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The PDF Association celebrates its members’ public statements
of support
for ISO-standardized PDF technology.

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Twenty Years of Trust: Celebrating the 20th Anniversary of PDF/A-1

November 2025 by PDF Association staff

This month the PDF industry is celebrating the 20th anniversary of PDF/A-1 (ISO 19005-1:2005), the publication of which revolutionized digital preservation.

Before this standard, archiving suffered from dependency issues. PDF/A-1, based on a constrained subset of PDF 1.4, mandated self-contained, device-independent documents. These rules ensure that a PDF/A document’s appearance can be reliably maintained over centuries, regardless of viewing software.

Rapidly adopted globally, the principles established in PDF/A-1 persist in later standards like PDF/A-4, which is based on PDF 2.0, the latest ISO standard for PDF.

Happy 20th, PDF/A! We (ok, not us personally) fully expect to be celebrating your 200th anniversary in November 2225!

This month the PDF industry is celebrating the 20th anniversary of PDF/A-1 (ISO 19005-1:2005), the publication of which revolutionized digital preservation.

Before this standard, archiving suffered from dependency issues. PDF/A-1, based on a constrained subset of PDF 1.4, mandated self-contained, device-independent documents. These rules ensure that a PDF/A document’s appearance can be reliably maintained over centuries, regardless of viewing software.

Rapidly adopted globally, the principles established in PDF/A-1 persist in later standards like PDF/A-4, which is based on PDF 2.0, the latest ISO standard for PDF.

Happy 20th, PDF/A! We (ok, not us personally) fully expect to be celebrating your 200th anniversary in November 2225!

Interview with Nikos Andronikos, chair of the SVG WG

August 2016 by PDF Association staff
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My interview with Nikos Andronikos, who chairs the W3C’s SVG Working Group (WG), about SVG and PDF.

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July 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Governments have a special interest in PDF. The PDF Association helps them understand and address PDF technology in policies and … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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This year, PDF Days Europe is well-established as the world’s top PDF event. Over 150 attendees came to Berlin for … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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I’m honored to have been elected as chairman of the PDF Association’s board of directors in June 2016. Here, I’d … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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About 150 attendees from all over the world visited the PDF Days Europe 2016 in Berlin.

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Browsers are taking over document viewing. Even so, minimum support for PDF viewing should mean full support for PDF rendering

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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For those unable to come to Berlin to attend the «PDF Days Europe 2016», several sessions of the event will … Read more

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June 2016 by PDF Association staff
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PDF 2.0 is nearly finished. Now is an excellent time to help the ISO committee understand your ideas for the … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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Many organizations use PDF merely to offload printing to end-users. They miss out, because not only does PDF offer a … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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The variety in screen sizes and shapes is a challenge for web technology in general, and for PDF in particular. … Read more

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May 2016 by PDF Association staff
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PDF and EPUB meet different needs in different ways. Neither can replace the other.

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