Built from a real print-production problem.

PDFLayerExtract is made by BEINDESIGN, a small studio working close to print, packaging and production files. It exists for the moment a client PDF is all you have and Illustrator shows one layer.

Why it exists

The source file was gone. The useful structure was not.

We kept reaching the same dead end. A client sends the final PDF, Illustrator opens it as one layer, and the original Illustrator or CorelDRAW file is nowhere to be found. Rebuilding by hand wastes a day that should not have to be spent twice, so we solved the recovery step for our own studio first.


The source can be missing while structure remains. The PDF itself can still hold separable production groups, even when every other version of the job is gone.

One visible layer does not mean flattened. Illustrator can show a single layer while Acrobat still exposes the optional-content groups underneath it.

The preview qualifies the file first. See what is actually present before choosing the slower route of rebuilding the artwork by hand.

In Illustrator today

client-print-job.pdf – 1 visible layer

With PDFLayerExtract

spot-color.pdf
clear-coat.pdf
cut-line.pdf
print-base.pdf
info-notes.pdf

A visible result before payment

Upload. Inspect the detected layers. Decide from the preview.

The free preview shows whether recoverable layer groups are present before you pay for processing. Nothing is charged at this stage, and nothing is assumed about the file until it has been analysed.


Analysis preview
PDFclient-job.pdf
Layer preview5 groups
Priceafter analysis
OutputZIP + JSX

Recovery boundary

What can be recovered, and what cannot.

The preview separates real recoverable structure from promises the PDF itself cannot support.

Existing optional-content layer groups

If the PDF still contains usable layer groups, PDFLayerExtract separates them into Illustrator-ready files. This can include print, cut, spot, varnish, white ink and information layers.

Structure no longer in the PDF

It does not reconstruct the original AI or CDR document, restore missing edit history, or invent layers that were flattened before the PDF was created.

File handling

Your file is handled like client work.

Clear ownership, short retention and secure payment, for files that may hold confidential production details.

01

Your file stays yours

You keep the rights you already have. PDFLayerExtract does not claim ownership of an upload, and uses it only to analyse, preview, process and deliver your result.

02

Files are kept briefly

Unpaid previews are intended to be deleted after approximately one hour. Paid packages and download links remain for approximately 24 hours.

03

Payment is handled by Paddle

Payment details are processed by Paddle. PDFLayerExtract does not store your full card details.

04

Support has a real address

For help or a file deletion request, email contact@pdflayerextract.com.

When the source file is gone

You got a PDF. Illustrator shows one layer. Three ways forward.

Rebuild it manually

Recreate the structure and separate the artwork yourself, layer by layer.

Outsource the separation

Send the job to someone who can rebuild or separate it for you.

Check what is still inside

See whether recoverable layer groups remain before choosing the slower route.

See the layers before you pay

Check the file. Then decide.

Upload a PDF and see exactly what’s inside, grouped by layer type, with the price for that one job.



Upload your PDF