Here's how to meet legal requirements for archiving documents using PDFpen.
Are you worried you are not securely storing legal documents? Do you wonder whether or not they will be accessible and intact in the future?
It’s a valid concern. After all, paper documents are vulnerable to damage. They are also easier to steal, lose, and misplace.
Going digital is safer, but how you store electronic files is also important. You have to consider that the hardware and software you use today won’t be what’s used twenty years from now.
Storage media quickly becomes obsolete—just think of the last time you saw a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, or a DVD. The same happens with software: new programs, or new versions of existing programs, aren’t always compatible with old files.
The risks of poor legal archiving
Lawyers who keep paper documents in file cabinets are taking a risk. They can lose their entire document history in a fire or a flood.
But ensuring the long-term preservation and data integrity of documents goes beyond digitizing and archiving them in the cloud.
That’s a great start, but it’s also crucial that these files are saved so that the data they contain is “system-agnostic,” meaning that it is readable regardless of the system or software used.
Contrary to common belief, that is not the case with the TIFF and the PDF formats. Legal professionals who archive files in these formats may find, in the future, that:
- Files are no longer accessible
- Files are accessible, but some of their original data has been lost, or cross-references no longer work
The solution: Creating documents for long-term accessibility
The secret to making documents accessible in the long-run is to remove any “perishable” data from them, including:
- Font links
- Encryption
- Audio, video, and executable files
- External references
Meet legal requirements for archiving documents
That’s actually simpler than it sounds. All you need to do is save them in the recommended format for the long-term archival of electronic files, known as the PDF Archive Format or PDF/A.
PDF/A export is a PDFpenPro feature. It allows you to:
- Securely convert PDF files small and large to PDF/A format
- Choose from a selection of languages to increase text accuracy
- Make documents PDF/A-1b compliant
Most importantly, saving files in PDF/A format helps you meet legal requirements for archiving documents.
US Federal courts and governments worldwide adopt PDF/A for archives
- PDF/A is the official format for filing and storing electronic documents in the US state court system.
- It’s also the format used by governments and organizations worldwide for long-term archival storage.
How to save to PDF/A
With PDFpenPro, saving legal documents in PDF/A format is a 4-step process:
- Go to File>Export
- Choose “Normal PDF/A-1b”
- Select a language
- Choose Export
Conversion is totally secure. PDFpenPro employs industry-standard security practices and auditing at all points—see Is my PPTX or PDF/A document safe? for details.
Try PDF/A conversion with PDFpenPro today. Download our 30-day free trial.