Prepress

callas software presents application scenarios for PDF/A and PDF/UA at CeBIT

Friday 25. January 2013 - Topics include: • Create, check and process electronic invoices • Archive complete operations as PDF/A • Hybrid archiving: archive PDF with embedded original files • Convert PDF to EPUB • Create and check accessible PDFs

At the German ICT trade fair CeBIT, callas software will present a solution for electronic invoicing at the BITKOM booth (hall 3, stand A20). The “Central User Guidelines for electronic invoices in Germany” (ZUGFeRD) recommend PDF/A-3 as exchange format; electronic invoices should contain an archivable PDF/A document and XML data, and with callas pdfaPilot users can check, create and process these files. callas software, provider of powerful PDF technology for publishing, print production and document archiving, also shows how easily transactions or different file formats can be archived as PDF/A. callas software also focuses on mobile publishing; with pdfaPilot users can convert PDF files to EPUB, the standard format for eBooks. Creating and testing of accessible PDF documents (PDF/UA) rounds off the comprehensive exhibition program of callas software for this year’s CeBIT.
With the availability of the third part of the PDF/A standard, it is now possible to embed other document formats in a PDF/A-3 file. This results in many new application areas where callas pdfaPilot is easy to implement. The software is among the most prestigious PDF/A products and based on the same PDF/A technology that Adobe has built into Acrobat.
The most recent example is the electronic exchange of invoices. For this purpose the Forum Electronic Invoice Germany (FeRD) developed the “Central User Guidelines for electronic invoices in Germany” (ZUGFeRD). They recommend PDF/A as exchange format with embedded structured data; this means that an electronic invoice data version of the invoice (usually an XML file) is embedded in the readable and archivable PDF/A version of the invoice. callas pdfaPilot transforms the XML data into HTML so they can be compared visually with the PDF and therefore be checked. “An XML dataset has a complex structure and contains characters that are necessary for the IT-based processing, but complicate the readability for humans,” says Dietrich von Seggern, Business Development Manager of callas software. “With the conversion to HTML we provide users with a convenient tool to verify the billing information and to ensure consistency between the visual PDF and the XML data.” OEM customers have already integrated this functionality into their solution. For example, the COI GmbH will present a prototype invoice processing workflow based on pdfaPilot at CeBIT.
In addition, callas shows how users can automatically generate PDF/A-3 files from MS Office and OpenOffice documents that contain both the long term archivable PDF/A compliant file as well as the embedded source document – keyword: hybrid archiving. In applications where digital originals are kept regardless of their applicability in the distant future, this results in several advantages. “A typical example are Excel spreadsheets,” continues Dietrich von Seggern. “Users can now easily incorporate archive compatible versions of their tables with Excel files, including the underlying formulas, in one file.” In addition, several files belonging to the same task or project can now be saved in one digital file.
Next to the extended capabilities of PDF/A-3 callas software also pays attention to the PDF/UA format, which has been integrated in callas pdfaPilot. At CeBIT callas shows how to create and check accessible PDF documents and how to convert them to EPUB. Prerequisite for this is the so-called tagging, that reflects the content structure, reading order, and alternative text for images of a PDF. This way, for example, visually impaired people get access to PDFs through Braille, read-aloud function or intelligent screen magnifier. With the built-in function, you can check tagging quickly and ensure that the content structure is stored correctly with PDF tags.
On top of that export from PDF to EPUB allows the implementation of PDF files into eBooks that can then be read on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet PCs. With tagged PDFs a “reflow” becomes possible; a text reflow that is based on the size of the screen and not on the size of the PDF page.