Having conversion software available means that you can eliminate the risk of downtime by converting any needed files before you send them. But only quality conversion software will allow you to do this quickly, easily and successfully.

There are certainly a number of ways to convert documents online using free services. But these services can be less secure than they appear, simply because many require the original to be uploaded to their server before conversion can occur. Therefore, using free services may not be advisable when business documents need to remain confidential.

Similarly, converting documents using software can also mean that sensitive documents can be given added security such as password protection. This allows only the recipient the ability to open and review certain documents, such as applications for tenders and other business proposals.

Client satisfaction can be greatly increased when a company uses document conversion software. This is because conversion software allows businesses to deliver documents in a client-friendly manner. And in having digital copies of documents, companies need not worry that paperwork will be lost or filing requirements will go unmet.

Document conversion software can also help businesses to correct any errors in their documents which may prevent proper viewing on the recipient's end. This adds value to the document, while at the same time, decreases the down time that would traditionally be needed to find and address inconsistencies.

Organizations that perform electronic discovery have to deal with large volumes of electronic documents and their issue is how to convert them into either PDF or TIFF form usable for evidence analysis.

There are Document Conversion Service software products available on the market and these are specifically designed to help in converting documents from their native formats to TIFF or PDF form.   This software, where possible, uses the native documents product in order to perform the conversion.   For example, if you have Microsoft Word documents and you need them converted to TIFF form, these Document Conversion Service products will use Microsoft Word to help perform the conversion in order to ensure the document is rendered as expected into TIFF form.   Some other converters do not use the original source software and this leads to the document not rendering as it would have if they had just used Microsoft Word.

These types of specialist Document Conversion Service products solve more than just the document conversion issue; it also deals with large volumes.   The software can be configured to process many documents in parallel on a system to scale up the document conversion rate.  Let’s exaggerate, say you have 50000 documents each 300 pages in length, assuming each 300 page document takes a minute to process one at a time, it would take 50000 minutes (approx. 34 days) to compete all documents.  But if you only have a week to do the job so how do you get it done!  All you need to do is process 10 documents in parallel and as a result it only takes 5000 minutes (3 to 4 days).  So what if you want it done in a day?  You have two choices; either run three systems each processing ten documents in parallel or run thirty documents in parallel instead of ten.

As an organization that performs electronic discovery, you might also have standards that require you to control how the document is rendered.  For instance,   Microsoft Word documents have track changes and these changes have comments.   Is it possible to render the document with track changes, without track changes, with the comments in balloons?   If the document has auto date, time or file name fields, is it possible to replace them with a constant string value?   Is it possible to control the paper, zoom, margins?   For most solutions the answer would be no, but not with specialist Document Conversion Service products.  As this software is using Microsoft Word to handle the rendering of the document, it is possible to specify how the document is rendered when converted to PDF or TIFF form through settings passed to the product.  If the specialist Document Conversion Service application used to help convert the native document has features that can be controlled by the product, these features are configurable during the conversion process.

Another common part of the conversion process when converting documents for electronic discovery purposes is to apply endorsements in the heading or footing regions of the document, sometimes referred to as bates marking but endorsements do not need to be a bates marks.  Again, specialist Document Conversion Service products provide the ability to endorse the created PDF or TIFF form of the document.

A Document Conversion Service is a proprietary program that converts Microsoft Windows documents from one format to another. It functions as a fully integrated Microsoft Windows desktop application, as well as, a 7/24 Microsoft Windows service component. DocumentConversion Service makes the process of converting documents very easy for the user. The file conversion utility program allows for any number of files and folders to be converted as easily as you would copy, paste or delete them.

Document Conversion Service is a fantastic tool to have in the business or home office.

With the ability to convert Microsoft Office documents such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint files, Adobe PDF files, PostScript files, HTML files and web pages, as well as other popular file formats into non-searchable Adobe PDF documents, TIFF, JPEG and other image file formats, Document Conversion Service is an indispensable tool for all your conversion needs.

Document Conversion Service is easy to use and has the following features:

• Ability to convert any number of files and folders.
• Ability to watch a folder and convert any document dropped into the folder.
• Customizable conversion properties through the use of easy to configure profiles; including output file type, resolution, color, serialized or multi-paged files, compression options and output file location.
• Convert any file that can be opened and printed by any of the supported applications.

What are the benefits of purchasing a dedicated professional Document Conversion Service?

