Open Standards and ISO Standards
OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Portable Document Format (PDF)
makes digital information accessible for all
Open standards
ensures that your information is
available in the future for as many as possible
when today's IT technology, IT products and IT vendors are no longer
Adobe co-founder Chuck Geschke once observed
that your organization’s documents are more important
than the software used to create them,
and they need to outlive the computer platform on which they were generated. Thanks to PDF, they can
"Huge challenge to read file formats in the future"
To all users who care for access to own information and
therefore want to save it in open document formats:
Reasonably, Microsoft's support for ODF 1.2 means you as a user of MS Office
now can require full support for ODF 1.2 in MS Office;
ie, equivalent to Microsoft's support for its own (closed and proprietary)
document formats in MS Office....
....allowing you to decide independently which office software you prefer.
Portable Document Format (PDF) is ISO Standard since 2008
The PDF technology is thus not owned by Adobe Systems.
Open Document Formats - Adoption
Enterprise information is far too valuable to be locked-in in proprietary
document formats completely owned and controlled by ICT vendors.
Open document formats ensure successful deployments of
long-term archiving and preservation solutions.
Open document formats - ODF & PDF - are now under worldwide deployment
for use in office suite solutions and enterprise systems,...
in the public sector and in the private industry.
Mission Statement:
To promote Open Standards-based electronic document
implementations using PDF technology through education,
expertise and shared experience for stakeholders worldwide.
It's worth viewing this historical document (5'57"). Enjoy…
May 14 -- 16, 2018, Berlin
Agenda 25 & 10
25 years of PDF – 10 years as an ISO Standard
PDF Days Europe is the most popular and most important PDF event of the year.
It’s where the PDF industry meets, and where institutional and
corporate users come to learn what else PDF could do for them.
PDF Days Europe 2018 offered three optional tracks:
PDF for users! With use cases and practical solutions for business.
PDF for developers! Technical presentations around PDF 2.0.
PDF for marketers! Marketplace information & resources for PDF Association members.
On May 14 -- 15, topics such as:
ISO standardized PDF: what’s current and what’s next
PDF market analysis
Next-generation PDF
PDF in mobile implementations
Accessible and reusable PDF files
Especially for PDF Association members:
Resources to augment own marketing and much more!
On May 16 PDF Days continued with an interesting post conference program,
and for developers, a PDF 2.0 Interop Workshop.
PDF Day 2018 at the National Archives an all-day event designed for
government and business professionals, managers, and executives
dealing with document management technology and policy.
This event brought industry experts, vendors, and managers
together to discuss the importance and utility of
the Portable Document Format (PDF) and its various ISO standards.
PDF Association
PDF Days Europe 2016, Berlin.
PDF - Learn all about it!
Efficient use. Optimal deployment.
Practical tips and tricks. Presentations and workshops.
PDF for IT managers, developers and users.
PDF: the de facto document technology
The Portable Document Format (commonly known as “PDF”)
is a file format developed in the early 1990s as a way to share
computer documents, including text formatting and inline images.
PDF technology was designed to allow for presentation of documents
independent of the application software, operating system and
hardware used to create them.
Today, PDF is the quintessential and ubiquitous "electronic document",
with trillions made each year.
veraPDF (2015)
PDF/A validation
with support of the PDF industry. (Note! The term "definitive PDF/A validator"
is not used any longer by this project for obvious reasons)
veraPDF (2018)
Real world adoption of veraPDF and
industry needs for more PDF standards
From recommendations to regulations,
PDF Association is here to help.
The PDF Association engages in many activities
as it follows its mission of promoting the adoption of
ISO standardized PDF technology around the world.
We provide information and resources to
government agencies and regulators
to help them develop
reference materials, guidelines, regulations and laws. PDF Association helping government understand PDF
Initiatives for extensions of PDF Standards
Document Expectations Through the Ages
Humans have put their thoughts to media with the idea of
capturing these (documents) in time - for many millennia.
Readers’ expectations have changed constantly
and continually through the ages. Document Expectations Through the Ages
Next-Generation PDF
PDF and the “Any Screen” Challenge
PDF Association developing industry-based model
for addressing the “any screen” challenge.
