[LINK] Fwd: [padiforum-l] Latest DPC Technology Watch Report - 'PDF should be used to preserve information for the future'.

[grove at zeta.org.au]

On Tue, 29 Apr 2008, Antony Barry wrote:

> Linkers
>
> May be of interest. PDF is not my favorite format :-(


I would believe Postscript, but not PDF.   You can't open a 
PDF in a text editor and copy/or modify etc.   With a Postscript 
document, you could theoretically type it all out by hand, into 
a text editor and recreate the document from a paper source, images 
and everything.  You could take a postscript image of the Mona Lisa 
and transcribe it as a text file and convert it back to 
PS without losing any data.

PDF is binary encoded and there's no way you could do this, not even 
writing down the unprintable characters!

I have actually seen someone (my other half) cut a corporate logo 
in Postscript by sheer force of code.  It is not easy, but it is 
possible.   Likewise TeX, LatTeX, blah blah...


rachel

>
>> From: "Carol Jackson" <carol at dpconline.org>
>> Date: 24 April 2008 7:00:02 PM
>> To: "Carol Jackson" <carol at dpconline.org>
>> Subject: [padiforum-l] Latest DPC Technology Watch Report - 'PDF should be 
>> used to preserve information for the future'.
>> Reply-To: padiforum-l at nla.gov.au
>> 
>> ***Apologies for cross postings***
>> PDF should be used to preserve information for the future
>> 
>> Good news the already popular PDF file format adopted by consumers and 
>> business alike is one of the most logical formats to preserve today’s 
>> electronic information for tomorrow.
>> 
>> According to the latest report released today by the Digital Preservation 
>> Coalition (DPC), Portable Document Format (PDF) is one of the best file 
>> formats to preserve electronic documents and ensure their survival for the 
>> future.  This announcement will allow information officers to follow a 
>> standardised approach for preserving electronic documents.
>> 
>> Information management and long–term preservation are major issues facing 
>> consumers and businesses in the 21st Century.  This report is one of a 
>> series where The Digital Preservation Coalition (DPC) aims to think about 
>> and address the challenges facing us.
>> 
>> This report reviews PDF and the newly introduced PDF/Archive (PDF/A) format 
>> as a potential solution to the problem of long–term digital preservation. 
>> It suggests adopting PDF/A for archiving electronic documents’ as the 
>> standard will help preservation and retrieval in the future.  It concludes 
>> that it can only be done when combined with a comprehensive records 
>> management programme and formally established records procedures.
>> 
>> Betsy Fanning, author of the report and director of standards at AIIM, 
>> comments, “A standardised approach to preserving electronic documents would 
>> be a welcome development for organisations.  Without this we could be 
>> walking blindly into a digital black hole.”
>> 
>> The National Archives works closely with the DPC with issues surrounding 
>> digital preservation and will continue to do so. Adrian Brown, head of 
>> digital preservation at The National Archives said: “This report highlights 
>> the challenges we all face in a digital age.  Using PDF/A as a standard 
>> will help information officers ensure that key business data survives. But 
>> it should never be viewed as the Holy Grail. It is merely a tool in the 
>> armoury of a well thought out records management policy. “
>> 
>> The report is a call to action, organisations need to act now and look hard 
>> at their information policies and procedures to anticipate the demand for 
>> their content (documents and records) in the future.  Everybody has 
>> different criteria, types and uses for documentation so you need to find 
>> one that works for your organisation.
>> 
>> If you would like to read the full report please go to the Digital 
>> Preservation Coalition website.  This can be accessed 
>> here:www.dpconline.org/graphics/reports/index.html#twr0802
>> 
>> For further information about:
>> ·         The National Archives please contact, Tim Matthews, 
>> tim.matthews at nationalarchives.gov.uk, or 020 8392 5277.
>> ·         Digital Preservation Coalition please contact Frances Boyle, 
>> fb at dpconline.org or 01904 435 320
>> About The Digital Preservation Coalition  (DPC)
>> The Digital Preservation Coalition  (DPC) is a cross-sector member 
>> organisation established in 2001 to foster joint action to address the 
>> urgent challenges of securing the preservation of digital resources in the 
>> UK and to work with others internationally
>> 
>> For further information, see www.dpconline.org
>> ***********************************************************************************************************************************
>> Carol Jackson
>> Administration and Events Manager
>> Digital Preservation Coalition
>> Innovation Centre
>> York Science Park
>> Heslington
>> YO10 5DG
>> 
>> e-mail: carol at dpconline.org
>> tel: +44 (0) 1904 435 362
>> https: www.dpconline.org
>> 
>> 
>
> phone : 02 6241 7659  | mailto:tony at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
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-- 
Rachel Polanskis                 Kingswood, Greater Western Sydney, Australia
grove at zeta.org.au                http://www.zeta.org.au/~grove/grove.html
 		The price of greatness is responsibility.