print to pdf (printer)

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ChrisGreaves
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print to pdf (printer)

Post by ChrisGreaves »

I searched this forum looking for a "print pdf*" but found nothing in the past ten years.
The XLSX file likewise turned up only Foxit PDF editor.
I have been using Primo PDF, but it fails to print from the Chrome browser.
The Microsoft PDF printer works but gives no option to view the PDF file automatically after creation, and a quick search turned up a thread that suggested it won't happen any time soon.

Please and than you, what are members of the community using to generate simple PDF files - such as bank statements, receipts and so on?

Cheers
Chris
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace

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Leif
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by Leif »

Download PDFCreator - PDFCreator - pdfforge - it also does complicated PDFs if the need should arise...
Leif

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John Gray
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by John Gray »

Surely any even slightly modern (e.g. 2010) Microsoft Office program has a "Microsoft Print to PDF" function, which gives you a PDF file. You can then use whichever PDF reader you like to display and print this file. I tend to use Sumatra PDF reader, for its simplicity.
Or have I misunderstood what you are trying to achieve?
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stuck
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by stuck »

Wot Leif said.

We use PDFCreator on a nearly daily basis in our (virtual) office. As far as I can make out it is the only :free: PDF authoring application that gives you the option to apply a password to prevent modification of the PDF, which is not the same as requiring a password to open the PDF in the first place.

Ken

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John Gray
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by John Gray »

stuck wrote:
10 Dec 2020, 14:53
We use PDFCreator on a nearly daily basis in our (virtual) office. As far as I can make out it is the only :free: PDF authoring application that gives you the option to apply a password to prevent modification of the PDF...
But presumably it would be possible to use one of the myriad internet services to convert that PDF to (say) Word, and then modify the Word document to your heart's content?
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Leif
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by Leif »

John Gray wrote:
10 Dec 2020, 15:05
stuck wrote:
10 Dec 2020, 14:53
We use PDFCreator on a nearly daily basis in our (virtual) office. As far as I can make out it is the only :free: PDF authoring application that gives you the option to apply a password to prevent modification of the PDF...
But presumably it would be possible to use one of the myriad internet services to convert that PDF to (say) Word, and then modify the Word document to your heart's content?
If you send someone a 'secure' pdf document then yes, OCR software may be able to convert it it to (say) Word, but the original document can be proven to be genuine and the original by virtue of the fact that it was (e.g.) password protected. There is nothing to stop someone copying the content, even if it means typing it in by hand, but they would be unable to (legally) pass it off as the original document.

I may be wrong of course.
Leif

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StuartR
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by StuartR »

Password protection of PDF files is trivially easy to remove - without needing to convert the document to another format in the process.
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stuck
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by stuck »

We apply this sort of password protection not to prevent our customers from hacking the files, not that we are aware that anyone of them do, but simply so that if they did and then tried to argue things were wrong because they they'd used a hacked file, we can show that it's not our fault, because their file differs from ours and we have an audit trail in the form of corporate back-ups to support our claim. No, that approach wouldn't stand up in court but it's enough of a deterrent for our purposes.

The files we do want to be bullet proof incorporate a digital signature.

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Argus
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by Argus »

The topic tends to popup every now and then; I posted a question, not 10, but 5 years ago.
We all have different needs; but restrictions with passwords is only one of them, other things can be being able to control how the PDF is opened (page view, zoom level, bookmarks etc.), and possibility to edit creation time stamp etc. (file metadata).

https://www.eileenslounge.com/viewtopic ... 41&t=19274
And there are a couple of more recent threads, I think.
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Ted Myers
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by Ted Myers »

I use Cutepdf Writer as my pdf printer.
If it wasn't for bad luck I'd have NO luck at all.
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ChrisGreaves
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Re: print to pdf (printer)

Post by ChrisGreaves »

ChrisGreaves wrote:
10 Dec 2020, 13:23
I searched this forum looking for a "print pdf*" but found nothing in the past ten years.
Setup_BullzipPDFPrinter_12_0_0_2872.exe42,647,176Print and Show
dopdf-full.exe51,525,360Print and Show
PDFCreator-2_3_2-Setup.exe27,598,392Failed to install "404 not found" error
primopdf-163-1.exe7,549,704Print and Show
I have not Reviewed these four printers, but I have installed them and run them once. I will continue using them over the next few days.

Setup_BullzipPDFPrinter_12_0_0_2872.exe This installed and I printed a document with fancy styles and tables. The printer launched my Foxit Reader automatically so that I could inspect the printout.

dopdf-full.exe This installed and I printed a document with fancy styles and tables. The printer launched my Foxit Reader automatically so that I could inspect the printout.

PDFCreator-2_3_2-Setup.exeThis failed to install with a "404page not found" error.

primopdf-163-1.exe This installed and I printed a document with fancy styles and tables. The printer launched my Foxit Reader automatically so that I could inspect the printout.

Honestly, I forget why I was looking for a new printer. I think my Primo printer had ceased to function or something.

Primo has worked well for me for years. I print to PDF (I no longer carry a hard-copy printer) and use the PDF for proof-reading; I pick up errors that have slipped by me when reading a DOCument.
I print to PDF all bank statements, money transfers and bill payments.
I print to PDF reports or proposals and then email them to "clients"; I have never had a complaint about the readability of the PDF.

Whatever, I shall try to rotate my use of the three installed printers and see if any one of them fails, or exceeds, any of my simple requirements.
Cheers
Chris
An expensive day out: Wallet and Grimace