When it comes to print,
PDF is today the standard format used just about everywhere.
When it comes to the web,
HTML and CSS have obtained a similar position.
However, in our changing world,
print and web flow together in all kinds of interesting ways.
Having a format capable of catering to both worlds,
with the strengths of both worlds, would be very exciting!
The PDF Association has been working on exactly
such a technology project to develop extensions to PDF.
Technology that would marry
the reliability and robustness of PDF
with the fluidity and elegance of HTML;
providing the best possible user experience for
each type of device and use case.
"Next-Generation PDF" is the code-name for extensions to
PDF technology currently under development.
These PDF extensions marry PDF’s core capabilities
to the flexibility of web technologies.
PDF Association unveiled this radical
development in PDF technology at PDF Days Europe 2017
ISO 3200 the International Standard for
the Portable Document Format (PDF).
PDF is widely recognized as
the richest and most robust document format.
The Purpose of PDF
The purpose of PDF is to enable users to exchange and view
all kinds of electronic documents easily and reliably,
independent of the environment in which they were created
or the environment in which they are viewed or printed.
PDF is a Platform
Platform technologies provide the infrastructure
for the applications end users actually use.
Far beyond a document format, PDF offers a sophisticated
foundation for many types of user applications.
Everyone accepts PDF.
A fixed-layout, shareable, self-contained document
meets a fundamental customer need. PDF is a Platform
PDF - The Only Digital Document Format
What is a "document"?
Digital documents
Dokuments are for keeping
Documents of the future
Google’s Trends data shows clearly that
the number of searches for PDF documents
relative to all other searches continues going up: PDF - The Only Digital Document Format
What’s unique about PDF?
And why it will last forever
The Portable Document Format possesses a variety of attributes
that taken together describe a format of such flexibility and power
that it will define the essential electronic document concept forever. What’s unique about PDF?
PDF - Have we passed ‘peak PDF’?
The big picture.
Although the curve is flattening,
worldwide searches for “pdf” continue to grow in popularity,
indicating that the popular appetite for documents remains healthy.
Users may be banking online,
but their searches for PDF-based documents continue to increase.
The Power of the Page
It’s a question that vexes vendors of web-based solutions everywhere:
why do people still insist on PDF files?
And why does PDF’s mindshare keep going up? The Power of the Page
The case for PDF forms
Far beyond only print,
PDF forms offer vital electronic forms functionality.
PDF forms vs HTML forms.
The PDF file format includes many valuable features
that HTML forms cannot match. The case for PDF forms
PDF in 2016:
Broader, deeper, richer
Bridging the page and the web, there's still nothing like PDF.
Interest in PDF continues to climb.
The world’s portable document format continues to go from
strength to strength, with more specifications, more files,
more users, more implementations and
more developers worldwide. PDF in 2016: Broader, deeper, richer
PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2)
PDF specification now updated to version 2.0 (July, 2017)
PDF 2.0 is feature-complete and helps developers worldwide
find new applications for the Portable Document Format
in many different areas. PDF 2.0 (ISO 32000-2)
PDF 2.0 examples now available (Aug., 2017)
The first PDF 2.0 example files are now made available to the public.
This initial set of PDF 2.0 examples were crafted by hand and
intentionally made simple in construction to serve as
teaching tools for learning PDF file structure and syntax. PDF 2.0 examples
PDF 2.0: The worldwide standard for electronic documents
has evolved (Aug. 30, 2017)
The Portable Document Format is perhaps
the most common example of a de facto standard, so much
so that Wikipedia features PDF on its “de facto standards” page.
From Ethernet and 802.11 to HTTP and CSS,
the modern computing stack consists of hundreds of standards.
The way in which PDF exemplifies the specific value of
standards is almost unique, for PDF’s value proposition
- the reason why PDF is today’s worldwide
de facto standard for electronic documents -
is the fact of standardization itself. PDF 2.0: The worldwide standard for
electronic documents has evolved
PDF 2.0 - What will it bring? (2015)
To put it simply:
PDF 2.0 makes it easier for developers to
create tools to manage electronic documents
with more and better features at a reduced cost.
