TO PDF OR NOT TO PDF,
THAT IS THE QUESTION
by W:.Tim Bryce, PM, MPS
timb001@phmainstreet.com
Palm Harbor, Florida, USA
"A Foot Soldier for Freemasonry"
"Note: To veteran Internet users, this article will seem like a trivial non-issue.
Nonetheless, it is intended to raise awareness of the need and benefits for
creating electronic documentation, something most of us already use regularly."
- TB
On the Internet, the "Holy Grail" for just about anyone interested in distributing
publications is to find a universally applicable solution to produce professional
looking documents that are easy to use, easy to distribute, and, optionally, offers
some form of security to safeguard the contents.
As we all know, there is voluminous documentation associated with the fraternity:
- Forms - for requesting dispensations, applying for perpetual memberships or to
enter the Masonic Home, donations, certificates, etc.
- Petitions - for the three symbolic degrees, for dual or plural memberships, or for transfers.
- Books - committee directories, legislation booklets, governing documents (e.g.
constitution, bylaws, etc.), magazines, etc.
Because printing costs have escalated, an electronic form of these materials
would save both Grand and Craft Lodges considerable money, hence the need to
move in this direction.
There are various alternatives available to us:
- ASCII TEXT FILES - represents plain text files using a common text editor
(e.g., Notepad). ASCII is a recognized standard (American National Standard Code
for Information Interchange). Interestingly, virtually everything on the computer
ultimately starts with an ASCII text file which was created by Robert W. (Bob) Beamer,
an old friend of mine. Although ASCII files can be read on any computer, they
lack pizzazz in terms of text formatting (no adjustments to fonts, sizes, highlights, etc.).
- HTML FILES - represents web pages using the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML).
Such files can be created either writing it manually (using ASCII) or through some
web page design tools, such as a Word Processor, Desktop Publishing tool, or a
web design tool. Personally, I have no problem with this but most people shy
away from writing a web page thinking it is too complicated to learn.
- E-MAIL - offers the ability to develop sophisticated looking documents, but
not all recipients will be able to read the document the way you composed it
since their e-mail settings may not allow it. Further, e-mail does not offer
a convenient means to save the document (unless you keep it in your In Box).
- MICROSOFT WORD DOC - this is incredibly popular in the PC world, but useless
for MAC, UNIX, LINUX, and OS/2 users.
- PDF (PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT) - finally, we come to PDF which was developed
by Adobe and based on the PostScript (PS) printing language. PDF offers
professional looking documents that can be read on any computer platform.
Further, it offers the ability to enact security on the document (password
protection), as well as many other features to make the document easy to
navigate and print. Because of its universality, PDF has become the de facto
standard for producing documents in the business world. You would be
hard pressed to find a company on the web who doesn't make some use of
PDF files. In addition, just about every government agency now makes use
of PDF files, particularly the IRS.
PDF files require the use of the ADOBE READER product which is now pre loaded on
most computers. But if you still do not have it, you can download it for free from:
Adobe Reader
http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/
So how do you produce a PDF file? Actually there are many ways, some expensive, some free:
First, Adobe offers a family of products offering the ability to produce PDF files:
ADOBE ACROBAT - offers Standard and Professional Editions to produce PDF documents
and range in price from $299 (US) to $1,799 (US) - (list prices). Both are
excellent products but probably cost more than the average Lodge is willing
to pay. For more information, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/
The ADOBE CREATIVE SUITE DESIGN is a bundled product which includes their
popular design products, including InDesign, their desktop publishing solution.
Again, there are Standard and Professional Editions ranging in price
from $1,199 (US) - $1,799 (US) - (list prices). For information, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/design/
Don't need all of the other design tools? ADOBE InDESIGN is also available
as an independent offering and is rapidly becoming the standard for desktop
publishing. It lists for $699 (US). Understand this, InDesign is the successor
to PageMaker. For more information, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/indesign/
Adobe's products are excellent but probably out of the price range for the average
person who only makes an occasional document. Fortunately, there is a FREE
solution available to you from Adobe:
ADOBE DISTILLER is a free pseudo printer for you to install. Although there
is no hardware associated with it, Adobe Distiller is treated as another
printer on your computer (in your "Printers and Faxes" folder). You simply
create your document using your favorite word processor or desktop publishing
tool, but instead of sending it to your printer (such as HP, Lexmark, Epson, etc.),
send it to Adobe Distiller which produces a PDF file as opposed to a piece
of paper.
There are three versions of Adobe Distiller available:
- for MS Windows
- for the MAC
- for UNIX
You will soon be hearing more about ADOBE PDF PRINT ENGINE which was announced
just last year. This appears to be the successor to Adobe Distiller and will
be implemented by hardware vendors shortly. Look for more announcements from
Adobe soon. For more information, see:
http://www.adobe.com/products/pdfprintengine/
CONCLUSION
So, is PDF the right direction to go in terms of publishing Masonic documentation?
Absolutely. It is universally applicable, it's easy to produce, and it is
probably the closest thing we have to an industry standard in this regards. Okay,
the technology is available to us, but what will we do with it? Hopefully a lot.
This can dramatically cut publishing costs for Grand Lodges. It also means
we can get more information to the Craft, thereby serving them better administratively
as well as improving communications. Frankly, it's a no-brainer. In this day
and age of electronic communications, anyone not capitalizing on this proven
technology is out of touch with basic business management.
Keep the Faith.
NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own and do not
necessarily represent the views or opinions of any Grand Masonic jurisdiction
or any other Masonic related body. As with all of my Masonic articles herein,
please feel free to reuse them in Masonic publications or re-post them on Masonic
web sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add the following:
Article reprinted with permission of the author and www.FreemasonInformation.com
Please forward me a copy of the publication when it is produced.
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http://podcast.lodgeroominternational.com/
Also be sure to check out Tim's "Pet Peeve of the Week" (non-Masonic related) at:
http://www.phmainstreet.com/timbryce.htm
Copyright © 2007 by Tim Bryce. All rights reserved
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