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Introduction
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All of the PDF writers in this review are programs that function by creating a pseudo printer on your system. When you want to create a PDF document from pretty much any application you just choose to print it to the PDF printer and it creates a PDF document. The thing that distinguishes one product from another is the number of options and flexibility available. The one problem with this approach is that you need to have a program that will open the file on your system. If someone sends you a file created with a program you do not have and you can't open the file then you can't print it and if you can't print it then you can't convert it to a pdf using a pseudo printer technique. The two online products do not suffer from this problem but are limited only by the file formats recognized by the online vendor. After eliminating those PDF Writers suggested by readers that were not free, were limited time trials, and basically adware (the product was free but forced the user to endure various ads as a punishment for using it), there were only six candidates left. These were (alphabetically) Bullzip PDF Writer, CutePDF, doPDF, PDFCreator, PrimoPDF, and TinyPDF. Which one of these is best? That really depends on the options you need. |
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Discussion
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While I have recommended PDFCreator in the past, I have now moved to either PDFill Writer and/or Bullzip PDF Printer as my personal favorite(s). Both have more of the options I need and has worked flawless for me. A problem with Bullzip is that the pdf file created may not be searchable. While it created a searchable pdf from word processing programs it did not from other programs like Excel. All the other candidates produced a searchable document from Excel and other non-word-processing software. Please note that both of the recommended writers, and especially PDFill Writer, have enough options that they can be confusing to one who only wishes to create a simple PDF file. Both PDF Creator and Cute PDF Writer will easily suffice for most users. Key features of Bullzip PDF Printer include:
PDFCreator in its latest version is still my second (of three) choices and has all the features of Bullzip with the exception of a 64 bit version and more limited watermark abilities. The help files are available only in English, French and German. However it does have one unique feature among these products. It comes with both a standalone install and a server install. In a company setting this gives you the ability to install the printer driver on a server and make it available to all the workstations on the network without doing an install on each one of them. This may make it a preferred choice in business situations if you don't need the other options that products like Bullzip offer. Version 0.9.8 of PDF Creator did a great job printing a web page to pdf.
Among the very basic pdf Writers is CutePDF. This provides only the most minimal functions and creates the pdf file with no options for password, encryption, metadata, or most other optional functions. On the other hand, it is among the smallest of the downloads. doPDF is comparable to TinyPDF in terms of features. It provides a minimal set but does have the ability to choose different levels of output quality which the other two do not. I can see no reason not to prefer it over the other two unless you often print graphical documents to pdf.
The most commonly asked question by readers has been about the size of the output file. Using a large test file without graphics doPDF created the smallest files at 1.4 megs, CutePDF, and PDFCreator came in at 1.8 megs, and Bullzip came in at 1.9 megabytes. While CutePDF, PDFCreator and Bullzip were larger they were also set at 600 dpi while the other two did not have the ability to change output and appeared to be 300dpi. This was not a sufficient difference in output file size to make it an important factor for deciding on one over the other. However, when a substantial amount of graphics were included doPDF produced a much larger file than the others. CutePDF came in at 3.5 megs (at 300dpi), PrimoPDF and Bullzip both came in at 7.8 megs (at 600dpi) and doPDF came in at a whopping 13.3 megs (at 600dpi). PDFCreator failed to correctly render the page and created failure errors each time it was tried. Primo pdf was removed from the list of best software because after downloading the newest version on June 5 from their website I found it totally unacceptable. The product still does everything it did before but there is a lag of several seconds from the time I selected the printer until the screen with the Primo interface opened. I even wondered if my computer was hung and was starting to look for the application to stop the process when it finally came up. With no features that are not also found in Bullzip, I decided to delete it from the recommended list. I should note that on my fastest computer it worked reasonably well but still much slower than all other products. Although PrimoPDF was removed from the recommendations of best pdf Writer it does have a free online version at http://online.primopdf.com/ that allows you to upload a file and receive it back as a PDF via email. If you need a pdf conversion only on rare occassion or you are on a computer that does not allow you to install software, or you don't have a program that can read the file, then this is a reasonable option. Of course there is no opportunity to add passwords, encrypt, or add any of the other features you may need. It is just a straight pdf file. The most requested missing feature in all of these products is the ability to delete or reorder pages. Sorry but you have to go to a paid product to get these features as none of them provide it in the free version. HP also