Generate PDF from HTML in Laravel 11 Using TCPDF – Complete Tutorial

Why Choose TCPDF for PDF Generation in Laravel 11 Projects?

             

In modern Laravel applications built with Laravel 11 (and even Laravel 12 in 2026), generating PDF files remains a core requirement for features like invoices, receipts, reports, contracts, certificates, and dynamic documents. While newer tools like Spatie's laravel-pdf (Chromium-based) or barryvdh/laravel-dompdf offer excellent HTML/CSS rendering, TCPDF continues to stand out as a powerful, lightweight, and dependency-free PHP library that has been battle-tested for over 15 years.

Here are the key reasons developers still choose TCPDF in 2026:

• No external dependencies: Unlike Browsershot or Snappy (which require Node.js/Chromium or wkhtmltopdf binaries), TCPDF runs purely on PHP — ideal for shared hosting, Docker containers, or serverless environments where installing extras is restricted.
• Advanced built-in features: Native support for barcodes (1D/2D), digital signatures, custom fonts (including Unicode/RTL languages), precise page control, headers/footers, and encryption — features that require extra plugins or workarounds in Dompdf or mPDF.
• High reliability and stability: TCPDF is mature, actively maintained, and produces consistent output across platforms without relying on browser engines that can change behavior with updates.
• Full control over layout: While its CSS support is more limited than Dompdf (no flexbox/grid), it excels at pixel-perfect, table-based designs common in official documents like invoices or legal forms.
• Performance on large documents: It handles complex, multi-page PDFs efficiently without memory spikes that sometimes plague HTML-to-PDF converters.

If your Laravel 11 project needs robust, no-fuss PDF generation with strong internationalization and security features — without adding heavy runtime dependencies — TCPDF remains one of the smartest choices. In this step-by-step guide, you'll learn exactly how to integrate TCPDF via the popular elibyy/tcpdf-laravel package, render Blade/HTML views as PDFs, and build a real-world invoice generator.

Table Of Content

1 Prerequisites

• PHP 8.2+
• Composer
• Mysql
• Basic knowledge of Laravel, Eloquent, Blade, and routes

2 Introduction

In this complete tutorial, you'll learn how to integrate TCPDF into Laravel 11 using the popular elibyy/tcpdf-laravel package, convert Blade/HTML views into downloadable PDFs, and build a real-world dynamic invoice generator — complete with code examples, troubleshooting tips, and best practices.

Whether you're on a tight hosting environment or need bullet-proof PDF generation for official documents, this guide will get you up and running quickly.

3 Create / Install a Laravel Project

3.1 Install Laravel Project

Ensure Composer is installed. Run:

composer create-project laravel/laravel laravel11-pdf-app

Then navigate to your project:

cd laravel11-pdf-app

3.2 Configure MySql Database

To store payment data, access the .env file to define database credentials:

DB_CONNECTION=mysql
DB_HOST=127.0.0.1
DB_PORT=3306
DB_DATABASE=laravel_tcpdf
DB_USERNAME=root
DB_PASSWORD=

4 Install TCPDF Laravel Package

To install TCPDF in Laravel 11, use Composer:

composer require elibyy/tcpdf-laravel

5 Create Models & Migration

To create a migration for the order table:

    php artisan make:migration create_orders_and_items_table

Add the following fields:

    
<?php
use Illuminate\Database\Migrations\Migration;
use Illuminate\Database\Schema\Blueprint;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Schema;

return new class extends Migration {
    public function up(): void {
        Schema::create('orders', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->string('order_ref')->unique();
            $table->string('order_invoice');
            $table->string('customer_first_name');
            $table->string('customer_last_name');
            $table->text('customer_address');
            $table->string('customer_company')->nullable();
            $table->decimal('amount', 10, 2);
            $table->string('order_status');
            $table->timestamps();
        });

        Schema::create('order_items', function (Blueprint $table) {
            $table->id();
            $table->foreignId('order_id')->constrained()->onDelete('cascade');
            $table->string('product_name');
            $table->decimal('item_price', 8, 2);
            $table->integer('quantity');
            $table->timestamps();
        });
    }

    public function down(): void {
        Schema::dropIfExists('order_items');
        Schema::dropIfExists('orders');
    }
};