For organizations that procure PDF technology PDF 2.0
makes it easier to insist that vendors are delivering
the highest-quality, most accessible and most
capable PDF technology solutions available. PDF 2.0 - What will it bring?
Solutions to access to PDF documents on
smart phones and mobil devices with smaller screens. PDF in the Mobile World
PDF or EPUB
Give users what they want,
and why EPUB can't replace PDF
EPUB can't possibly substitute PDF when it comes to a
general-purpose electronic document format usable for publishing,
and all the other purposes to which PDF documents are put
(formal documents, record-keeping, transaction records, etc.)
EPUB can’t do fixed layout and be accessible at the same time.
EPUB cannot deal with the case of a document
that combines pages from various sources
(Word, Excel, CAD software, scanner, etc).
EPUB has no model for color-management,
which is not infrequently important to publishers.
EPUB cannot accommodate the application of accessibility
structures to arbitrary graphics content,
as PDF can.
EPUB lacks security and digital signature facilities;
features that are native to PDF.
Even for publications,
support for the EPUB specification varies between
EPUB readers from different vendors
- users can’t get a consistent display result of publications,
which in itself is totally unacceptable for publishing.
TWAIN Working Group and PDF Association Announce PDF/raster
The Next-Generation Format for Imaging
PDF/raster provides the portability of PDF
while offering the core functionality of TIFF. PDF/raster
PDF/raster 1.0 Documentation
This document describes PDF/raster,
a strict subset of the PDF file format designed
for storing, transporting and exchanging
multi-page raster-image documents. Download PDF/raster 1.0 Documentation
ISO 19005 (PDF/A)
for long-term preservation/archiving of PDF documents.
Ensures that digital documents can be reproduced in the future.
Rules for Document Attachments:
PDF/A-1
No attachments allowed.
Example: Conversion of email to PDF/A-1:
Attachments become additional PDF/A pages.
Conformance levels:
a - accessible, b - basic.
PDF/A-2
Attachments as PDF/A allowed.
Example: Conversion of email to PDF/A-2:
Attachments are converted to PDF/A and embedded in document.
Conformance levels:
a - accessible, b - basic, u - unicode.
PDF/A-3
Attachments in arbitrary formats - PDF/A and others - are allowed.
Example: Conversion of email with attachments to PDF/A-3:
Attachments as PDF/A and (in addition) embedded in original format.
Conformance levels:
a - accessible, b - basic, u - unicode.
PDF/A-4 - The Upcoming Standard
Will be PDF/A for PDF 2.0.
Will be simpler, with no conformance levels.
Application of the PDF/A Standard in Sweden
Binding rules apply for all
Swedish government agencies and bodies
keeping public documents from state archives.
For Swedish government authorities apply to electronic archiving
of office documents and digital documents
the authorities must follow Riksarkivet's/National Archives'
general regulations and general guidelines:
- RA-FS 2009:1 general guidelines for electronic documents
- RA-FS 2009:2 technical requirements for electronic documents.
As of now, 2016, for long-term archiving of
office documents and electronic documents
these regulations and guidelines prescribe
the use of the file format: PDF/A-1.
What ECM/e-archive professionals
must know about PDF
Ask your ECM/e-archive vendor to detail their
support for PDF, or risk unecessary costs,
increased risks and missed opportunities.
Although PDF represents the bulk of content in
ECM/e-archive systems the majority of such
implementations do not handle PDF documents
much differently than they way they’ve handled
TIFF images for the past 25 years.
A common portable container, PDF,
to end the era of ECM vendor lock-in.
Mostly, it’s the fact that a standardized,
fully-supported and broadly-accepted portable container format
would provide users with powerful technology
independent of any specific vendor,
ending the era of vendor lock-in.
ECM Vendors don’t like that, but customers do.
Over the next 5-10 years,
expect to see PDF become the common portable container
for a new era of smart, interconnected document and
information management systems. PDF to end the era of ECM vendor lock-in
ISO 14289 (PDF/UA) for universally accessible PDF.
PDF/UA is of interest to organizations concerned
with conformance to regulations requiring
accessible electronic content.
PDF/UA defines the technical requirements that must be
considered when the PDF document is created
to be universally accessible for all.
