Adobe Reader is software that enables users to view and print PDF files.  PDF’s (Portable Document Format) is one of the most common format’s used when converting paper into an electronic format.

There are several types of PDF, the two we focus on are the most common:

PDF – Portable Document Format

(PDF) Fixed file format developed by Adobe. It holds a document with the content and presentation features fixed, thereby retaining all the features and style of the document at they were intended to be viewed. It makes transportation of documents more effective in appearing in the original style on all systems.

PDF/A (recommended)

PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents.

PDF/A differs from PDF by omitting features ill-suited to long-term archiving, such as font linking (as opposed to font embedding). (Similarly, the PDF/X file format is specially adapted to digital printing and graphic arts.)