• High Throughput

A Document Conversion Service has been designed from the beginning to be a highly scalable product able to process many documents concurrently to take advantage of the multi-CPU and multi-core systems available today. One installation of this service is able to replace many smaller systems. That alone converts to huge savings as now only one system has to be maintained instead of many smaller systems.

• Windows Service

This product can be run as a full-fledged Windows® service. Most solutions of this nature require an active signed-in userthat exposes a security risk, where a Windows service is a secure solution.

• Accurate Conversions

The application used to create your document is the one used to do the conversion. This guarantees the fidelity of your converted documents. For Microsoft Office, the appropriate application; Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, or Outlook is used. For Adobe® PDF documents, Adobe Reader or Acrobat is used. For web documents, Microsoft® Internet Explorer is used. For AutoCAD® documents, then Autodesk® Design Review and/or DWG True view is used.

• Scalable

By utilizing printer and application pooling, document conversion is fast and efficient. It can be scaled based on your system resources or scaled out across systems to expand through-put.

• No System Default Printer

Document Conversion Service never changes the default printer on the system. This allows for true parallel processing of all documents through the available pool of printers. This is not possible with other conversion products as they require the printer to become the system default printer in order to use commands like shell print and others that can only print to the system default printer.

• Converter Plug-ins

As new document converters plug-ins are developed, tested and released, you will have the option to license them. If you have a need for a specific document converter and one is not already available, you can request us to produce one. As each application requires very special handling in order to run properly in a Windows service, as well as, to allow it to operate properly with a Document Conversion Service to obtain scalability and to allow for full error recovery of rogue applications, it has become abundantly clear over the development of the product that it would unreasonable to expect this can be done by any but an expert document conversion service developer.

TIFF is what’s known as a loss-less format, what you see is what you get. Formats like JPEG are compressed to create smaller file sizes which reduces file quality. While larger in size, saving files as TIFF ensures that images will produce and maintain the highest quality for future use.

TIFF images are also difficult to alter making them ideal for protecting information and archiving. Further, unlike PDF or publisher files, TIFF is a clean file format which contains no links or hidden data and therefore can never have a virus embedded within it.

As a well established file type, TIFF is supported by a large range of applications making it viewable by everyone and offers various compression options to support any storage needs. It also supports multiple pages allowing you to combine numerous files into one TIFF.

TIFF is the standard format used for facsimile transmissions making it a staple for any business.

The fast creation of PDFs lends itself like no other file type to businesses which never slow down. PDFs are the go to file type due to their overwhelming versatility and cross-platform compatibility, compression abilities, and the security in knowing that anyone viewing the document is seeing the same thing. For images, screenshots, documents, spreadsheets, reports or any other file type, PDFs are the most widely acceptable and easy to use file type.

So how do you harness the power of this versatile file type? PEERNET’s PDF Creator Plus 5.0 offers PDF creation that’s as simple as printing. It combines a virtual printer with a preview application that displays your printed document before the PDF is created. This preview allows you to either create a single document or harness the full power of the application by leaving the preview open and continue printing to merge documents. If you don’t like the order of the pages the preview application gives you the option of rearranging, adding, copying or deleting pages before creating your final PDF. Further, you can save your printed pages as a PDF Creator Plus project file so you can revise your PDF at any time.

PEERNET’s PDF Creator Plus 5.0 works with any Windows application and even includes a Microsoft Word Add-In which ensures that documents created in Microsoft Word will keep headings, outlines and hyperlinks intact when saved as PDF 5.0. For businesses that need to attach notes or graphics to highlight important information or mask out sensitive information, PDF Creator Plus 5.0 is equipped with a powerful set of Annotation tools.

PDF Creator Plus is the solution for businesses that need to convert and send varied file types quickly and easily across multiple platforms. As an added bonus, PDF Creator Plus is not limited to creating only PDF documents, it is also capable of creating TIFF and JPEG files with hot buttons for easy conversion.

Safety Concerns

Online file converters boast high levels of safety but can you trust them? Most converters require you to upload your file to their server and then download the converted file, leaving you open to the possibility of carrying viruses and trojans to your computer or business server.

Further, online converters make assurances to keep your information safe but do you really want to take the chance with sensitive and private files?

PEERNET’s file conversion products are always safe and reliable. No need to upload your file with PEERNET’s PDF Creator Plus, a desktop application offering proven results.

