Submitting and publishing your thesis: PDF/A guide

PDF/A is a file format which is used for long term preservation and archiving. Its extension is pdf. There are multiple PDF formats with the .pdf extension, but not all of them are PDF/A files. PDF/A files conform to the ISO 19005-1:2005 standard. In practice, the only difference when saving in PDF/A format compared to saving normally in PDF format is that you must choose the correct format when saving the file. Programs don't save by default in PDF/A format.

Remember to check the PDF/A document after conversion. Check especially that all text and image elements are shown correctly

Muuntaja-service now for everyone at Tampere universities!

Easiest way to convert to PDF/A is use Muuntaja-service, address muuntaja.tuni.fi. With Muuntaja-service you can convert to PDF/A-format either ordinary PDF-file, Microsoft Word .doc or .docx -file or LibreOffice .odf -file. You can log in to the service with your Tuni account.

In practice, the only difference when saving in PDF/A format compared to saving normally in PDF format is that you must choose the correct format when saving the file. Programs don't save by default in PDF/A format.

You can make the PDF/A file using for example the following programs: Microsoft Word, LibreOffice Write, PDF-XChange Pro, LaTeX, Acrobat Distiller. After saving the file PDF/A format, browse through the file and check that all text and picture elements are displayed correctly. Check also hyphenation.

PDF/A format is meant for long-term archival storage. Its extension is .pdf. There are several PDF formats and not all .pdf files are PDF/A files.

Microsoft Word

• Open your thesis in Word
• Select "Save as"
• Select PDF as the "Save as type"
• Select "Options"
• Check "ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A)"
• Select "OK"
• Enter the file name
• Select the destination folder
• Select "Save"

LibreOffice Writer

• Open your thesis in Write
• Select "Export as PDF..."
• Check "PDF/A-1a
• Select "Export"
• Enter the file name
• Select the destination folder
• Select "Save"

PDF-XChange Pro

• Open your thesis in word processing programme (e.g. Microsoft Word or LibreOffice Write)
• Select "Print"
• Select "PDF-XChange" as printer
• Select "Properties" of printer
• Select "General" on the "Settings" tab
• Under "Conform to Specification", select "PDF/A-1b (RGB)"
• Select "OK"
• Select "Print"
• Enter the file name
• Select the destination folder
• Select "Save"

Acrobat Distiller

• When file is open in InDesign select "File - Print"
• Select "Print"
• Select "PostScript File"
• Select "Save"
• Open ps-file, Adobe Distiller opens
• Select "Default Settings"
• Select "PDF/A (1b)"
• Distiller prints PDF/A-file to the selected index

LaTeX

• Guide for making PDF/A in LaTeX