pdf2pdfa 0.1.0

Convert arbitrary PDF files to PDF/A-1b

pdf2pdfa

pdf2pdfa converts ordinary PDF documents into fully compliant PDF/A‑1b files. The library offers both a simple command line tool and a Python API so that archival conversion can easily be automated or integrated into larger systems.

Features

• Converts any PDF into valid PDF/A‑1b
• Embeds missing fonts automatically (using a fallback TrueType font)
• Attaches an sRGB ICC profile for consistent colour management
• Cleans and synchronises document metadata
• Usable from the command line or as a library

Requirements

Python 3.7 or newer is needed. The following packages are installed automatically when using pip:

• pikepdf
• fonttools
• lxml
• click

For validation of the generated files you can optionally install verapdf.

Installation

Install the latest release from PyPI:

pip install pdf2pdfa

Command line usage

pdf2pdfa convert input.pdf output.pdf

--icc PATH can be used to specify a custom ICC profile.

Library usage

from pdf2pdfa import Converter

conv = Converter()
conv.convert("input.pdf", "output.pdf")

If fonts are missing from the source PDF the converter tries to embed a common system font (e.g. DejaVu Sans). You may also supply a specific font path.

Development and testing

Clone the repository and install the development requirements:

pip install -e .[test]

Run the unit tests using pytest. When verapdf is available the tests also check that the output conforms to PDF/A‑1b.

pytest

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Contributing

Contributions are very welcome. Feel free to open issues or submit pull requests on GitHub.