The standard specifies how relevant PDF content
(such as semantic content, text content, images,
form fields, comments, bookmarks, and metadata)
may be used in PDF/UA-compliant documents.
Properly tagged PDFs are essential and a prerequisite
for accessibility so that screen reader devices for
visually impaired people or reading software for
users with learning disabilities can provide
rich access to a PDF’s content.
PDF tags are also an effective method to improve
Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
Even automated text extraction from PDF documents
is easier with well-tagged documents
PDF/UA-2 - The Upcoming Standard
Will be PDF/UA for PDF 2.0.
PDF/UA - The ISO standard for universal accessibility - Introduction
The Value of Tagged PDF
Tagged PDF offers a lot more than access to users with disabilities.
From search engines to mobile devices, tagged PDF offers
powerful options to make content "accessible for all"
thanks to reuse of page-based content. The Value of Tagged PDF
PDF/UA conformance requires
validation of both syntax and semantic.
The Matterhorn Protocol specifies a common set of
31 "Checkpoints" with 136 failure conditions, whereof
- 89 failure conditions can be checked by software, and
- 47 failure conditions usually require human judgment.
Using PDF/UA in accessibility checklists (2018)
PDF/UA to simplifies the accessibility process.
Applying PDF/UA to accessibility-validation processes allows one
to package sets of tests together, streamlining the validation process. Using PDF/UA in accessibility checklists
The relationship between PDF/UA and WCAG 2
Why WCAG 2 might be erring with its "one-size-fits-all" philosophy
Why aren’t the PDF Techniques for WCAG 2.0 sufficient?
Creators and vendors who deliver PDF files are in many cases asked
to deliver PDF files in conformance with WCAG 2.0.
For many vendors this is unknown territory, and WCAG 2.0 does not
provide sufficient PDF-specific technical information to achieve similar
results between situations or implementations.
The AIIM guide, "Achieving WCAG 2.0 with PDF/UA",
shows what’s necessary to create, process and validate,
(in PDF file-format and conforming reader terms),
a PDF/UA conforming document and reader
to meet all applicable WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria. Achieving WCAG 2.0 with PDF/UA
Breaking News! (September, 2018)
PDF Association helps W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative
to modernize the W3C's PDF Techniques for Accessibility!
The ISO Standard PDF/UA (accessible PDF) to form the basis of a
revised and updated set of W3C's PDF Techniques for WCAG 2.1
Accessibility best-practices for websites and
electronic documents increasingly specify
WCAG 2.0 for HTML/CSS/JavaScript content and video,
and PDF/UA for electronic documents.
New Section 508 rules applies to all forms of federal ICT,
regardless of file format or method of distribution.
Section 508 applies to all ICT / all forms of digital communication.
Not just websites, but documents, media, blogs, social media, etc.,
for all public-facing ICT, plus 9 categories on non-public-facing ICT
including personnel actions, questionnaires or surveys,
templates or forms, education or training materials,
web-based intranets.
Section 508 defines by reference international accessibility standards:
- WCAG 2.0 for websites and HTML information, and
- PDF/UA-1 for PDF files
PDF/UA is consistent with WCAG 2.0,
but far more technically specific,
and provides a clear-cut means of
affirming that a given PDF document
meets high standards for accessibility. PDF/UA becomes an American national standard
New Section 508 rules require PDF/UA for PDF 1.7 creators
The US Access Board has issued new rules updating its
“Section 508” accessibility requirements.
PDF/UA-1 support is required for
PDF creation software producing PDF 1.7 files. New Section 508 rules require PDF/UA
Access to digital information is a fundamental right for everyone.
Sweden as a nation stands by:
- UN Declaration of Human Rights,
- UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and
- the Swedish Discrimination Act.
PDF/UA is applicable for Swedish government agencies and bodies
in making public sector documents universally accessible for all.
Services and tools to create accessible PDF documents and -forms
according to the ISO Standard PDF/UA
ISO 24517 (PDF/E) specifies how PDF should be used for
for the creation of documents in engineering workflows;
including 3D in the PDF/E context and
archiving of engineering content.
Key benefits of PDF/E include:
Dramatically reduces requirements for
expensive proprietary software.
