Some documents have to survive. A thesis deposited in a university repository, a contract kept for a legal retention period, a filing a court or government portal accepts — these need to look identical decades from now, on software that hasn’t been written yet. That’s exactly what PDF/A is for: an ISO-standardised, self-contained flavour of PDF built for long-term archiving. This guide explains what it changes, when you actually need it, and how to convert a file.
What PDF/A actually is
PDF/A is a restricted profile of ordinary PDF, standardised by ISO specifically for preservation — the “A” is for archival. A regular PDF can lean on things outside itself: a font that happens to be installed, a colour that’s interpreted differently on another screen, a link to a page that later disappears, or a script that a future reader won’t run. Any of those can make the document look wrong — or refuse to open — years down the line. PDF/A forbids them. Every font is embedded, colour is pinned down with a profile, and moving parts are removed, so the file renders the same everywhere, forever.
How to convert a PDF to PDF/A
Ream’s PDF to PDF/A handles the conversion for you:
- Add your PDF to PDF to PDF/A.
- Run the conversion. Ream embeds any fonts that were only referenced, tags the file with an sRGB colour profile, and removes features that aren’t allowed in an archival file.
- Download your PDF/A. The visible document is unchanged — what’s different is that it’s now fully self-contained. The result is a PDF/A-2 file, which suits the great majority of everyday archival needs.
What changes in the file
| Feature | What conversion does |
|---|---|
| Fonts | Every font is embedded, so text never falls back or reflows on another machine |
| Colour | The file is tagged with a colour profile (sRGB OutputIntent) so colours are unambiguous |
| Encryption | Removed — PDF/A files can’t be password-protected |
| JavaScript & external links | Removed — nothing that could break or misbehave over time |
One consequence worth noting: because PDF/A can’t be encrypted, it’s the opposite end of the spectrum from a locked file. If you need to restrict who opens a document, that’s password protection, not archiving — and the two are mutually exclusive. Decide which the situation calls for.
Getting the cleanest archival file
A couple of steps around the conversion help. If your document started life as a Word or Office file, converting it straight to PDF with Office to PDF and then to PDF/A gives the most faithful result. If it’s a scan you’re archiving, run OCR first so the archive is searchable, not just a picture — a searchable archive is far more useful decades later. And if you want to finalise a filled form so its values can’t change, flattening pairs naturally with archiving. To keep the archive lean, you can compress beforehand, though keep legibility in mind for anything that must be read in the distant future.
Privacy note. Archiving embeds and defines — it doesn’t clean. If the document carries hidden information you don’t want preserved forever (author names, software, revision traces), run Remove Metadata before converting, so it isn’t baked into the permanent record.
Is it private, and is it free?
PDF to PDF/A is free with no sign-up or watermark. Producing a compliant archival file needs a real document engine, so it runs on our server (marked “Server”): your file is sent over an encrypted connection to a hardened, network-isolated sandbox, converted, and deleted immediately afterwards — never stored or read.
Frequently asked questions
What is PDF/A used for? Long-term archiving. It’s a self-contained PDF — fonts embedded, colour defined, no external dependencies — required by many archives, courts and government bodies for documents that must stay readable indefinitely.
How do I convert a PDF to PDF/A? Add it to PDF to PDF/A and run the conversion; Ream embeds fonts, sets a colour profile and removes disallowed features, then gives you the archival file.
Does the document look any different? No — the visible pages stay the same. The change is that everything needed to render them is now embedded in the file.
Can a PDF/A be password-protected? No. PDF/A doesn’t allow encryption, so any password is removed. If you need access control, use Protect PDF instead — you can’t have both.
Which PDF/A version do I get? A PDF/A-2 file with an sRGB output intent, which covers the great majority of everyday archival requirements.
Should I OCR a scan before archiving? Yes — run OCR first so the archive is searchable text, not just an image. A searchable archive is far more useful later.
Is it free and private? Yes — free, no account. The file is converted in an isolated sandbox and deleted immediately afterwards.
PDF/A isn’t an everyday format — it’s the one you reach for when a document has to outlive the software that made it. When a portal, court or archive asks for it, PDF to PDF/A makes the file self-contained in one step; pair it with OCR for scans and Remove Metadata for privacy, and your record is ready to last.
