments
11 min read
XtraReports, HTML, and Where the Layout Should Live

XtraReports, HTML, and Where the Layout Should Live

Comments
11 min read
The Cost of a Report Portal Nobody Logs Into

The Cost of a Report Portal Nobody Logs Into

Comments
12 min read
Telerik Report Server or a Scheduled .NET Job?

Telerik Report Server or a Scheduled .NET Job?

Comments
10 min read
The RDLX You Cannot Diff: ActiveReports vs C#

The RDLX You Cannot Diff: ActiveReports vs C#

Comments
10 min read
A Report Portal for Three PDFs a Week? Rethink It

A Report Portal for Three PDFs a Week? Rethink It

Comments
7 min read
ActiveReports Server Is Gone. Move Reporting to Code

ActiveReports Server Is Gone. Move Reporting to Code

Comments
9 min read
Stimulsoft Reports vs IronPDF for C# PDF Reporting

Stimulsoft Reports vs IronPDF for C# PDF Reporting

Comments
10 min read
DevExpress Reporting vs IronPDF: Throughput and Cost

DevExpress Reporting vs IronPDF: Throughput and Cost

Comments
10 min read
loading...