offers a free online service called CloudPrint. It is designed to give you the ability to print from a cell phone or PDA. If you check your email from a cell phone and need to print an attachment you can just send it to this service, which will convert it to a PDF file and send a SMS message to your cell phone with a reference ID. When you get to a computer with an Internet interface you can login to the CloudPrint service and print the document. It will also convert and print pictures taken with your cell phone. While I don't see a need for this service personally, some swear by it, especially those who are constantly on the road seeing clients or between multiple offices. This was not considered as one of the best PDF Writers only because it does not produce a file that you can save and keep as a PDF on your local drive. It converts to PDF on the web server and allows you to print it from there. On the other hand, it does allow you to print documents without having the original program that produced the file. If you select a PDF Writer that you like but it does not have some of the features you need you might consider a couple of products that offer the ability to add functions after creating the file. pdfExchange Viewer is a fast viewer for PDF files that also allows the reader to add annotations to the file. It can then be saved and printed either with or without the annotations. PDFTK Builder allows you to add passwords and limit the ability of the reader to print, annotate, copy portions or otherwise use the pdf file other than reading it. However, it does not have the ability to add encryption. And lastly, JPDF Tweak allows the addition of watermarks, passwords, and encryption as well as limiting the ability to print or copy the file. These all work on a pdf file that has already been created and are not used to create one. Since those are beyond the limited scope of this article I have not included their information in this review, but they are easy enough to find with a web search. |
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6.0.0.695 
Unrestricted Freeware 
Windows 2000/XP/Vista
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Please rate this article
I have reevaluated my listings and ratings of the various available PDF Writers and at this time am leaving them as they are. Any of the programs listed do a very good job of printing PDF files. I have successfully used all of them. If I can truly find a reasonable format for comparing the differences of each I will try to make this available, but, the differences between each are very minor compared to the similarities.
Dave,
Comparing all these program features is time consuming and cumbersome, especially for beginners like me. I would like to suggest building a table with features versus programs, so that we could compare them at a glance. Since you have the knowledge and experience with them, maybe you´d like to do add that to your article.
Marcelo
Moderator's comment : Email address removed. Please do not post email address in comments. Its for your own safety, and security.
This is an interesting idea. I will give it some thought ...
I have tried all the programs mentioned in this review and, in my opinion, the only decent one is DoPDF.
If you have MS Office 2007, try the free addin that allows most office documents (including doc) to be saved as a pdf - I believe Open Office has something similar. I have not tried either of these yet, but have been advised they work well. Someone else here already posted a link for the Office 2007 addin, but here it is anyway:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=4D951911-3E7E-4...
If you use Firefox for browsing, then check out the excellent PDFit extension for saving webpages as pdfs - I've been using it for a few months and so far it's been flawless.
In all other instances, I use DoPDF. It is a small light-weight program which uses few resources, does not conflict with other software, does not require Adobe or any other 3rd party software be installed on your system (unlike ALL the other programs mentioned in this review), and creates simple, good quality pdfs.
Bullzip, PDF Creator, PDF Fill and Cute PDF Writer all require Ghostscript be installed. Unfortunately, I seem to have nothing but problems with Ghostscript - to me it seems a buggy, resource hog which does NOT play nice with other programs, frequently fails to install correctly and sometimes stops working for no apparent reason - and I have never been able to get it to work properly on my Windows XP netbook. I will say that, when I could get it to work, I thought PDFill had the best features - however, in addition to Ghostscript, PDFill also requires that you have Adobe PDF Reader installed.
Yes, DoPDF has some very nice features, but I still, so far, prefer PDF creator. I will take another look at DoPDF and will see if my preference is changed.
I tried PDFill PDFImageWriter and it works perfect (so far).
For text and math equations and graphics, PDFill is more accurate than doPDF or qvPDF.
So thank you for this good advice
PDF995 is the best by far for me. It works perfectly with ACAD, unlike some of the others, and produces pdf's that integrate very well with other graphic programs. It also handles large format page sizes for plotters. And it's free with a nag screen.
m
I'm finding Bullzip & PDFill does NOT render webpages correctly, ie, a webpage may have 5 pages, but it only creates half or less than the actual length of the webpage. My old Adobe Acrobat created webpages into pdfs no problem.
I use the page preview to see what's the page like, and unfortunately, it shows the same result. I wonder if it's my Firefox no rendering the prints correctly.
Update: yes, it's Firefox.... IE 8 prints them correctly..... grrr..... FF has a big flaw!
A pdf-writer that isn't installed as a Printer is 7-PDF maker. It also has encryption, password protection and quality choices. Great program :-).