Run the migration:

php artisan migrate

Create the Order model in app/Models/Order.php:

php artisan make:model Order

    
<?php
namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;
use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Relations\HasMany;

class Order extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = [
        'order_ref', 'order_invoice', 'customer_first_name', 'customer_last_name',
        'customer_company', 'customer_address', 'amount', 'order_status',
    ];

    public function items(): HasMany
    {
        return $this->hasMany(OrderItem::class, 'order_id');
    }
}

Create the OrderItem model in app/Models/OrderItem.php:

php artisan make:model OrderItem

    
<?php
namespace App\Models;

use Illuminate\Database\Eloquent\Model;

class OrderItem extends Model
{
    protected $fillable = ['order_id', 'product_name', 'item_price', 'quantity'];
}

Optional: Add Test Data (via Tinker)

php artisan tinker

    
<?php
$order = App\Models\Order::create([
    'order_ref' => 'ORD-'.rand(1000,9999),
    'order_invoice' => 'INV-'.date('Ymd').'-'.rand(100,999),
    'customer_first_name' => 'John',
    'customer_last_name' => 'Doe',
    'customer_company' => 'Acme Corp',
    'customer_address' => '123 Main St, Los Angeles, CA 90001',
    'amount' => 299.99,
    'order_status' => 'paid',
]);

App\Models\OrderItem::insert([
    ['order_id' => $order->id, 'product_name' => 'Product A', 'item_price' => 49.99, 'quantity' => 2],
    ['order_id' => $order->id, 'product_name' => 'Product B', 'item_price' => 99.99, 'quantity' => 1],
    ['order_id' => $order->id, 'product_name' => 'Product C', 'item_price' => 150.00, 'quantity' => 1],
]);
exit

6 Create PDF Controller

Create Controller PdfController:

php artisan make:controller PdfController

Within this controller, implement the index() and invoice() methods:

<?php
namespace App\Http\Controllers;

use App\Models\Order;
use App\Models\OrderItem;
use Elibyy\TCPDF\Facades\TCPDF;
use Illuminate\Support\Facades\View;

class PdfController extends Controller
{
    public function index()
    {
        $orders = Order::latest()->get();
        return view('orders.index', compact('orders'));
    }

    public function generateInvoice($id)
    {
        $order = Order::findOrFail($id);
        $items = OrderItem::where('order_id', $id)->get();

        $html = View::make('pdf.invoice', compact('order', 'items'))->render();

        $pdf = new TCPDF('P', 'mm', 'A4', true, 'UTF-8', false);
        $pdf->SetAuthor('Your App Name');
        $pdf->SetTitle('Invoice #' . $order->order_invoice);
        $pdf->SetSubject('Invoice');
        $pdf->setPrintHeader(false);
        $pdf->setPrintFooter(false);
        $pdf->AddPage();
        $pdf->writeHTML($html, true, false, true, false, '');
        
        // Stream directly (better than saving to disk)
        return response($pdf->Output('invoice-' . $order->order_invoice . '.pdf', 'S'))
            ->header('Content-Type', 'application/pdf')
            ->header('Content-Disposition', 'inline; filename="invoice-' . $order->order_invoice . '.pdf"');
    }
}
?>

7 Define a Route

Add the following routes in routes/web.php:

use Illuminate\Support\Facades\Route;
use App\Http\Controllers\PdfController;

Route::get('/', function () {
    return view('welcome');
});

Route::get('orders', [PdfController::class, 'index']);
Route::get('invoicepdf/{id}', [PdfController::class, 'invoice']);name('orders.index');
Route::get('/invoice/{id}', [PdfController::class, 'generateInvoice'])->name('invoice.generate');

8 Create Blade File

Order List (resources/views/orders/index.blade.php)

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
    <meta charset="UTF-8">
    <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
    <title>Orders - TCPDF Invoice Demo</title>
    <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/bootstrap@5.3.3/dist/css/bootstrap.min.css" rel="stylesheet">
</head>
<body class="bg-light">
    <div class="container my-5">
        <h1 class="mb-4">Order List</h1>

