Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8

HP Authorized Service Provider Research
September 2012
For distribution in North America
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8
Category-Leading PDF Software Rates “Best Buy”

Introduction: The Holy Grail
In this report, I am going to make a case for why I think Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 (Nuance PDF) is one of the
most powerful programs you can possibly have on your Windows PC, and why it is a tremendous value. As one might
predict from Nuance, a company known for world-class voice-to-text technology, optical character recognition (OCR)
technology, and overall document and graphics pedigree, its latest version of Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise is a
powerful and versatile program that is delightfully easy to use.
I have had the privilege of more or less living with the program for a couple of months and exploring how it could make a
difference for me in my own work life. I also reached out to a variety of other business users to ascertain how its
capabilities span a variety of professional environments and represent a state-of-the-art tool for document management.
To provide a little background, I have been working with portable document format (PDF) files for many years as a
member of the printing and imaging industry. As manager of HP’s LaserJet marketing programs team, I was active in
the original desktop publishing developments in the emerging Macintosh and PC worlds of the late 1980s, with players
such as Apple, HP, and others, including start-ups such as Aldus and even Xerox. I can trace the critical importance of
desktop publishing in moving Microsoft’s Windows operating environment from an unproven, almost experimental
computer environment—compared to the entrenched, non-graphical MS-DOS standard—to its evolution into what might
have been the very first “killer app.” Adobe’s Postscript Page Description Language, of course, played a big role, as did
alternatives such as HP’s PCL. But it was the PostScript side of the industry and the vision of a common imaging model
that brought about the portable document format and its requisite software, although perhaps a more apt term to
describe the format would be universal rather than portable.
This brings me to some of my hands-on and more recent history with PDF, as well as a particular project I worked on
and that I have reflected on while getting to know Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8. This occurred well after the
establishment of PDF as a document format standard, but still long enough ago to provide perspective on the power and
value of Nuance’s software.
During the early 2000s, I remember working with HP product development teams in the Imaging and Printing Group
(IPG) that were looking to complete a document solution for HP’s higher-end office printer and multifunction peripheral
(MFP) customers. I was the manager in charge of partner relationships, and my marketing and engineering colleagues
and I described the functionality we were looking for on behalf of our customers—the solution that would “close the loop”
between hard copy and electronic documents.
The specifics of what we were seeking—under the umbrella of finding better ways for customers to have a more
integrated and fluid document environment—was a tool for documents to go both directions, in and out of the PDF
format. This included not only the “distiller” type of PDF creator, which had been required from the beginning, but also a
reverse tool, which would allow PDF documents to be read and transformed into “native” Microsoft Office formats
(typically Word but Excel and PowerPoint as well) in which editing and other cut-and-paste-related functions could be
accomplished more easily.
2

The ability to move documents from hard copy to electronic and back was already fairly solid, through scanning software
that captured images as well as text (OCR) and, of course, printing of electronic documents. Anything else to make
those documents circulate in a more fluid fashion, such as early cloud-based and document-management systems,
would have been great, too. Capturing documents and annotations through voice-to-text capabilities would have
seemed a bit far-fetched, however.
I became curious about the new product from Nuance and figured it was time for me to check back in on just how far this
technology had come. Given that OCR-like capabilities were seen as the key to back-and-forth conversions, it came as
no surprise that Nuance, the leader in OCR technology for the last decade or more, had such a solution that was at the
core of the functionality of its product. In exploring the state-of-the-art in PDF conversion, I also found a solution that goes
beyond and offers much more: even that futuristic voice-to-text that was just the glimmer of an idea back then.
My timing, in terms of comparisons, could not have been better. While I got to know Nuance PDF and compared it to the
main PDF competitor, Adobe Acrobat X, it turned out it was time for a revision. In October 2012, Adobe Acrobat XI
became available. Not only did I have a chance to get to know Nuance PDF, I also got to compare it to the latest and
greatest version of its leading competition.
Nuance and Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8: Hands-On
After working with names that were so familiar to me—such as PaperPort, Equitrac, eCopy, and Omnipage—the
modestly named Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 from Nuance Communications, a high-tech “house of brands,”
was a surprising revelation. As someone who has created thousands of PDF files and interacted with hundreds of
thousands more, I was in for an eye-opening few weeks, exploring what this powerful software package could do for me
and how it compared to the other contender, Adobe Acrobat. I was also able to gain insight into other professions and
work environments and how many of these powerful Nuance tools contribute to their workplace productivity.
In addition to the foundational back-and-forth conversions between PDF and a variety of file formats, Nuance
emphasized four important innovations in Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8, including voice annotation, advanced
PDF editing, cloud and document management integration, and the inclusion of the emerging PDF/A standard. I have
become familiar with each of these, and am duly impressed, as I found ways my own workflows could be improved
using them. But going back to the training DVD that I watched as I was ramping up my knowledge, I found the complete
list of features to be impressive as well:
3
• Create, Convert and Edit PDF Files;
• Assemble and Compile Portfolios;
• Annotate and Stamp PDF Files;
• Use Your Voice to Add Notes to Your Document;
• Work with Scanned Documents and Forms;
• Create PDF/A Compliant Files;
• Redact and Bates Stamp your Document; and
• Connect to Popular Cloud Services.
Nuance emphasized four important
innovations in Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8, including voice
annotation, advanced PDF editing,
cloud and document management
integration, and the inclusion of the
emerging PDF/A standard.

