Try groff -ms -Tpdf example.groff > example.pdf The difference is the use of the ms macro package. That package generates page breaks and makes assumption

Try groff -ms -Tpdf example.groff > example.pdf The difference is the use of the ms macro package. That package generates page breaks and makes assumptions about the page size. -Tpdf will typeset your text using proportional fonts, justification and so on. The previous poster's command generated nicely justified text in the terminal (or redirected to a file).