        <table class="table table-bordered table-hover">
            <thead class="table-dark">
                <tr>
                    <th>Ref</th>
                    <th>Invoice #</th>
                    <th>Customer</th>
                    <th>Amount</th>
                    <th>Status</th>
                    <th>Action</th>
                </tr>
            </thead>
            <tbody>
                @forelse($orders as $order)
                    <tr>
                        <td>{{ $order->order_ref }}</td>
                        <td>{{ $order->order_invoice }}</td>
                        <td>{{ $order->customer_first_name }} {{ $order->customer_last_name }}</td>
                        <td>${{ number_format($order->amount, 2) }}</td>
                        <td>{{ ucfirst($order->order_status) }}</td>
                        <td>
                            <a href="{{ route('invoice.generate', $order->id) }}" 
                               target="_blank" 
                               class="btn btn-primary btn-sm">
                                View / Download PDF
                            </a>
                        </td>
                    </tr>
                @empty
                    <tr><td colspan="6" class="text-center">No orders found.</td></tr>
                @endforelse
            </tbody>
        </table>
    </div>
</body>
</html>

Invoice PDF Template (resources/views/pdf/invoice.blade.php)

    
   <style>
    body { font-family: helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; }
    .header { font-size: 22pt; text-align: center; color: #444; margin-bottom: 10px; }
    .info-table td { padding: 4px; }
    .items-table { width: 100%; border-collapse: collapse; margin-top: 20px; }
    .items-table th, .items-table td { border: 1px solid #ccc; padding: 8px; }
    .items-table th { background-color: #f8f8f8; text-align: left; }
    .total-row { font-weight: bold; text-align: right; }
    .right { text-align: right; }
</style>

<div class="header">INVOICE</div>
<hr>

<table class="info-table" width="100%">
    <tr>
        <td><strong>Invoice #:</strong> {{ $order->order_invoice }}</td>
        <td class="right"><strong>Date:</strong> {{ $order->created_at->format('d M Y') }}</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
        <td colspan="2">
            <strong>Bill To:</strong><br>
            {{ $order->customer_first_name }} {{ $order->customer_last_name }}<br>
            @if($order->customer_company)
                {{ $order->customer_company }}<br>
            @endif
            {{ $order->customer_address }}
        </td>
    </tr>
</table>

<h3 style="margin-top: 25px;">Order Items</h3>
<table class="items-table">
    <thead>
        <tr>
            <th>Description</th>
            <th class="right">Unit Price</th>
            <th class="right">Qty</th>
            <th class="right">Subtotal</th>
        </tr>
    </thead>
    <tbody>
        @php $grandTotal = 0; @endphp
        @foreach($order->items as $item)
            @php 
                $subtotal = $item->item_price * $item->quantity;
                $grandTotal += $subtotal;
            @endphp
            <tr>
                <td>{{ $item->product_name }}</td>
                <td class="right">${{ number_format($item->item_price, 2) }}</td>
                <td class="right">{{ $item->quantity }}</td>
                <td class="right">${{ number_format($subtotal, 2) }}</td>
            </tr>
        @endforeach
        <tr class="total-row">
            <td colspan="3">Grand Total</td>
            <td class="right">${{ number_format($grandTotal, 2) }}</td>
        </tr>
    </tbody>
</table>
    

9 Folder Structure

10 Run & Test the App

Start your server with:

php artisan serve

Visit:

• http://127.0.0.1:8000/orders → see order list
• Click "View / Download PDF" → generates and displays the invoice PDF

This should work out-of-the-box in Laravel 11 (PHP 8.2+). TCPDF has limited CSS support — stick to tables and inline styles for best results. If you encounter issues (blank PDF, etc.), check server memory limit or add error handling. Let me know if you want to add headers/footers, logos, or switch to Dompdf/Spatie!

11 Conclusion

This TCPDF integration gives reliable PDF generation in Laravel 11. For production, consider testing alternatives like Spatie's package for better styling. Happy coding!

Frequently Asked Questions