What actually matters most when embedding PDF generation into a product?

PDFs always look simple… until they’re in production.

At some point every product needs them: invoices, contracts, reports, delivery notes. And that’s usually where trade-offs start to appear.

From your experience, what actually matters when PDF generation becomes part of a real software?

• Do you prioritize speed of integration over flexibility?

• Is a visual editor for non-technical people a must, or just noise?

• Are opinionated, simple layouts better than fully custom designs?

• How much design freedom is too much when PDFs must stay stable?

• Have you built your own solution, used a library, or relied on a SaaS?

I’m especially curious about what broke for you:
what scaled badly, what caused friction between devs and non-devs, and what you’d do differently today.

Looking forward to hearing real-world takes and lessons learned.