As I completed my findings, I found that, in most cases, it’s the combination of those easy-to-use capabilities, from the
basic to the sophisticated, that really give Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 its power.
Workflows and Functions
The overall needs of business users can be characterized from their central focus on the Microsoft Office suite, mostly
within or at least in conjunction with a large corporate, health-care, educational, or government organization. Even with
its large feature set, the product has been designed and marketed with these specifics in mind. Features and flexibility
are offered to users of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Internet Explorer. Inside larger organizations,
departments that will find the many capabilities of Nuance PDF a boost to productivity include human resources, sales
and marketing, engineering, IT, finance and legal, and records management. Marketing agencies and publishing firms
can utilize its capabilities throughout their organizations.
4
Is Editing PDFs Somehow Unethical?
While not everyone may think of this question, it has crossed my mind. Having worked with PDF files for about
20 years, I have always considered them to be “cast in stone.” Creating a PDF was like burning a write-once
DVD—it was something you did when you wanted a permanent, non-editable copy of a document. In my mind, I
associate them with tax returns, newspaper articles, and course syllabi—items that have been “printed” and
have never been changed, and in fact could not have been changed. When using Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8, I found that there are different categories of usage for PDFs. For example, there are some PDFs
that I would like to edit easily without going back to a converted Word file to make changes, especially simple
ones, such as dates in a new course syllabus, then recreating the PDF and giving it a new name. In fact, one of
my suggestions for productivity improvements for PDFs has come from learning to use advanced editing
available in Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8. This creates a broader perspective on just what a PDF is and
can be and helps me resolve the admittedly outdated “ethical” question. Nuance confirmed that many customers
have raised this as a potential issue or misperception. According to the company, this is why there are PDF
security settings in the creation step. Fully editable PDFs lay the groundwork for a better understanding of how
the portable document format has evolved and found broader usage and, with the power of Nuance PDF
Converter Enterprise 8’s editing (beyond the “touch-up” capability of the past), expands the horizon for the PDF
and what it can be.
Adobe, by the way, has radically changed its approach to PDFs with version XI of Acrobat. While the company
had long defined PDFs as “snapshots” of documents, the new version of the software now includes editing
capabilities.

I found that, in most cases, it’s the combination of those easy-touse
capabilities, from the basic to the sophisticated, that really
give Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 its power.
5
Close-Up with a Power User
In addition to reviewing my own workflows and those of professional associates across a range of professional
fields, I interviewed a “power PDF user” who is also an administrator for this report. This person is responsible
for recommending PDF software for up to 1,000 users in his own sphere of influence (his operational division).
Through his regional role, he also has the power to influence those in other divisions across a national
organization.
Although this individual knows Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 “inside and out” and has strongly
recommended Nuance PDF software over its nearest rival, he will remain anonymous here. Suffice it to say
he is extremely knowledgeable and represents a government organization that is a household name. Most of
what follows is in his own words, as he goes back several years and traces the organization’s original
evaluation of version 6, up to the present day and its evaluation of version 8.
Q: Describe your organization.
A: Our part of the federal government agency has over 700 users of all types – from engineers to
administrative officers.
Q: How do you use Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 today?
A: My guesstimate of how our part of the agency uses PDF Converter Enterprise 8 is based on empirical
observations. The list is in estimated decreasing order to feature/process use.
1. Edit PDF metadata and similar to meet Section 508 (by Web developers).
2. Edit PDFs to update small bits of information.
3. Create PDFs from within Microsoft Office 2010 (though many now use Office’s “Save and
Send” to create a PDF, which then opens in Nuance PDF for any editing, adding metadata,
etc.).
4. Create PDFs from within Nuance PDF from a networked scanner.
5. Edit PDFs to remove selected pages and resave them.
6. Edit PDFs to mark up an existing PDF and return it to the sender (used to mark up layout
diagrams, for example).

