Create PDF documents for free

The PDF format has become the de-facto standard in graphical document distribution and it looks like Adobe is shaping up to enhance its grip on the market. The company has announced that it intends to release the PDF 1.7 specification for publication by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), aiming to make PDFs the ‘du jour’ standard for distributing documents electronically.

There’s no question that PDF is a compact yet high-quality publishing format which can be transferred and accessed very easily. However, with prices starting at $299 for Acrobat 8, Adobe is seemingly holding users to ransom when it comes to creating documents in PDF format. It seems only fair that by making the PDF the standard protocol for digital documents that the company provides a means of making files in this format for free. That said, this is a huge software firm that has earned its crust on the back of charging users a small fortune, knowing that they won’t find the same quality applications elsewhere.

The good news is that there is a free alternative to Acrobat that allows you to create PDF files without any hassle. PrimoPDF allows you to convert to PDF from virtually any format, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel and almost any other printable file type. Just like Acrobat, PrimoPDF can be optimised for output to print, screen, eBook or pre-press. Best of all, the app is completely free, without so much as a pop-up ad to prevent you from authoring PDF files.