In short, avoid high resolutions when scanning anything in order to turn it into PDF. This is as true of photographs, drawings, and blueprints as it is of letters, résumés, etc. In addition, these large files may cause problems for viewing or downloading your application. An image scanned at higher resolution (300+ dpi) will result in a much larger file, but it will not usually result in a better-quality display when viewed on a monitor or tablet. NEH applications are typically read online by reviewers and panelists, so an image or letter scanned at 100 dpi (dots or pixels per inch) will display clearly on a computer monitor or tablet. If you scan something to create a PDF file, do not scan it at higher resolution than you need.If you use one of these applications, be sure to test the results - make sure that you and others can open and view the resulting PDF files using the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Some third-party PDF converters are free, many are quite inexpensive - and some are better than others. In fact, PDF conversion has been built into Microsoft Office since 2007.

PDF is a standard format for sharing data, and it is possible to convert many common file formats (Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, etc.) to PDF using a wide variety of PDF-creating applications, sometimes called distillers.Tips for Creating PDF Files in Grants.Gov Applications

How to convert a file to pdf format