Inkvolt: free, private PDF and printer apps for Windows
Inkvolt PDF is a PDF reader and editor. Inkvolt Print handles your printers and scanners. Both are free and open
source, with no account, no ads, no telemetry and no cloud: your files stay on your PC.
winget install 9MXDTSFJ9W28 # Inkvolt PDF
winget install 9PNR76HJ62SK # Inkvolt Print
Inkvolt PDF
Everything below is free, without a watermark, a trial or a sign-in:
- Read: tabs, continuous or two-page views, fast search, bookmarks, split view, dark pages for night reading, Read
Aloud.
- Fill & Sign: fill any form, type anywhere on a page, add a handwritten signature or initials.
- Digital signatures: sign with a certificate, smart card or Windows Hello, add a trusted timestamp, verify existing
signatures.
- Comment and draw: highlight, notes, stamps, pen, shapes, arrows, text boxes, callouts, measurements.
- Edit text and images on the page; links, headers and footers, page numbers, watermarks.
- Organize pages: reorder, rotate, insert, extract, split, crop and merge files.
- Redact for real: the text and images underneath are removed, not just covered, then checked for leftovers. Sanitize
hidden data.
- OCR, export and convert: make scans searchable (on your PC, with Windows' own recognizer), export to Word or Excel,
make PDFs from Office files, web pages and images, PDF/A, password protection, reduce file size.
- Create forms, compare two versions, run batches on many files, and check accessibility (PDF/UA).
- Optional AI assistant, off by default: bring your own (Ollama, LM Studio, or a service with your own key). Inkvolt
shows exactly what text is sent, and where, before anything goes.
| Fill and sign forms | Dark theme |
|---|
| |
Inkvolt Print
A lean replacement for heavy printer apps: no printer-maker account, no cloud, no background services.
- See whether the printer is ready, ink or toner levels, paper problems and usage, live.
- Finds network printers by itself (HP, Canon, Epson, Brother and any AirPrint, Mopria or IPP Everywhere printer); USB
printers already set up in Windows show up too.
- Scan from the glass or the feeder to a searchable PDF or JPEG, several pages at a time, with cropping, straightening,
blank-page skipping and one-click presets.
- Copy (ID cards too), print photos and PDFs, manage the print queue, fix a paused or offline printer.
How Inkvolt compares
Free versions, checked on each vendor's own pages in October 2026. ✅ free · ❌ paid upgrade or not offered · – not
verified.
| Inkvolt PDF | Adobe Acrobat Reader | Foxit PDF Reader | PDF-XChange Editor (free) | PDFgear |
|---|
| Price | Free | Free; editing from $14.99/month | Free; PDF Editor $209.99 | Free; licensed features from $62 | Free |
| Edit text on the page | ✅ | ❌ (Standard, Pro) | ❌ (PDF Editor) | Partly | ✅ |
| OCR (searchable scans) | ✅ on your PC | ❌ (Pro) | – | Basic | ✅ |
| Redaction that removes content | ✅ | ❌ (Pro) | – | – | – |
| Organize and merge pages | ✅ | ❌ (Standard, Pro) | – | ❌ (stamped until licensed) | ✅ merge |
| Export to Word and Excel | ✅ | ❌ (Standard, Pro) | – | – | ✅ |
| Create form fields | ✅ | ❌ (Standard, Pro) | – | ❌ (Plus) | ❌ |
| Compare two versions | ✅ | ❌ (Pro) | – | ❌ (Plus) | – |
| No demo stamps on any feature | ✅ | – | – | ❌ | ✅ |
| Usage data collection | None | – | Yes, opt-out | – | Usage, device and IP data, Google Analytics |
| Open source | ✅ AGPL-3.0 | ❌ | ❌ | ❌ | – |
| Native ARM64 (Snapdragon PCs) | ✅ | ❌ (emulated) | – | ✅ | – |
| Inkvolt Print | HP app (formerly HP Smart) |
|---|
| Account | None, ever | Needed for "full functionality"; Mobile Fax and remote printing need an HP account |
| Promotions | None | Instant Ink links, Adobe Express Premium offer |
| Printer brands | HP, Canon, Epson, Brother and any AirPrint, Mopria or IPP Everywhere printer | HP |
Acrobat pricing ·
Acrobat Reader ·
Acrobat on ARM64 ·
Foxit PDF Reader ·
Foxit PDF Editor ·
Foxit privacy policy ·
PDF-XChange Editor ·
PDF-XChange features ·
PDF-XChange demo stamps ·
PDFgear ·
PDFgear privacy policy ·
HP app.