Lowers storage and exchange costs as compared to paper.
Facilitates trustworthy exchange and markup
across multiple applications and platforms.
Vendor-independent; PDF/E is developed and
maintained by the PDF/E ISO committee.
Note! May 2018 - The Upcoming Standard PDF/E-2 will instead be PDF/A-4
The upcoming standard was earlier planned to be PDF/E-2 based on PDF 2.0
to provide an archival model for engineering content including 3D.
The industry was more interested in making this a part of PDF/A
instead of following a new standard PDF/E-2.
The ISO then stopped working on this standard and is
making it a part of PDF/A-4 (Conformance level e).
A point of contact of the benefits of PDF/E
in almost every engineering field.
PDF/E Competence Center is a platform
for information and discussion for experts in
3D technology, architects and construction specialists,
as well as developers of PLM applications.
For all engineers who use PDF technology as an
integral component of their day-to-day work. PDF/E Competence Center
ISO 16612-2 (PDF/VT) is optimized for the specific needs of
Variable (“V”) and Transactional (“T”) workflows.
PDF/VT efficiently addresses the requirements of modern
Variable Data Printing (VDP), bringing all the well-known
advantages of PDF workflow to the world of personalized print.
PDF/VT - A New Communication Standard
Printing Industries of America is drawing the attention of
the printing and communications industries to the PDF/VT standard
by explaining how its benefits can offer a solution. PDF/VT - A New Communication Standard
PDF/VT - Application Notes
The PDF/VT Application Notes discuss topics that aid
implementers of PDF/VT workflow tools and demonstrate
the various design features of the PDF/VT file format. PDF/VT - Application Notes
"Best Practices for Print, Publishing & Packaging Workflows"
This is the Ghent Workgroup
Take a cross-section of the international
graphic arts community’s best minds and
have them work together to develop best practices
for the benefit of the profession worldwide.
Purpose of the Ghent Workgroup
To create practical workflow tools that make your
daily production tasks easier and faster for publishing,
packaging, wide format and industrial print processes.
Benefits of the Ghent Workgroup Today
Driven by industry trends, end users are able to formalize
implementation of PDF/X standards for data exchange via GWG.
GWG Specifications are now the recognized PDF reference
for the current printing and publishing industries.
Conversion of Fillable/Interactive PDF Forms to PDF/A
PDF/A forbids some of the features that will be needed by most fillable forms.
This makes it impractical to have a fillable PDF form that also
at the same time is PDF/A conforming.
The way around this is as follows:
make the fillable PDF form as much PDF/A conforming as possible
send it out for being filled in
once filled in, send it through a PDF/A conversion process
(preferably with callas pdfaPilot Desktop/Server or CLI);
this last step will make minor adjustments to align the PDF form with the PDF/A requirements
(e.g. remove JavaScript, adjust certain properties of form fields and so on,
but without changing the visual appearance, and, most importantly,
without removing the payload/the data as filled in)
Recommended solutions for migration/conversion/validation/tagging
and output management of document files to its ISO Standards
PDF, PDF/A (PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, PDF/A-3),
PDF/E, PDF/UA, PDF/VT, PDF/X,
PDF to HTML5, HTML5 to PDF/X and PDF/A.
Plus tools to find & count PDF and ODF files on a given website.
Tools including Supported Export Formats:
PDF
PDF/A
PDF/E
PDF/UA
PDF/VT
PDF/X
EPUB3
HTML5
ODF
callas pdfToolbox
Provides preflight/validation, correction,
color management and optimization
of PDF files for graphics industry and
creatives, prepress, print production,
packaging and digital publishing.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
callas pdfaPilot
Provides preflight/validation, correction,
and optimization of PDF/A files for
document archiving/e-archiving and
long-term preservation.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
callas pdfChip
Command-line conversion tool that takes
an HTML file, optionally augmented using
CSS3 and JavaScript, and performs a
high-quality conversion to PDF that is
ready for print or archival.
Provides optimization of PDF files,
including PDF/X and PDF/A.
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
callas pdfGoHTML
Application that provides a first
fast way to test the accessibility of a
PDF file according to the ISO Standard
for Universally Accessible PDF, PDF/UA.