Not so easy to use

In order to convert your file many online converters require far too many hoops to jump through. Most require a membership, which, while free, requires you to enter all your information to their server opening you up to unwanted e-mails from their service. Once signed up, online converters do not always offer support for their products leaving users frustrated and making file conversion much longer than need be.

PEERNET prides themselves on their high level of support and the fastest response time in the industry, generally responding on average within two hours. PEERNET’s technical support is available to answer your questions from 9 am to 5pm, Monday through Friday.

Don’t always support large file sizes

AUTO CAD files are large and pose compression difficulties during file conversion. Online file converters are not always equipped to handle specialized files like CAD, that’s why many customers turn to PEERNET’s TIFF Image Printer and Raster Image Printer which offer reliable CAD file conversion while keeping images to scale.

While online converters seem like a convenient solution, and do have their place, PEERNET’s conversion software and tools provide peace of mind to businesses with their reliability, security and high level of support.

With a diverse clientele we strive to offer just as diverse a product selection to ensure that we have a solution for any situation. Here is a look at what some of our recent clients have used our solutions for, and how you can implement these solutions in your own business.

Reports Software

With postal companies in North America and the United Kingdom, Canada Post – UK Mail currently use PEERNET Reports software, to produce shipping labels, and bill of ladings that can be scanned via bar code technology included in the Report software.

Hewlett Packard utilizes PEERNET Reports software on their factory floor to produce the packing slips and box labels for all items shipped out.

Image Printers

Many institution make use of PEERNET’s TIFF Image Printer to produce TIFF images for their image document management systems. Some are using it as an automated service solution while others are individual users sending documents on a daily basis. For 10+ years the following clients have been making use of this service:

• Financial Institutions
  • Capital One
  • Citibank
  • Wellsfargo
  • Bank of Ireland
• Life Insurance Companies
  • Hartford Life
  • BlueCross Blue Shield
  • Farm Family
• Health Care Industry
  • Apex Health Care Partners LLC
  • Health Care Services Corporation
• States
  • Nebraska
  • New Jersey

AUTO CAD File Conversion

AUTO CAD images pose problems with their large size. When trying to convert the image, some file converters are not to scale. Companies such as Lantmateriet, a Swedish mapping and land registration authority; New South Wales Government; and BMW(AG), a German automobile company, have found a solution in PEERNET’s Image Printer. Each uses AUTO CAD for design and outputs to a PEERNET Image Printer (TIFF or Raster) to produce images which retain the actual scale of the measurements in the final image. Some users printed directly while others used it in an automated service to convert a large volume of documents daily.

TIFF Image Printer for Fax

Interfax, a fax service company based out of Israel produces bulk faxes for multiple companies using a Windows Service they have written which converts over 40 file types to TIFF using PEERNET’s TIFF Image Printer. With their programming and our software, Interfax is able to process up to 20,000 documents a day, adding up to nearly several million a year.

PDF Creator Plus

Portable Document Format or PDF is one of the most widely accepted and used file formats today. It’s no surprise that companies from a variety of industries, and thousands of individuals have purchased PEERNET’s versatile and essential PDF Creator Plus. Its ability to merge documents from multiple sources and convert them all into one PDF document has proven essential for companies such as:

• Advantage Sales & Marketing
• Smuckers – The JM Smucker Company
• Gunderson Dettmer, LLP

Our customers can’t afford downtime and neither can we. That’s why we offer live technical support Monday through Friday during peak hours (9 am to 5 pm Eastern Standard Time), generally responding within two hours. No tickets to submit, no online queues to wait through. Outside of business hours our customers are directed to explore our extensive online forum with answers to common questions and solutions to problems.

Whether you’re a large company or a budding small business ready to streamline your work flow, we offer support and service to match our display, printing and conversion tools. We are here to help you.

On top of support for our current products we are always looking for ways to improve. Are there features or changes you’d like to see in our products? We’re open to suggestions. Customers are welcome to submit customer feedback to peernet@peernet.com, allowing us the opportunity to give you what you need.

Keep your productivity up and your business moving. Our technical support operators can be reached at 1-800-883-7980 or 613-224-6894, or you can access our forum 24 hours a day at www.peernet.com/forums/.

Entering the blogosphere, we at PEERNET strive to reduce the frustrations of file management with informative articles about new products, our services and answers to the common questions we face every day.

Feel free to contact us with your own questions and discover solutions to your file management and conversion issues.

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