Something out of date? Open an issue.
Support Inkvolt
Inkvolt is made by one developer, Bermudez Systems. If it saves you a subscription, star
the repository, leave a rating in the Microsoft Store, or tell a friend. Bugs and ideas:
issues.
Inkvolt is independent and not affiliated with Adobe, Foxit, PDF-XChange, PDFgear, HP, Canon, Epson or Brother. Their
names are trademarks of their owners, used here only for comparison.
For developers
Two Windows apps in one repository. Each is its own app with its own Microsoft Store listing; they share code and
install together.
| Folder | What | License |
|---|
pdf/ | Inkvolt PDF: a fast PDF viewer, editor and page organizer (.NET 10 WPF + MuPDF) | AGPL-3.0 (MuPDF requires it) |
print/ | Inkvolt Print: a lean, private app for your printers and scanners (status, ink or toner, scan, copy, print) | MIT |
shared/ | InkvoltPrint.Core (protocols: eSCL, IPP, LEDM, CDM, SNMP, scan options, remembered printers) and InkvoltPrint.Windows (discovery, Windows queues, WIA): used by both apps; tested by print/tests | MIT |
packaging/ | pack-msix.ps1: MSIX packages and Store upload files for either app (-App Pdf or -App Print) | MIT |
mac/ | Inkvolt for macOS, in planning: native Swift, Inkvolt Print first (Mac App Store), then Inkvolt PDF | MIT (Inkvolt PDF's Mac app will be AGPL) |
The license of each folder is in its LICENSE; the top-level scripts are MIT (see LICENSE). Inkvolt PDF's
AGPL applies to Inkvolt PDF as distributed (the MIT libraries in it stay MIT on their own); Inkvolt Print ships no AGPL
code.
Build
git clone https://github.com/gabandres/inkvolt.git
cd inkvolt
dotnet build Inkvolt.slnx # both apps, the shared libraries and the tests
dotnet test Inkvolt.slnx
Needs the .NET 10 SDK on Windows 10 (19041) or later, x64 or ARM64. Each app also builds on its own from its folder
(pdf/InkvoltPdf.slnx, print/InkvoltPrint.slnx). Settings shared by every project are in Directory.Build.props;
pdf/Directory.Build.props adds Inkvolt PDF's own (embedded PDBs, ARM64 by default).
Install both
pwsh -File install-suite.ps1 # publishes both, installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Inkvolt\InkvoltPdf and \InkvoltPrint
pwsh -File install-suite.ps1 -NoBuild # install the existing publish outputs (pdf/publish, print/publish)
pwsh -File install-suite.ps1 -Uninstall # removes only what it added, and puts back registry values it replaced
It adds a Start Menu folder "Inkvolt" with both apps ("Inkvolt PDF", "Inkvolt Print"), App Paths entries (InkvoltPdf.exe,
InkvoltPrint.exe: how each app finds the other) and Inkvolt PDF's "Open with" entries. Registry keys are only created
when missing (never re-created, which would wipe their values); each value set is recorded, with the value it replaced,
in Inkvolt\inkvolt-suite.json for -Uninstall. pdf/install.ps1 still installs Inkvolt PDF on its own.
Both apps keep their settings in %LOCALAPPDATA%\InkvoltPdf and \InkvoltPrint. On first start each moves its folder
over from the name it had before the rename, once; Inkvolt Print also moves its saved printer passwords in Credential
Manager. The installers don't remove an install made under the old names: uninstall that with the old scripts first.
Microsoft Store
pwsh -File packaging/pack-msix.ps1 -App Pdf # → pdf/publish/msix
pwsh -File packaging/pack-msix.ps1 -App Print # → print/publish/msix
Partner Center values, Store policy notes and listing drafts: pdf/packaging/README.md,
print/packaging/README.md.
History
Inkvolt PDF (formerly PdfDesk, github.com/gabandres/inkvolt-pdf) and Inkvolt Print (formerly PrintDesk,
github.com/gabandres/inkvolt-print) were separate repositories until October 2026; both histories are kept here
(git log -- pdf/…, git log -- print/…; --follow for files that moved to shared/).