Free plug-in to Adobe® Acrobat®.
Yes
Luratech PDF Compressor
LuraTech PDF Compressor Enterprise
Provides OCR, advanced compression and
conversion of document files to PDF/A;
production software for scan service
providers and for long-term archiving
in PDF/A format.
Yes
Yes
LuraTech Mobile PDF
LuraTech Mobile PDF
Professional solution for scanning,
OCR, compression and conversion
of documents with smartphones and
tablets to PDF and PDF/A.
Yes
Yes
axaio MadeToPrint
The intelligent print, publishing and
export solution for publishers, printers,
creative agencies and package printing,
for output standardization, preflighting,
optimization and automation from
within Adobe® InDesign®, Illustrator®,
InCopy® and QuarkXPress®.
Yes
Yes
Yes
axaio MadeToTag
Plugin for Adobe InDesign, to properly
prepare InDesign documents for export
as accessible PDF documents according
to the ISO Standard PDF/UA for
"universally accessible PDF" and
to PDF/A-2a for long-term archiving.
Yes
Yes
axesPDF for Word
1-Click creation of accessible PDF/UA
documents out of Word documents.
Yes
axesPDF Quickfix
PDF checking and remediation tool to
make accessible PDF/UA documents.
Yes
Actino HTML5 Publisher
Application for online publishing to
auto-convert PDF-documents into
pure HTML5 for viewing of documents
in browsers and on mobile devices.
PDF Accessibility Checker (PAC)
Freeware application that provides
a first fast way to test the accessibility of
PDF files according to the ISO Standard
for universally accessible PDF, PDF/UA.
Provided by
The Access for All Foundation, Switzerland
Yes
VIP PDF-Reader
Freeware PDF reader designed for
computer users who are visually impaired.
(Not meant for blind persons using
screen readers like NVDA or JAWS).
Provided by
The Swiss National Association of and for the Blind
Yes
NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA)
Freeware "screen reader" application
which enables blind and vision impaired
people to use computers.
Reads the text on the screen in a
computerised voice.
Yes
veraPDF - PDF/A Conformance Checker
Freeware (funded up to 2017 by EU PREFORMA
and supported by the PDF Industry
- PDF Association, Open Preservation Foundation).
Full support for all PDF/A versions (1,2,3) and
conformance levels (a,b,u).
Versions:
GUI - Desktop; interactive single file evaluation,
CLI - Command Line Interface; automation.
Logius - PDF/A Validator
Web domain(s) crawler for all PDF documents
including validation against PDF/A standards.
This tool finds and analyses the documents on a
given website and outputs the number of:
documents in PDF/A format by
accessibility level "a", "u" or "b"
documents formatted in other PDF versions
such as PDF 1.4, 1.5, 1.6 or 1.7
The ZUGFeRD PDF/A-based standard allows for both
human readable and machine readable e-invoices.
The ZUGFeRD data format for e-invoicing
is a combination of
PDF with integrated structured data/XML.
Validation of PDF/A-3 based ZUGFeRD documents
Open Source tool for validation of PDF/A-3 based
ZUGFeRD documents using the veraPDF and a
plug-in to check the XML attachments
against EN16931 UN/CEFACT SCRDM v16B.
Yes
Canvasflow Cloud
HTML5 authoring tool
making digital content production
made simple.
Yes
Yes
Twixl Publisher
Content publishing
on mobile devices
for rich user experiences.
Yes
Yes
Recommended solutions for securing your information assets
in OpenDocument Format (ODF)
With information stored in OpenDocument Format (ODF) you are free to
choose among many office software suites and enterprise systems.
Alternative ICT solutions running on
Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris or as cloud-based services.
Alternatives that secure access to valuable information assets
- now and in the future.
Oct.5, 2011 ODF Version 1.2 - Approved as OASIS Standard
Boeing, Fedict, IBM, Microsoft, Nokia, Novell, Oracle, Red Hat,
U.S. Department of Defense, and others advance
OpenDocument Format for Office Applications.
Above: Samples of office software suites with expressed support for
OpenDocument Format (ODF) and Portable Document Format (PDF):
(For download/access to said software - click on related logotype)
