PDF Archive: What is PDF/A?

PDF/A is a format specialized for long-term preservation of electronic documents. It ensures all needed information is included to render the document exactly as the original in the future and on any system. PDF/A is now an ISO standard and recommended by public archives administrations and archiving companies worldwide.

Compared to standard PDF, PDF/A is much more restrictive. This is to ensure that the document is fully contained in the file.

Advantages and benefits of PDF/A

• All used fonts are included in the file: Text will always appear the same
• Platform independence: Documents are ensured to look the same on any device
• Full text search: Scanned documents can be made searchable through OCR
• Colors are clearly defined and preserved
• Metadata (information about the document) in a standard format is mandatory

How to convert and keep your archived documents in PDF/A

By using PixEdit software you ensure that all your electronic documents are compliant with the PDF/A standard.

• Scan to PDF/A
• Convert other file formats to PDF/A

PDF/A software