Streamline your printing and copying process
Get reliable and consistent outputs
Eliminate platform and application dependencies

The Copy Centers is constantly working on improving our ability to produce reliable and consistent digital documents for our customers. In the past, we have received customer files in their native file format. These files can have various problems such as missing fonts or graphics, incompatible software versions between The Copy Centers and our customers, or large file size that is difficult to submit.

Portable Document Format (PDF), developed by Adobe Systems Inc., is a universal file format that preserves all of the fonts, formatting, colors, and graphics of any source document. This provides a means to easily and effectively deliver or communicate information of any type to others regardless of system platform, application or media. Print shops, newspaper chains, Associated Press, and others who serve in the digital imaging and publishing industry have adopted PDF as a standard for distributing documents. Also, many corporations, universities, and government agencies around the world are adopting PDF as the preferred method of document distribution and archiving.

About Adobe® PDF

These days, most print originals are passed on to printshops in the form of files from layout and graphics applications, such as QuarkXpressT, Adobe PageMakerT, and Adobe IllustratorT. These files that The Copy Centers receives in native format can often lead to difficulties such as missing illustrations or fonts, incompatibility between different program versions, or accidental changes. Some users choose to transfer PostScript® files, but this is also not problem-free. PostScript data can contain device-specific commands that can make output impossible. Moreover, PostScript files are usually very large and thus difficult to transfer.

PDF provides an alternative way of submitting files. It produces reliable, consistent and predictable results. In particular, they reduce or eliminate delays from missing components or unstable files. In basic terms, when a document is converted into a PDF file format, you have a resulting document that looks identical to a printout of your original document. Also, a PDF is easier to navigate through and is usually smaller in file size than the original.

Here is a summary of the many benefits offered by Adobe PDF file format:

Complete - They contain all the fonts, graphics, and page layout information necessary to display or print your file exactly as it was designed.

Compact - PDF supports a variety of compression methods to create a smaller file for easier transmission and faster printing while retaining image quality.

Portable - One of the main advantage of Adobe PDF is that is it platform and device independent. PDF files can be viewed on any computing platforms (i.e. Macintosh®, Windows®, Linux, Unix®, or OS/2®) and printed on any Adobe PostScript 3 output device with high-quality results.

Reliable - Acrobat Distiller interprets the original PostScript, creating a cleaner, more reliable PostScript for output. Creating a PDF file requires setting up your system with a PostScript printer. Follow the simple steps outlined to setup your system with the necessary drivers.

Advantages and Disadvantages >>