Understanding the Advantages of Using PDF for Business Documents

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Out of the many document formats out there, one of the more popular options is PDF. Although it was developed in the 90s, its popularity has only grown over the years due to the distinct advantages that it brings to the table.

For businesses, in particular, PDFs offer certain benefits that you should be aware of:

• Preserves layout and formatting

The main advantage of PDF as a format is that it was designed so that the layout and formatting will be preserved – regardless of the platform, it is viewed on. That will enable businesses to share documents without worrying that they will look different and potential cause misunderstandings.

• Easy to view

Another advantage of PDF that enables it to be shared easily is that it is easy to view on any device or platform. Not only are PDF readers free and easily available, but many web browsers are able to read PDF documents as well. In short, it is close to a universal format.

• Capable of integrating media and other non-text elements

As you probably know it is possible to add images and hyperlinks to PDF documents, but it is also capable of integrating other elements too. In fact, you could add audio, video, and interactive elements to PDF business documents too, providing you with a great deal of versatility.

• Relatively compact file sizes

Compared to most other document formats, the file sizes of PDF documents are generally smaller as they support various types of compression. That is the main reason why PDF is more widely-used than formats with similar features (like TIFF) and it will allow businesses to transfer and store documents more conveniently.

• Provides security options

For sensitive business documents, PDF documents provide security options that aren’t present in many other document formats. Not only can PDFs be password protected, but access rights can be limited to reading, editing, or printing – and it supports electronic signatures.

• Future-proof

Considering formats seem to come and go regularly nowadays, the fact that PDFs have not only been around since the 90s but continued to grow in popularity is a testament to how future-proof the format is. It is unlikely that PDF will be phased out at any point in the near future, due to how popular it is coupled with the fact that its benefits are hard to match.

Now that you understand the advantages of PDFs, it should be clear how the format could benefit your business. By storing documents as PDFs, you’ll be able to distribute, share, and transfer them more easily – without having to worry about compatibility, formatting, or file size.

The only downside of PDF is the fact that finding tools to manage and edit them can be tough. If you are looking for a simple PDF editor with all the essential features you need to manage PDF documents however you could try SodaPDF or Movavi PDF Editor for Mac. It is easy-to-use and will let you quickly make alterations to your PDF documents.

These PDF editors will enable you to add, remove, and arrange pages in PDF documents as well as insert and customize images, extract pages, and more. Between those features, you will be able to manage, append, and extract information from your PDF business documents effectively, and without any difficulty at all.

About the Author

Charles Gorman regularly creates business documents that need to be distributed internally or shared online. He has found that PDF offers an unparalleled amount of flexibility when doing so.

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