Find it here:
http://www.softpedia.com/get/Office-tools/PDF/7-PDF-Maker.shtml
7-PDF Maker is an interesting product. It converts other file types to PDF. It does not write directly to a printer. It has many interesting features and does produce very nice PDF files.
Since most of the PDF writers will also will "print to file", they are similar in this regard. Also, most modern word processors, draw programs and etc. will now create PDF files directly.
So, what you are trying to accomplish to really determines which of these programs you should use. 7-PDF Maker is a nice piece of software and should be highly considered if it fits your needs.
Just installed Cute PDF writer. I unchecked the "Install Ask Toolbar" option. It installed anyway. NOT RECOMMENDED due to this uninvited install of Ask Toolbar.
If it allows you to deselect the installation of the toolbar, how is it "uninvited"?
Many freeware programs have toolbars bundled with them to generate revenue. I don't see a problem with this unless they install it without your knowledge. Hence, I always select advanced or custom install to see exactly what's going on my machine.
I also noticed the Ask toolbar during CutePDF install. It is disguised as a "Privacy Agreement" checkbox with two additional checkboxes below it. You have to simply deselect the two checkboxes AND the Ask toolbar Privacy agreement checkbox, and it will NOT install it. They did make it confusing. Loving Cute PDF though!
I have just downloaded CutePDF (file version 2.8.0.1) and it appeared I could only install it if I also installed something called "Ask Toolbar". Before getting to the window in the installation where I was 'told' to accept Ask, I had blocked the installation's access to ask.com or something during an alert from my firewall, Sygate. So what was going on BEFORE I even got told about the Ask toolbar?
In light of this I feel CutePDF needs to be removed from the review. I guess I'll try Bullzip next as I was working on the smallest downloads.
I think the feature exclusively available in PDF Creator of merging PDF prints from several files (like word, excel etc) even before required to generate the pdf files is very good.
Other PDF writers need to catch up.
is there some one pdf creator to generate pdf without prompting Save As for example always in C:\
thanks
I tried bullPDF, but it printed the figures in my Word files with a red tint. Also, some red turned orange.
PDFill, in the other hand, printed it successfuly.
Bullzip does created searchable PDFs...that's why I use it! I've been using BZ for ages. IMHO it is the best free PDF writer available. And it is updated fairly often.
For web page PDFs (from within your browser) use PDF It! extension for Firefox as it can save the whole page without page breaks, something others don't do. Be careful on file sizes though.
Thanks for sharing this information. I found it very informative as I have been researching a lot lately on practical matters such as you talk about...
Have used CutePDF for a few years with no problems. Just recently though (think it's an Office 07 "feature") when I select CutePDF as the printer to print to, the "print" button is greyed out. This means I have to use a real printer rather than PDF. What a pain. Does anyone know of a setting or some add on that can get round this?
I have windows vista and am just looking for a PDF that will create ,edit , print and send if possible. What would be the best free one to install?
try pdf factory..even the trial versions work great...cant wait until its updated for w7
Try A PDF File Allows Editing in 100% Layout Accuracy.
As dave007 mentions in his excellent review, the size of the PDF file is very important for many people. I tested all the free PDF writers on a 62-page Word document with embedded images. Large files were created by doPDF (32mb), SolidPDF (13mb), and PrimoPDF (4.9mb). Bullzip, CutePDF, PDfill, and PDFredirect all use Ghostscript (a 9mb download), and all created PDF files of about 3.8mb - Bullzip files are not searchable, and CutePDF is a very basic PDF writer. Both PDFdirect and PDFill are fast and reliable; PDFredirect is easier to use, but PDFill has more useful functions and so is probably the best choice.
PDF-XChange Lite created a high-quality PDF file of only 1.2mb (even smaller than one made by Acrobat). However, it was very slow and costs US$24. Still, it's the best choice if the size of the PDF file is critical.
If the documents have hyperlinks then after turning them into pdfs by pdf-creator the hyperlinks get disabled. Any option?
Great information here, I always come here first when I need an app.
I wanted to create a PDF for my website and needed the links to be active. Not just links, but anchor text links. None of these would do it for me. Bullzip, 995pdf, cutepdf, dopdf, Kool Converter, Document Converter Express (I didn't try as it has a 1mb limit), pdfill, pdf creator - none preserved links. I didn't want to use Open Office as it had already been created in word and re-formatting would have taken ages.The ONLY solution was to use primo pdf, but the online version, NOT the desktop download. Online primo has a 5 mb limit but it was enough for my 90 page ebook which had about 30 (compressed) images in it. Hope that saves someone the 3 hours it took me to get there.
