How to Convert PDF to PDF/A Online and Offline for Free

PDF conversion to other formats makes it easy to share or edit them to suit your needs. It is easy to convert PDF to PDF/A with different online and offline tools. PDF/A is an easy-to-read and use format. It is also an open format making it easy to edit and share. Continue reading the article to learn how to convert PDF to PDF/A efficiently.

The Best PDF to PDF/A Converter

To convert PDF to PDF/A, UPDF for Windows and Mac is the best tool to use. The tool offers professional PDF conversion with high-level consistency in formatting, accurate conversion, and file security. Your data privacy and confidentially are protected with enterprise encryption.

The converter is also versatile as it helps convert PDF into many other editable formats such as Word, HTML, XML, Text, RTF, Excel, and PowerPoint.

Pros

An exquisite and friendly user interface for every user
Fast speed of loading PDF documents and conversion
Guaranteed file security and format consistency
Offers high-level conversion accuracy
All-in-one PDF solution to help you edit, annotate, OCR, protect, organize, and share PDF documents in one place.

The converter is robust enough to convert scanned PDF files into other editable formats. This is made possible by optical character recognition or OCR module. This feature also enables it to offer high-level accuracy.

How Do I Convert PDF to PDF/A on Windows

Here are simple steps on how to convert PDF to PDF/A on Windows with UPDF.

Step 1. Open the PDF Document

Open the PDF files for conversion by clicking the "Open File" button or just drag and drop them into the interface.

Step 2. Select the "Save as Other" Option

On the right toolbar, you need to click the "Save as Other" button.

Step 3. Convert PDF to PDF/A

Tap the "Save as PDF/A..." button in the new pop-up window.

Select the destination folder for the PDF/A file and start the conversion.

Video Tutorial on How to Convert PDF to PDF/A on Windows

How Can You Convert PDF to PDF/A on Mac

UPDF for Mac is not just a PDF converter, but it is also an all-in-one PDF software. You can edit the texts and images on your PDF documents easily and you can annotate your PDF documents with various markup tools. If you are using a Mac device, UPDF for Mac is your best choice. Here are the steps on how to export PDF as PDF/A on Mac:

Step 1. Open Your PDF and Enable the "Export" Option

First, you need to open your PDF file with UPDF. You can do this by dragging and dropping the file directly into UPDF's interface, and you can also do it by clicking the "Open File" button.

Step 2. Export PDF to PDF/A on Mac

With your PDF file opened in UPDF, tap "Save as other" on the right panel, and then you will see that there is a "Save as PDF/A" icon. Click on it.

Then the save as window will pop up, and you can rename the file and select a folder for the PDF/A file. Click "Save" to save PDF as PDF/A on Mac.

How to Convert PDF to PDF/A Online for Free

There are online techniques available to convert PDF to PDF/A for free. Although it sounds pretty oblivious to you, this procedure is not recommended when compared with its offline counterparts. Users in a hurry and cannot download a tool may try out the online solution of converting their documents to PDF/A format.

If you observe this procedure in detail, you will find multiple limitations that need to be addressed for the online remedies. Online solutions, as a whole, are not secure enough to work great. While your PDF files are always compromised, there is a good chance that your data can be accessed by unauthorized means. Along with that, you must have a good internet connection to ensure the completion of this process.

There are several other reasons why online converters are not preferred. One prominent issue involving such methods is the limitation of the tool in containing the quality and formatting of the document. With such issues, using online converters can become a liability.

One of the online PDF to PDF/A converters is AvePDF. To convert PDF to PDF/a with AvePDF you should start by adding the files by uploading them from your device into the tool. You can also drag and drop the files. The maximum file size to convert is 128 MB.

Knowledge: What is PDF/A

The PDF/A or Portable Document Format Archival is a format that is usually created as a preservation format of digital records, particularly files. However, the format can also be used for scanned files. It is usually a subset of the PDF format. The great thing about PDF/A is that they are open standards, used worldwide. They are designed to record both machine-readable text and images in a single document.

The format can be used to store different types of records. It is more valuable for storing long-term copies such as Microsoft word documents. When a file is converted to PDF/A the converted document has the feel and look of the original file. Each page of the original file appears as one page in the preservation file. Similar fonts are used in the two files and it is also possible to search the text of the PDF/A like in the original. All the features of the original files are retained, making PDF/A a great option where the appearance of the file is of great importance to understand and integrate.

Pros

All digital files can be converted to PDF/A
It is not dependent on any platform
Easy to read and use
It is an open file format
Extensible

Why Do You Need to Convert PDF to PDF/A?

There are several reasons that highlight the need to convert PDF files to PDF/A. When you have to keep your PDF documents for longer instances, the best way to contain them is in PDF/A format. To know more about the reasons, we will review some points as follows:

The exact details of the PDF document are contained in the PDF/A format. You can store your files for more extended periods without compromising their quality during data transfer and several other instances.
The metadata of the PDF file is embedded into the document, which makes it permanently accessible and contained for readers.
Many documents kept and shared in the market are converted to PDF/A format. As this is an international standard, it truly holds and maintains the data.

Conclusion

This article has featured a comprehensive discussion of how to convert your PDF files to PDF/A with suitable methods. Using the appropriate techniques for the perfect conversion is an essential requirement. UPDF provides an excellent conversion tool for ideal conversion that maintains the document's quality during the process. Download UPDF for free today and convert your PDF files into PDF/A format.