Tool profile

macOS Print to PDF

macOS Print to PDF appears on both legitimate first-generation output and downstream re-save flows — context (the other tool on the same document) is what flips the signal.

Back to all statistics

Forensic verdict

Mixed signal

Based on this tool’s share of the HTPBE? corpus.

Modification rate

64%+15pp above baseline

Corpus baseline: 49%

Corpus share

3.4%

Share of all analyzed appearances

Modification rate

64%

+15pp above baseline

Role split

0%C/100%P

Creator vs Producer share of appearances

Corpus profile

How macOS Print to PDF shows up in HTPBE? corpus

macOS Print to PDF is the system-level PDF generator built into macOS’s print pipeline (the "Save as PDF" option in any Print dialog). Almost every Mac-originated PDF that did not come from a dedicated authoring app passes through this path.

macOS Print to PDF appears overwhelmingly on Mac-authored documents and is among the highest-volume producers in the HTPBE? corpus. It is a low-signal producer for tampering — the document was rendered by a Mac in one pass.

Role in the workflow

How macOS Print to PDF shows up in metadata

Every PDF carries a Creator (the application that produced the original document) and a Producer (the engine that wrote the PDF). The same tool can appear in either slot, with very different modification profiles.

CAs Creator · 0%

As Producer · 100%P

CAs Creator

Share of appearances
0%
Modification rate
0%

PAs Producer

Share of appearances
100%
Modification rate
64%
Avg file size
935 KB

Name fingerprints

Also goes by

Different version strings and spellings observed for macOS Print to PDF in the wild. All are merged into the same canonical profile.

macOS Version 26.3.1 (a) (Build 25D771280a) Quartz PDFContext31.5%

macOS Version 12.7.6 (Build 21H1320) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.115.5%

macOS Version 12.7.6 (Build 21H1320) Quartz PDFContext13.5%

macOS Version 26.2 (Build 25C56) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.19.0%

macOS Version 15.3.2 (Build 24D81) Quartz PDFContext6.9%

macOS Version 10.15.7 (Build 19H1922) Quartz PDFContext6.7%

macOS Version 26.3.1 (Build 25D2128) Quartz PDFContext1.0%

macOS Version 26.5.1 (Build 25F80) Quartz PDFContext0.9%

macOS Version 15.7.1 (Build 24G231) Quartz PDFContext0.7%

macOS Version 15.6 (Build 24G84) Quartz PDFContext0.6%

macOS Version 13.3.1 (a) (Build 22E772610a) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.5%

macOS Version 26.2 (Build 25C56) Quartz PDFContext0.5%

macOS Version 15.7.4 (Build 24G517) Quartz PDFContext0.5%

macOS Version 26.4.1 (Build 25E253) Quartz PDFContext0.5%

Mac OS X 10.10.5 Quartz PDFContext0.5%

macOS Version 15.6.1 (Build 24G90) Quartz PDFContext0.4%

macOS Version 26.5.2 (Build 25F84) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.4%

macOS Version 15.7.5 (Build 24G624) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.4%

macOS Version 26.1 (Build 25B78) Quartz PDFContext0.4%

macOS Version 14.3 (Build 23D2057) Quartz PDFContext0.4%

macOS Version 14.2.1 (Build 23C71) Quartz PDFContext0.4%

macOS Version 26.5.2 (Build 25F84) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 14.8.4 (Build 23J319) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS 版本26.3（版号25D125） Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 13.7.8 (Build 22H730) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 14.5 (Build 23F79) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS 10.15.719H15 Quartz PDFContext; modified using OpenPDF 1.3.300.2%

macOS Version 10.15.4 (Build 19E287) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 26.2 (assemblage 25C56) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 15.7.4 (assemblage 24G517) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 15.5 (Build 24F74) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 26.3.1 (a) (Build 25D771280a) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.2%

macOS Version 26.5 (Build 25F71) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 14.6 (Build 23G80) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.2%

macOS Version 15.6.1 (Build 24G90) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.2%

macOS Version 15.3 (Build 24D2059) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 26.3 (Build 25D125) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 15.7.3 (Build 24G419) Quartz PDFContext0.2%

macOS Version 26.3.1 (Build 25D2128) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.2%

macOS Version 26.1 (Build 25B78) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.2%

macOS Version 14.6.1 (Build 23G93) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 26.4 (Build 25E246) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Versión 13.7.8 (Compilación 22H730) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 14.4.1 (Build 23E224) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 14.3 (Build 23D2057) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 15.7.7 (Build 24G720) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 14.4 (Build 23E214) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 13.2.1 (Build 22D68) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Версия 14.5 (Выпуск 23F79) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 12.5 (Build 21G72) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 14.0 (Build 23A344) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

Mac OS X 10.6.7 Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 26.6.1 (Build 25G76) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS 版本15.7.3（版号24G419） Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.4 (Build 24E248) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.7.3 (Build 24G419) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 13.5 (Build 22G74) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 15.4.1 (Build 24E263) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 15.2 (Build 24C101) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 26.0.1 (Build 25A362) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS 版本15.6（版号24G84） Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.5 (Build 24F5042g) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 26.5.2 (assemblage 25F84) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Versión 13.5.1 (Compilación 22G90) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 27.0 (Build 26A5388g) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 10.16 (Build 21H1320) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 10.16 (Build 21G725) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.6 (assemblage 24G84) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 15.4.1 (Build 24E263) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Versione 14.0 (Build 23A344) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.5 (Build 24F74) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

macOS Version 14.3.1 (Build 23D60) Quartz PDFContext0.1%

macOS Version 15.6 (Build 24G84) Quartz PDFContext, AppendMode 1.10.1%

Why variants matter

The same tool publishes itself under 75 different metadata strings — version bumps, locale tags, build IDs. We canonicalize them so the corpus reflects one identity, not noise.

Most common

macOS Version 26.3.1 (a) (Build 25D771280a) Quartz PDFContext

31.5% of appearances

Variant spread

75 distinct strings

Long-tail share: 68.5%

Observed range

01.01.2000 → 20.08.2026

Distributions

What ships alongside macOS Print to PDF

The PDF versions macOS Print to PDF writes when acting as Producer, and the other tools that appear in the same documents.

PDF versions written

Most output is PDF 1.3 (87% of files where macOS Print to PDF is the Producer).

PDF 1.387.3%

PDF 1.711.1%

PDF 1.61.0%

PDF 1.40.4%

PDF 1.50.3%

Common Creators when macOS Print to PDF is the Producer

Preview sits upstream in 23% of cases — read this row as “what kinds of documents end up routed through macOS Print to PDF.”

Preview23.0%

PandaDoc19.1%

ActiveReports18.4%

Microsoft Word10.8%

Aspose10.2%

Chrome (Print to PDF)8.1%

TCPDF8.0%

Pages1.2%

Firefox0.7%

Adobe Acrobat0.6%

Related profiles

Tools you’ll see next to macOS Print to PDF

Other tools that frequently share metadata with macOS Print to PDF in the same documents. Each card links to its own forensic profile.

Long tail

Notable observations

Smaller cuts of the macOS Print to PDF corpus — useful context, but treat each row as a single data point rather than a strong signal.

Embedded JavaScript

<1%

Of files contain JavaScript code

Digitally signed

<1%

Of files carry at least one digital signature

Avg pages per document

8.4

Oldest observed

01.01.2000 — over 26 years ago

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