[PADG:869] pdf/a :: ISO 19005-1:2005

[Lars Meyer <lmeyer2@xxxxxxxxx>]

PADG:

In my role as one of the PARS liaisons to AIIM, I’m hereby providing an 
update on activities concerning the PDF/A standard (ISO 19005-1).

ISO 19005-1:2005 Document Management-Electronic Document File Format for 
Long-Term Preservation-Part 1: Use of PDF1.4 (PDF/A-1) was adopted June, 
2005. A copy of the standard, published September, 2005, is available, 
for a fee, here:

http://www.iso.org/iso/en/CatalogueDetailPage.CatalogueDetail?CSNUMBER=38920.

“ISO 19005-1:2005 specifies how to use the Portable Document Format 
(PDF) 1.4 for long-term preservation of electronic documents. It is 
applicable to documents containing combinations of character, raster and 
vector data.” -- ISO website.

Details concerning ISO 19005-1 (PDF/A-1) are captured in the thorough 
and readable powerpoint presentation, “PDF/A: The Development of a 
Digital Preservation Standard” by Stephen Abrams, Betsy Fanning, Diana 
Helander and Susan Sullivan, presented at the Society of American 
Archivists Meeting, August, 2005. The authors state that “PDF/A is 
intended to address three primary issues: Define a file format that 
preserves the static visual appearance of electronic documents over 
time; provide a framework for recording metadata about electronic 
documents; [and] provide a framework for defining the logical structure 
and semantic properties of electronic documents.” In addition, the 
authors review the required, recommended, restricted, and prohibited 
criteria for graphics, fonts, annotations, actions, metadata, structure, 
and interactive forms for PDF/A. For additional information, including 
PDF/A’s relationship to the proprietary PDF file format and other 
standards, read the entire presentation in pdf format, here:

http://www.aiim.org/documents/standards/PDFA69thSAA805.pdf

ISO 19005 is a multi-part standard, meaning that additional parts will 
be added as necessary. Various stakeholders have begun work on 
ISO19005-2 (PDF/A-2) which, according to the aforementioned powerpoint 
presentation, will address: bringing PDF/A into compliance with PDF 1.6 
and consider issues such as JPEG 2000 image compression, sophisticated 
digital signature support, OpenType fonts, 3D graphics, audio/video 
content, and consistency with related standards, such PDF/X, PDF/E, PDF/UA.

Additional information is also available here:

http://www.digitalpreservation.gov/formats/fdd/fdd000125.shtml

The people working on this standard are good about reporting their 
progress. Therefore, if you’re interested in PDF/A, you might consider 
checking the following web page on a regular basis:

http://www.aiim.org/standards.asp?ID=25013

thanks,

Lars

_____________________
Lars Meyer
Emory University Libraries
Atlanta, GA 30322
(404)727-2437