51 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
51 lines
2.6 KiB
Markdown
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---
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title: PDF to PDF/A
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description: Convert standard PDFs to PDF/A format for long-term archiving. Supports PDF/A-1b, PDF/A-2b, and PDF/A-3b conformance levels.
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---
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# PDF to PDF/A
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PDF/A is an ISO-standardized subset of PDF designed for long-term digital preservation. This tool converts your standard PDFs into PDF/A-compliant documents using Ghostscript running directly in your browser.
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## How It Works
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1. Upload one or more PDF files.
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2. Select a **PDF/A Version** from the dropdown.
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3. Optionally enable **Pre-flatten PDF** for complex files that fail normal conversion.
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4. Click **Convert to PDF/A**. Multiple files produce a ZIP archive.
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## PDF/A Versions
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| Version | Restrictions | Best For |
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| ------------ | ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------- |
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| **PDF/A-1b** | Strictest. No transparency, no layers. | Maximum compatibility with older archival systems |
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| **PDF/A-2b** | Allows transparency and JPEG2000. | General-purpose archiving (recommended) |
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| **PDF/A-3b** | Allows embedded attachments of any format. | Archiving documents with source data files |
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PDF/A-2b is selected by default and works for the vast majority of archiving needs.
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## Pre-flatten Option
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Some PDFs contain features that prevent clean PDF/A conversion -- unusual font encodings, complex transparency stacks, or broken internal structures. Enabling **Pre-flatten** rasterizes the PDF at 300 DPI before conversion, which guarantees compliance at the cost of making text non-selectable. Use it as a fallback when the standard conversion produces errors.
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Pre-flattening requires the PyMuPDF WASM engine.
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## Use Cases
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- Meeting government or legal archival requirements (many jurisdictions mandate PDF/A for court filings)
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- Submitting documents to institutional repositories or digital libraries
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- Preserving business records where the original software may not exist in ten years
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- Preparing invoices for e-invoicing standards that require PDF/A-3b with XML attachments
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## Tips
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- Try conversion without pre-flatten first. Only enable it if you get an error.
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- PDF/A embeds all fonts, so output files are often larger than the originals.
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- Validate the output in a dedicated PDF/A validator if strict compliance is required for your workflow.
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## Related Tools
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- [Compress PDF](./compress-pdf) -- reduce the file size after conversion
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- [Flatten PDF](./flatten-pdf) -- flatten forms before converting to PDF/A
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- [Remove Metadata](./remove-metadata) -- strip metadata before archiving
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