PDF Generators Weigh In --McIlroy

With all of these challenges still associated with PDF workflows, why are they becoming so popular? Users rate "fewer cross-platform issues" as the number one benefit. Smaller file sizes are a plus, as are more efficient workflows and soft-proofing options. PDF generators often point to the repurposing and archiving benefits, as well. More than half of users expect PDF usage to increase the most in the next year, running far ahead of anticipated increases for QuarkXPress (18 percent) and Adobe InDesign (8 percent).

I see the issue in black-and-white: PDF is the future of print workflows, and the sooner that printers get their customers up to speed on how to use it properly, the sooner they will get to the kind of efficient, error-free production that we didn't even dare dream about a mere decade ago.

—Thad McIlroy

About the Author

Thad McIlroy is an electronic publishing consultant and analyst, based at Arcadia House in San Francisco. He welcomes your comments at thad@arcadiahouse.com.