NWA-PCUG Newsletter Article, January 2009
Create PDF Documents for FREE
By Ira Wilsker, APCUG Director;
Columnist, The Examiner, Beaumont, TX; Radio & TV Show Host

Iwilsker@apcug.net
(click to email author)

WEBSITES:
http://www.cutepdf.com
http://www.primopdf.com

I do a lot of research online on a variety of topics such as homeland security, and cyber security, and like to save digital copies of websites, articles, and news stories. I also like to save secure and stable digital copies of documents I create, such as Word, PowerPoint, Excel, tax forms, and other documents, where they will always appear exactly as the originals, and are difficult to alter. I also exchange documents of various types with many others, some of whom have different software and operating systems than I have, but would like to view the documents exactly as prepared. To resolve these problems, and create a universal standard format that works seamlessly on virtually all operating systems, the software publisher Adobe created the “PDF” or “Portable Document Format”, which has become the defacto standard for universal document exchange. While feature rich, and still widely considered as the premier PDF writing utility, the Adobe Acrobat PDF writing software is relatively expensive ($300 for the new Standard Edition – Version 9). In recent years, several competitors to Adobe PDF Writer have appeared, and fortunately for us, some of them are available for free!

I have tried several of the free PDF writers, and they all function substantially the same. I have also successfully used the PDF function built into the excellent and free office suite, OpenOffice 3 (openoffice.org), which can create PDF documents from each of the components in its suite of software, but does not create PDFs from other sources. Some of the free PDF writing utilities include advertising and watermarks in the documents created, clearly displaying to all readers that the user is using free software; the appearance of ads and commercial watermarks in a document makes it unacceptable (to me) for all but distinctly personal use. Two of the free PDF writers that I have used, and continue to use, which are also free of advertising and commercial watermarks are CutePDF Writer (http://www.cutepdf.com) and PrimoPDF (http://www.primopdf.com).

CutePDF Writer is a small download of only 1.6 megs, but also requires the download and installation of a free GNU Ghostscript converter (5 megs), which is available on the CutePDF download page. Downloading and installation of CutePDF Writer and GNU Ghostscript were fast and easy. CutePDF Writer is not run separately as a utility, but is in reality installed as a printer driver, and shows up under the “Printers and Faxes” heading in the control panel. Using CutePDF Writer to create PDF files is fast and easy, and can be accessed from the “Print” function in any software that supports printing. To create a PDF file from any source, simple click on “Print” and select CutePDF Writer from the pull-down printer menu, and then print as if the document was simply going to a printer.

CutePDF Writer appears as an installed printer, and for all practical purposes is treated as a physical printer. When the print function is activated, CutePDF Writer transparently and quickly converts the document into a “WYSIWYG” (What You See Is What You Get) document in the PDF format. Rather than printing to paper, CutePDF Writer prints to a digital file in the PDF format, which can be saved wherever desired. As a PDF file, it can be opened by any PDF viewer or reader, and it will appear exactly as created, including all fonts, colors, graphics, and formatting. Because PDF files can be universally opened and viewed, PDF is an ideal format to email to others who may not have the same document creation software that you have. I have personally used CutePDF Writer extensively, and routinely install it on all of my computers. CutePDF Writer is totally free, and does not contain any advertising or watermarks. It is explicitly free to all, including personal, commercial, educational, and government use. Computer Shopper magazine rates CutePDF Writer as one of the best 50 downloads available. The publisher of CutePDF Writer obviously hopes that users of the free Writer product will upgrade to the more powerful commercial product, CutePDF Professional, currently available on the website for $49.95.

There is another excellent and free PDF creator which I occasionally use, and that is PrimoPDF, which self-proclaims that it is the “World’s #1 Free PDF Creator”. Download.com indicates that over 9.5 million copies of PrimoPDF have been downloaded from that site alone. PrimoPDF is a 10.6 mb download, and will run on all versions of Windows from 98 to Vista; no other downloaded files are necessary to install and run PrimoPDF. As do other PDF writers, it installs as a printer driver, and is used as a printer to save PDF files. Like the others, clicking on “Print”, and selecting PrimoPDF as the printer, PrimoPDF will create the file as a PDF, and allow the user to save the PDF wherever desired.

PrimoPDF offers more save options than CutePDF, including the ability to vary the degree of compression and size of the PDF file based on the intended final use. If the user wants a file that is only to be viewed onscreen, it will create the smallest possible file; if the file is intended for publishing or other uses, a larger, higher quality file may be saved. Alternatively, PrimoPDF allows the user to determine quality and file size with a single click by selecting the intended final use, such as screen, eBook, print, prepress (commercial printing), and a customized output. Compared to most other PDF writing utilities, PrimoPDF is very feature rich. For those who want even more capability and features, PrimoPDF offers its commercial version, NitroPDF Professional for $99.

Creating PDF files is remarkably easy, and requires absolutely no additional skills. It is an excellent way to distribute documents across platforms. Both the simpler CutePDF Writer and the more sophisticated PrimoPDF will serve their users well.

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