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• Posted Jan. 8, 2013, 11:06 p.m. - 11 years, 3 months ago

PDF/A Usage in Companies

Nearly three years ago the Association for Information and Image Management (AIIM) released the results of a study.  They found that 90% of the companies were already using PDFs to archive their scanned documents.

 

 

Additionally, 89% of the companies were using PDFs to archive all of their Microsoft Office Documents.  It seems strange today, but back then (not too long ago) 43% of the companies still used microfiche and/or microfilm for their archived documents.  This is probably not that much different from today, as converting microfilm and microfiche files to PDF or other digital storage media is time-intensive and expensive.

The popularity was increasing as the PDF/A standard, which brought PDF usage to what it is today, as developed as the archiving standard.  If you would like a refresher on the PDF/A, we wrote about it earlier.

Today, just about everyone uses PDF files as archives and the PDF/A is still growing toward total acceptance.  Consider the advantages.

PDF/A files are searchable.  They are totally self-contained and all “external” references have been embedded inside the PDF.

All the major document archive services also use PDF/A files.  If you are not yet using PDF/a for archives, you should start.

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