Cheers
Try TinyPdf....been using on Vista for a while, works great and easy to use
www.tinypdf.com
This is typical of the user reviews I've seen for TinyPdf. Is anyone using this program without this restriction?
"Actually, it may be ok, but it keeps putting a watermark on the output showing "non-registered", and when you try to register it, it asks for $50!!"
Is anyone using this program without this restriction?
After downloading the supposedly free software, it actually installs a product called MagicPDF Pro. And yes, it puts a "UNREGISTERED" watermark on each page.
I believe MagicPDF either took over TinyPDF or simply changed the name. Very underhanded as it clearly states on the tinypdf.com site that the software is free without any restrictions.
Where did you download the setup from? I can't find any link to download TinyPdf here :
http://www.tinypdf.com/downloads.html
I have been using it for quite some time now, and no such watermark is made with mine. It works just fine
You must have an older version when it actually was free?
If you're using Office 2007, then it has a "Save As PDF" option as an optional download from the Microsoft website here:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=4d951911-3e7e-4...
You're right that most virtual pdf printers will not preserve hyperlinks.
You might want to check out other alternatives mentioned in Specific Tools Section of Best Free PDF Tools -- To convert text and images to PDF.
I just converted a works document, with hyperlinks, with doPDF (last one in the quick selection guide above) and the hyperlinks worked in the pdf (using Foxit 2.2).
I do not know about the others here.
In most cases, converting a document to a pdf by using a virtual printer, the hyperlink will not be clickable in the resulting pdf file.
But there're free applications such as OpenOffice and Jarte which retain the hyperlinks nicely when the document is saved as pdf. See the paragraph "To convert various formats to PDF" in the article Best Free PDF Tools.
Excellent overview. Thanks.
Here is a cool post about putting a video into a word doc and converting it to pdf...But then someone comes along and says he does it with Open Office..video in a pdf
For casual users, I would agree that Bullzip is very user friendly. However, for heavy duty users, PDF Creator offers superior options, for example being able to combine certain pages from several different documents. PDF Writer suffers from the same issue. PDF Creator does lack an efficient watermarking function, unlike Bullzip's which is excellent. For me, it's the only flaw with PDF Creator. In conclusion, heavy duty users will probably need a writer and an editor. No single free programme exists which covers all my needs.
Ok, I havent read through everyone's comments but enough I think.
In my opinion a good PDF writer is one thats simply a virtual printer. None of this extra rubbish. DoPDF is the only recommendation I would recommend after looking at the others. Some of the pages of these products I was getting warnings from site advisor about, other ones locked up my browser *cough* cnet *cough*. Bullzip is no longer free so don't say it is "Unrestricted Freeware". Had you looked at the site anytime lately its $19.99 if you want it uncrapized.
I havent heard of the addon for OpenOffice but I'll be looking into it in times where you need links to function in the PDFs, so thanks for the heads up. Let me return the favor by addressing MS Office equal. MS has a save as pdf addon but only for Office 07. You must download it separately (doesn't come with office). I've used this and links in my documents to bookmarks in the document itself and to websites are perserved in the finished PDFs. For any other purpose or application DoPDF is all ya need.
Thanks for the information.
Just one comment. As far as I can tell, the PDFill site still has a free writer, but not a free editor.
Correct - Please make this clear. I would not have installed it as I wanted an editor.
Apologies, when I said Bullzip I meant PDFFill
Please, review link. It's broken. http://download.cnet.com/PDFill%20PDF%20and%20Image%20Writer%20Free/3000...
Thanks. The download link is corrected.
What is the 'best' program if you are looking to receive a PDF file, edit and then print?
thanks Sarah
"VisageSoft eXPert PDF 4 Pro is an excellent program that can edit, convert and view PDFs files."
You can get it free. See Free PDF Editor.
Open Office 3 with an extension http://extensions.services.openoffice.org/project/pdfimport
is claimed to handle opening, editing and saving PDF files.
I will publish more after further testing.
Sorry for the too quick reply. I was thinking of actual freeware programs on your computer. There is an on-line service, http://www.pdfescape.com/ which does seem quite capable.
Registration is not necessarily required, it does allow you to fill forms and edit the document, then save to your computer or have the file e-mailed to you.
I hope this helps.
Sarah,
I am sorry to say that I have not found a truly free PDF Editor that works well enough to recommend. Maybe someone else has seen such a program.
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