The best PDF conversion?

[Charlie C.]

I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
Works documents to ".pdf" format.

I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.

I've tried just about everything but the full version of
Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).

Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
in regard to this?

Thanks,
Charlie Callahan

[Richard Urban]

If Adobe Acrobat can not convert documents/images into .pdf files to your
liking, you have a difficult problem. I have never had any problem with
Acrobat. Stop using imitators and use the original from the people who
invented the format!

--
Regards:

Richard Urban

aka Crusty (-: Old B@stard :-)

"Charlie C." > wrote in message
...
> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

[Tom Pepper Willett]

I am using Adobe Acrobat Standard Version 6 with MS Office 2003, and have
not had any problems. It's easy to use and it has turned out great looking
pdfs for us.

Tom
"Charlie C." > wrote in message
...
> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

[Kenrick Fu]

Have you tired CutePDF Printer? It is a freeware which allows you to convert
any printable document info PDF and its quality is quite good.
http://www.acrosoftware.com/

--
Kenrick Fu
MS MVP (IE/OE)


"Charlie C." > wrote in message
...
>I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

[Eric C. Vogel]

I have never tried this OCR software, but you can create PDF's with it.
http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/

--
Thank you,
Eric Vogel
"Charlie C." > wrote in message
...
> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

[kurttrail]

Richard Urban wrote:

> If Adobe Acrobat can not convert documents/images into .pdf files to
> your liking, you have a difficult problem. I have never had any
> problem with Acrobat. Stop using imitators and use the original from
> the people who invented the format!

I guess you didn't read the part where the OP stated, "I've tried just
about everything but the full version of Adobe Acrobat?"

And are you gonna subsidize his software purchase?

--
Peace!
Kurt
Self-anointed Moderator
microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
http://microscum.com
"Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an Oxymoron!
"Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"

[Lem]

"Charlie C." wrote:

> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

We use the Broadgun pdfMachine
http://www.pdfmachine.com/pdfmachine/overview.shtml which seems to work
quite well. It's $49 and has a free trial version.

[Jim Macklin]

I've been happy with WIN2PDF.


"kurttrail" >
wrote in message
...
| Richard Urban wrote:
|
| > If Adobe Acrobat can not convert documents/images into
..pdf files to
| > your liking, you have a difficult problem. I have never
had any
| > problem with Acrobat. Stop using imitators and use the
original from
| > the people who invented the format!
|
| I guess you didn't read the part where the OP stated,
"I've tried just
| about everything but the full version of Adobe Acrobat?"
|
| And are you gonna subsidize his software purchase?
|
| --
| Peace!
| Kurt
| Self-anointed Moderator
| microscum.pubic.windowsexp.gonorrhea
| http://microscum.com
| "Trustworthy Computing" is only another example of an
Oxymoron!
| "Produkt-Aktivierung macht frei!"
|
|

[penny]

>-----Original Message-----
>I have never tried this OCR software, but you can create
PDF's with it.
>http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/
>
>--
>Thank you,
>Eric Vogel
>"Charlie C." > wrote
in message
...
>> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
>> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
>> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>>
>> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
>> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors
okay
>> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
>> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the
fonts
>> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>>
>> I've tried just about everything but the full version
of
>> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
>> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>>
>> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
>> that works well across the board? Any general
suggestions
>> in regard to this?
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Charlie Callahan
>
>
>.
>

[-xiray-]

On Tue, 3 Feb 2004 09:41:06 -0800, "penny"
> wrote:



>>> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
>>> that works well across the board? Any general
>suggestions
>>> in regard to this?

I'll state the obvious... the full version of Adobe Acrobat is really
what you want.

[Rob Schneider]

Ghostscript (free for download) is the only other program, besides Adobe
Acrobat, I would recommend. Ghostscript is free, and Acrobat can be
found for less than US$300.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Charlie C. wrote:
> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>
> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>
> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>
> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> that works well across the board? Any general suggestions
> in regard to this?
>
> Thanks,
> Charlie Callahan

[Grumpy Aero Guy]

the pdf format is an adobe trademark (maybe even a patent). If it's THAT
useful, in your needs and applications, I recommend buying it.

I have owned adobe acrobat for years, and it is indispensible, robust, fault
free and worth every cent.

If you want to ski, you need to buy skis.

It's kinda like asking for a cheaper mercedes than what mercedes is selling.

I know adobe's prive seems high, but, hey, when ya got a good
product...........



--


Frank Bachman
(Grumpy Aero Guy)


"penny" > wrote in message
...
>
> >-----Original Message-----
> >I have never tried this OCR software, but you can create
> PDF's with it.
> >http://www.scansoft.com/omnipage/
> >
> >--
> >Thank you,
> >Eric Vogel
> >"Charlie C." > wrote
> in message
> ...
> >> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> >> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> >> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
> >>
> >> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> >> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors
> okay
> >> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> >> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the
> fonts
> >> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
> >>
> >> I've tried just about everything but the full version
> of
> >> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> >> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
> >>
> >> Anybody have a suggestion for a .pdf conversion program
> >> that works well across the board? Any general
> suggestions
> >> in regard to this?
> >>
> >> Thanks,
> >> Charlie Callahan
> >
> >
> >.
> >

[Malke]

Rob Schneider wrote:

> Ghostscript (free for download) is the only other program, besides
> Adobe Acrobat, I would recommend. Ghostscript is free, and Acrobat can
> be found for less than US$300.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
> Charlie C. wrote:
>> I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
>> various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
>> Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>>
>> I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
>> them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
>> but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
>> well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
>> and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>>
>> I've tried just about everything but the full version of
>> Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
>> well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>>
You didn't tell us what programs you've already tried. However, on the
off-chance you haven't tried it, OpenOffice apparently makes .pdf
files. Although I use OO, I haven't made any .pdf's because I don't
need to, so ymmv. OO is free and you can get it from
www.openoffice.org.

