Do PDF/A and Enterprise Content Management Systems
Complement Each Other (Perfectly)?
There are numerous software tools on the market, including freeware,
with which users can create PDFs and store them in ECM systems.
But are the results of this always satisfactory?
by
Dietrich von Seggern
Managing Director, callas software, Germany,
Adapted/Localized by
Kent Åberg
Founder and Managing Director, NewFormat AB, Sweden
(Join the callas software blog for PDF professionals!)
Not all software tools do create PDF/A compliant files
suitable for storing in ECM systems
There are numerous tools on the market, including freeware,
with which users can create PDFs and store them in ECM systems.
But are the results of this always satisfactory?
It can in fact happen that a certain PDF file can be opened with
one PDF-reader and not with another.
In addition, the original PDF format is not suitable for long-term archiving.
Invoices or other documents that have to be stored for decades
should therefore be stored in PDF/A format in the ECM system.
Numerous ECM providers, therefore, already integrate callas software
PDF/A technology as SDK (Software Development Kit).
Their users can then - integrated into their document processes -
create PDF/A files or check their conformity:
PDF/A-1: No attachments allowed.
PDF/A-2: Attachments as PDF/A allowed.
PDF/A-3: Attachments in arbitrary formats - PDF/A and others - are allowed.
It is relatively new that here also the somewhat special PDF/A-3 format
is used and thus enriches the scope of services of the ECM system.
The special feature of PDF/A-3 is that this standard part enables
the embedding of any document in a PDF/A file.
The PDF thus becomes a kind of "ZIP archive with user interface".
Thus, users can elegantly combine several documents in one file.
PDF/A-3 is useful for hybrid archiving, i.e. combining the source document
like an Office file with the associated PDF/A file.
Emails with business-critical content that are worth
keeping are rendered with callas software technology.
In a PDF/A-3 file, the original email can then be stored in
the ECM system together with its archivable counterpart
in a revision-proof manner.
Another example is the storage of invoices.
Information that an OCR processor reads from an invoice can be stored
in a separate file and archived together with the invoice in a PDF/A-3 file.
PDF/A-3 can also be used to elegantly compile files, such as
documents and drawings that are created within a project.
Another example of its application is the generation and
processing of ZUGFeRD invoices.
For incoming invoices, callas pdfaPilot automatically extracts
the contained invoice data in XML format and forwards them
to systems for processing.
The PDF/A invoice is then stored in the ECM system.
PDF/A and especially PDF/A-3 and ECM complement each other perfectly.
PDF/A-3 can additionally increase the benefits of digital processes, since
connections between documents can also be displayed outside the ECM system.
There are numerous advantages in using the PDF/A format for
ECM users with regard to document management and distribution.
In addition, it is ensured that the PDF files stored in
the ECM system can be reproduced at any time.
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