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Alternative Software Generates PDFs Less Expensively
By Ted Needleman
While the financial community is pushing to make XBRL (extensible business reporting language) a standard for financial reports, Adobe’s PDF file format has already become a de-facto standard. It makes sense, since the PDF format offers a considerable size advantage over many other formats such as RTF and DOC.
Until recently, another advantage of PDF files was that they were difficult to alter, adding another layer of security. Without an expensive copy of Adobe’s Acrobat Pro software, there was no easy way to create a PDF, much less edit or otherwise alter the file.
That’s changed. An increasing number of applications offer the option of generating reports in PDF format. Even if the ones that your organization uses do not have this feature, you don’t have to spend a bundle on Acrobat Pro. Several inexpensive programs are available that let you create your own PDF files. And if you need the ability to edit and/or annotate PDFs, you can also get this capability without having to spring for Acrobat Pro.
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One of the easiest and most affordable PDF creation approaches is the deskPDF Pro from DocuDesk (www.docudesk.com). The deskPDF Standard edition installs as another print driver, and when you print to this driver, creates a PDF file. For $19.95, it’s a quick and easy way to generate PDFs. For $10 more, you can get the Professional edition, which adds watermarks, document merging, and file encryption.
Nuance Communications (www.nuance.com) is another vendor providing affordable PDF solutions. Its $49 PDF Create! 5 provides a wide range of PDF options including custom watermarks and MRC compression for smaller PDF files.
If you need the ability to do even more, Nuance offers PDF Converter 5. This $99 utility lets you create PDFs, edit PDF files, and turn PDF files into editable Microsoft Word files.
Both utilities are available with multi-user licensing if you have additional staff who would benefit from having these capabilities.
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This article is from NPT TechnoBuzz, a publication of The NonProfit Times.
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