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mouser
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« on: June 17, 2011, 10:37:00 PM » |
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Here's a very useful roundup at freewaregenius today: PDF Virtual printers are a convenient way to create PDF files. These programs can save any kind of printable document as a PDF; all you need to do is to select ‘print’ from your favorite program, then select the virtual PDF printer and get a PDF file.
There are many excellent free virtual printers. We have tested 15 of these and selected 10 of them to evaluate and compare. These (in alphabetic order) are: Bullzip PDF Printer, Doro PDF Writer, PDF Printer (PdfSvg), PDF reDirect, PDF24 Creator, PDFCreator, Perfect PDF 7 Master, Primo PDF, Print2PDF Free and qvPDF.
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Curt
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« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2011, 04:01:11 AM » |
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Nice find, mouser.
Readers should be aware of the author ("Priit L")'s way of thinking: if a program has many options, it will get a lower rating, say 4/5 instead of 5/5, with the reason: "too complex for beginners"!
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Remember what you said, because in a day or two, I'll have a witty and blistering retort! You'll be devastated THEN!
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Jibz
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« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2011, 04:22:46 AM » |
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I was a little surprised not to see doPDF on the list, but I guess it does not provide some of the "essential features" like merging, watermarking and encryption, which are in the commercial version. I chose doPDF because it seemed like a professional application, it handled all the fonts and graphics I tried well, and it produced relatively small pdf files -- but as he says Of course, different people need different functionality so the division between ‘essential’ and ‘optional’ can be debated.  |
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"A problem, properly stated, is a problem on it's way to being solved" -Buckminster Fuller
"Multithreading is just one damn thing after, before, or simultaneous with another" -Andrei Alexandrescu
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40hz
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« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2011, 07:07:40 AM » |
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I've used BullZip ever since I dropped PrimoPDF. I've been extremely happy with its performance and output quality. BullZip would be my top choice. |
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hpearce
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« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2011, 07:21:10 AM » |
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I selected the editor's pick to replace dopdf ... but I was surprised it was not listed too
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Windows 7 SP1 (TM) Home Premium 64-bit .. Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU P8400 @ 2.26 GHz / 2.27 GHz .. 4GB RAM .. NVIDIA GeForce 9800M GTS .. Gateway P-7805u FX
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daddydave
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« Reply #5 on: June 18, 2011, 07:24:40 AM » |
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I may try some of the ones I hadn't heard of. My favorite PDF Creator feature is that you can pause the print monitor and then combine outputs into a single PDF.  I guess that's what Priit means by print aggregations. PDFCreator's command line options could also come in handy for someone. (I either need to train myself not to use Quick Reply, or image attachment needs to be added to that feature. I'm sure it's the former.) |
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40hz
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« Reply #6 on: June 18, 2011, 07:33:52 AM » |
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(I either need to train myself not to use Quick Reply, or image attachment needs to be added to that feature. I'm sure it's the former.)
@daddydave - Quick workaround: Compose text in quick reply. When done, hit the Preview button. Add any images in the edit window there. That's what I usually do. |
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« Last Edit: June 18, 2011, 07:36:25 AM by 40hz »
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daddydave
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« Reply #7 on: June 18, 2011, 07:48:33 AM » |
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(I either need to train myself not to use Quick Reply, or image attachment needs to be added to that feature. I'm sure it's the former.)
@daddydave - Quick workaround: Compose text in quick reply. When done, hit the Preview button. Add any images in the edit window there. That's what I usually do. Thanks! |
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justice
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« Reply #8 on: June 18, 2011, 08:19:23 AM » |
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Also you don't need acrobat reader to read the pdf files, just have them open in Google Chrome.
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tomos
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« Reply #9 on: June 18, 2011, 10:12:26 AM » |
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I only have experience with a couple: dopdf is nice and easy to use but often fails (distorts) if vector graphics involved and it's not clear what settings are used (free version). PDFCreator makes a very good pdf, lots of control over fonts and compression, can handle vector graphics, but options interface is a bit odd (I've gotten used to it though). I had to laugh at a comment he uses a couple of times (cause it seems a bit meaningless): " Interface a bit dull  " |
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40hz
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« Reply #10 on: June 18, 2011, 12:16:50 PM » |
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I had to laugh at a comment he uses a couple of times (cause it seems a bit meaningless): " Interface a bit dull " @tomos - thanks for saying that. It struck me as something really odd to expect from a virtual printer utility. Then I thought maybe it was just me until I read your comment.  |
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tomos
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« Reply #11 on: June 18, 2011, 12:36:09 PM » |
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@40hz,
maybe we're just dull too ;-)
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hamradio
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« Reply #12 on: June 20, 2011, 07:57:09 PM » |
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I as well use Bullzip PDF Printer. |
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y0himba
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« Reply #13 on: June 21, 2011, 12:42:04 PM » |
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Bullzip user here as well, for quite a long time now. |
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Bard
S.VanDragt.com
