PDF Files

PDF files are ideal for brochures, catalogues, technical manuals, minutes, reports, project files (including drawings), commercial documents etc, etc. Adobe Acrobat PDF files are doing for multi-page file storage what Microsoft did for computer operating systems i.e. it is creating standards that we will all use, like it or not!

We provide a full conversion service from paper documents (or Microsoft "Word" documents) to the Adobe "Acrobat" PDF (Portable Document Format) file format. Prior to conversion to PDF format, paper documents are scanned as individual pages in mono or colour. Once scanned, individual pages can be given index names within the PDF file making file retrieval a breeze. PDF files can be downloaded from your website or distribute on CD. Links can be created from any word, within the PDF file, to other PDF documents, web sites etc.

Document Creation

Even for large quantities of documents in colour or mono, PDF files present the chosen images to the screen quickly. The software for reading the PDF file format is freely available for Adobe and this enables the creation of CD's with both the data file and software to read it all on one CD.

We also provide self-starting CD's that can take you immediately to the PDF file and the first page of your brochure, catalogue, report, etc. A full colour brochure or catalogue may then be used in much the same manner as the printed format.

Alternatively, the self-starting CD's can open with a "splash" page (or other introduction pages) showing your company logo and title of the report, catalogue, etc for a few seconds. Typically, this automatically changes to a page (or pages) showing menu options that offer selection of various options e.g. products, projects or other document groupings.

Explanation of Adobe PDF Terminology

Image Only

These are simply images of pages within one multi-page file. Can be viewed with a "book like" index shown on the screen. The PDF file offers the usual page-view, page-search, and print facilities. In Adobe parlance, the "book like" index creation is called as "Book Marking".

This is most useful for sales catalogues, technical manuals, reports etc.

Images and Hidden Text

This is the next level up from "Image Only" and provides an additional facility of being able to search for individual words within the page images. All the existing facilities of the "Image Only" PDF file remain i.e. page searching, viewing and printing and indexing by "Book Marking". To provide the word search facility, the PDF file system holds the searchable text "behind" the image shown on the screen. Hence the name "Images and Hidden Text".

Words are recognised as text and are hence searchable but the text cannot be altered. Logos and non-text characters are ignored. This is an ideal facility for minutes, research documents, etc where the words will have been correctly and formally prepared but now need to be found by a word search.

PDF Normal

This name may be confusing at first, but it indicates the next level of facility within the PDF file. This type of file adds the ability to correct the words on the page image as well as retaining all the existing facilities with the "Images and Hidden Text" files.

In practise, this is similar to using OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software as the PDF file has a spell checker and dictionary that will offer alternatives for words it does not recognise. Further, the text is no longer "hidden" as with the "Images and Hidden Text" PDF files. It is viewed in text format and may be selected for "cut and paste" transfers into a word processor e.g. "Word" for modification.

This facility enables paper based text to be transferred to word processor documents via the PDF file format. Consequently, paper documents can be stored as a PDF file and subsequently converted to word processor files when required. Some text "clean-up" and re-formatting may be required after conversion dependant upon the original document layout and font used.