A Paperless Office: Advantages of PDF Format

The use of electronic documents in the work of any company is a great opportunity not only to reduce the cost of office supplies and consumables for printers but also significantly speed up the exchange of information with branches and partners by sending files via the Internet.

However, the process of implementing a paperless office is associated with many difficulties. 

So, for example, the choice of a suitable format, which will make the basis of the implemented system, is a great difficulty. Today there are many text formats and their modifications, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages. However, PDF is one of the most popular ones. Let’s analyze its advantages together.

Key Advantages of the PDF Format

The distinctive feature of the PDF format is machine and platform independence. This means that any document of this format can be opened on a computer running any operating system (using the appropriate software) and will look exactly the same as on the PC on which it was created. Thanks to PDF, documents of this type are much more practical both for creating an electronic archive for the company’s internal use and for exchanging information with partners and remote branches.

Sometimes, you need to process PDF files, edit, merge, or split them. You can learn how to merge PDF offline by following the link. Now, let’s pay more attention to the advantages of the PDF format:

1. Cross-platform

It doesn’t matter what computers are in your partners’ offices and what operating systems they run. It doesn’t matter what kind of PDF reader software they have installed. In any case, they will be able to see and, if necessary, print the documents exactly in the form they need. Whereas, when using the Word Document format, both parties to the exchange should use the same software version.

To be frank, the problem with versions of file readers is also relevant to the PDF format. However, keep in mind that this software is free. Therefore, a new version can always be downloaded from the Internet if necessary.

2. Free of charge

Any person or any company can absolutely free download the Acrobat Reader program from the Internet and use it to work with electronic documents. This is especially good when a one-way exchange of information is necessary.

3. Security 

Documents created in Microsoft Word often become carriers of various viruses. In addition, sometimes in electronic documents, it is necessary to use built-in protection against unauthorized access.

And in this regard, the PDF format has some advantages, since its specification has been examined by many independent software developers and experts in the field of information security, who have confirmed the absence of vulnerabilities and deliberately left “holes”.

4. Standardized by ISO

PDF is standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) for archival storage of electronic documents and the exchange of information between companies.

In addition, Adobe representatives said that they are going to transfer the specification of the latest version of their format to the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM), which intends to promote it as a common international standard for the implementation of electronic document management.

In case this happens (and the likelihood is high), the use of PDF technology for electronic document management will be regulated around the world.

All these advantages of the PDF format are also relevant for storing electronic documents. On the one hand, you will have to create documents in the Word Document format, because it is impossible to create a PDF document right away. But it is more convenient to transfer and store documents in PDF format. You can, of course, choose any of these technologies and put up with their shortcomings. 

But it is still better to use a combined workflow: create files in the Word Document format, and before sending them or transferring them to an archive, convert them to PDF. This approach allows you to use all the advantages of both technologies and avoid their disadvantages.

Therefore, companies often face the task of converting files from DOC to PDF format. Fortunately, you can use PDF converters to complete all the necessary tasks. This is how you can implement the idea of a paperless office!