Malke
--
MS MVP - Windows Shell/User
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
"Don't Panic!"

[Rob Schneider]

Yes, I use and like OpenOffice. MS Office still in use also. I don't
consider OpenOffice in the same league as Ghostscript and Adobe Acrobat
as OpenOffice just has PDF as one of the "save as" options, whereas
Acrobat and Ghostscript can created PDFs from anything that can "print".
I'm not sure but I think Openoffice use Ghostscript components.

I like Adobe Acrobat becuase ... well, just becuase. I've been a user
since Version 1.0. I like Ghostscript becuase it's free, I can setup
automated things with it easier. During Adobe version 3/4 days,
sometimes Ghostscript could make PDF's of complicated graphical stuff
wheras Acrobat's Distiller would fail.

With Ghostscript, I've set up an email-based PDF making "service". User
emails a Postscript file to a designated email address. A short script
launches Ghostscript to conver the file into PDF and returns it back to
original user via email. Simple. Fast. Essentially zero cost for
occasional production of emails. Can't do server processes like that
with Acrobat.


Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Malke wrote:
> Rob Schneider wrote:
>
>
>>Ghostscript (free for download) is the only other program, besides
>>Adobe Acrobat, I would recommend. Ghostscript is free, and Acrobat can
>>be found for less than US$300.
>>
>>Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>>
>>rms
>>
>>
>>Charlie C. wrote:
>>
>>>I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
>>>various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
>>>Works documents to ".pdf" format.
>>>
>>>I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
>>>them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
>>>but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
>>>well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
>>>and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
>>>
>>>I've tried just about everything but the full version of
>>>Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
>>>well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
>>>
>
> You didn't tell us what programs you've already tried. However, on the
> off-chance you haven't tried it, OpenOffice apparently makes .pdf
> files. Although I use OO, I haven't made any .pdf's because I don't
> need to, so ymmv. OO is free and you can get it from
> www.openoffice.org.
>
> Malke

[kimmy]

Rob Schneider wrote:
> Ghostscript (free for download) is the only other program, besides
> Adobe Acrobat, I would recommend. Ghostscript is free, and Acrobat
> can be found for less than US$300.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
Another free alternative is pdf995. http://www.pdf995.com/
I've had good luck with it.

Kimmy

[Jeff]

Xref: kermit microsoft.public.windowsxp.general:949187

How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Yes, I use and like OpenOffice. MS Office still in use also. I don't
> consider OpenOffice in the same league as Ghostscript and Adobe Acrobat
> as OpenOffice just has PDF as one of the "save as" options, whereas
> Acrobat and Ghostscript can created PDFs from anything that can "print".
> I'm not sure but I think Openoffice use Ghostscript components.
>
> I like Adobe Acrobat becuase ... well, just becuase. I've been a user
> since Version 1.0. I like Ghostscript becuase it's free, I can setup
> automated things with it easier. During Adobe version 3/4 days,
> sometimes Ghostscript could make PDF's of complicated graphical stuff
> wheras Acrobat's Distiller would fail.
>
> With Ghostscript, I've set up an email-based PDF making "service". User
> emails a Postscript file to a designated email address. A short script
> launches Ghostscript to conver the file into PDF and returns it back to
> original user via email. Simple. Fast. Essentially zero cost for
> occasional production of emails. Can't do server processes like that
> with Acrobat.
>
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Malke wrote:
> > Rob Schneider wrote:
> >
> >
> >>Ghostscript (free for download) is the only other program, besides
> >>Adobe Acrobat, I would recommend. Ghostscript is free, and Acrobat can
> >>be found for less than US$300.
> >>
> >>Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
> >>
> >>rms
> >>
> >>
> >>Charlie C. wrote:
> >>
> >>>I like to use (sometimes need to use) ".pdf" files for
> >>>various purposes, so I often have to convert Office or
> >>>Works documents to ".pdf" format.
> >>>
> >>>I've tried several .pdf conversion programs, and all of
> >>>them fall short in various ways. Some do the colors okay
> >>>but the fonts are screwed up. Others handle the fonts
> >>>well, but the graphics look bad. Others handle the fonts
> >>>and colors okay, but the layout gets screwed up.
> >>>
> >>>I've tried just about everything but the full version of
> >>>Adobe Acrobat, and I've heard that has its problems, as
> >>>well (plus, it's hard to justify the 300 bucks!).
> >>>
> >
> > You didn't tell us what programs you've already tried. However, on the
> > off-chance you haven't tried it, OpenOffice apparently makes .pdf
> > files. Although I use OO, I haven't made any .pdf's because I don't
> > need to, so ymmv. OO is free and you can get it from
> > www.openoffice.org.
> >
> > Malke

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Rob Schneider]

Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
around.

Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.

rms




Jeff wrote:
> How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
>

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >

[Jeff]

Thanks. I'll try Ghostscript.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam

Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

"Rob Schneider" > wrote in message
...
> Sorry, I've not tried pdf995. I'm very happy with Ghostscript. It has
> the added advantage for me that it's a defacto standard in other
> operationg systems, so by using it in all OS's I use I don't to mess
> around.
>
> Hope this is useful to you. Let us know.
>
> rms
>
>
>
>
> Jeff wrote:
> > How does Ghostscript compare with pdf995? Both are free.
> >