6
7. Copy information (text, tables, or images) from a PDF to another file (a new Word document,
for example).
8. Convert a PDF to Word or Excel (when someone has lost the original source file).
9. We are starting to use PDF reading/editing direct from SharePoint. This use will expand as
users get familiar with using SharePoint and as we switch to Nuance PDF as the PDF viewer.
10. Create a PDF of a single Lotus Notes message or create a PDF package of multiple Lotus
Notes e-mail messages and attachments.
11. Create a PDF of a Web page from Internet Explorer 8.
12. View PDF files.*
*Note: If/when we remove Adobe Reader and use Nuance PDF exclusively, this will become the number one
use of Nuance PDF. I already use Nuance PDF exclusively, as do a handful of others.
Q: How has your use of PDF software evolved?
A: In the past we used Adobe Reader for viewing PDFs and Adobe Acrobat Professional for those very few
who edited PDFs.
Over the last few years, some files that used to arrive for review as CAD files started arriving as PDFs.
Managers saw a need to be able to edit (mark up) these PDFs and return them to the sender with comments.
A few years ago, on behalf of our line of business, I started comparing alternatives to the expensive Adobe
Acrobat Pro. Among the software evaluated was Adobe Acrobat Pro and Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6.
Q: What were your observations when comparing Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise and Adobe
Acrobat Professional?
A: My [past] comparisons of the above software showed that the Nuance software:
• Created PDFs with file sizes as small as or smaller than Adobe Acrobat did with similar settings.
• Converted existing PDFs to Word or Excel while retaining the original look very well.
• Cost [significantly less than] Adobe Acrobat Professional did. In fact, the upgrade cost for Adobe
Acrobat Pro for the existing relatively few users was higher than the full cost of a 1,000-license level
for Nuance’s PDF6.
• Lacked only a Section 508 Accessibility for the Handicapped checker to fully meet our needs.
• In most cases, Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6 produced more accurate conversions from
PDF to Word.

Spotlight on Differences: Nuance versus Adobe
While many of the powerful functions found in both programs are quite straightforward, there are some major differences
in usability and performance. Many of these are summarized in the comparison matrix below, in the “advantage”
column. Their real-world impact can be quite dramatic, depending on each user and organization’s unique workflow
needs.
For example, I recently had to update a multi-page syllabus for one of my graduate school marketing courses, and the
most recent version that I could locate existed only as a PDF file. I was required to cut and paste the text into a bulletin
board-style online posting, which needs to be created from a Word file. With my comparison testing in mind, but really
mostly concerned with an easy and fast solution, I converted the PDF file to Word, using Adobe Acrobat XI. A casual
glance at the document, which was really only in an intermediate format at this point in the workflow, did not indicate that
there might be a problem. But the pasted content nearly caused the university system’s spell checker to blow a gasket. It
paused dozens of times, not recognizing words because the formatting was off. I gave up, converted the same PDF via
Nuance, and it pasted into the system flawlessly. A later visual inspection of the two converted documents showed a
major though subtle difference, with the Acrobat-converted version full of mismatched fonts.
I recently had a similar experience with six typical white paper documents I was using in my work as a writer and
analyst. A different vendor provided each of the documents, which were all delivered as PDFs. They varied in length,
from two pages to more than 50, and in content, which typically included text and graphics, although with a widely
varying ratio. Each also included some valuable information that I would likely quote or paraphrase in the reports and
7
Q: What decision did you make?
A: Our part of the agency bought a 1,000-license level for Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6.
We continued to buy Adobe Acrobat Professional for Web developers, who need to run the Section 508
checks and fix as needed prior to posting to the Web or e-mailing outside the agency.
Q: What was your experience with Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6?
A: As with most software, after implementing it nationwide within our part of the agency, we found that a very
few Web-hosted applications produced a PDF that Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 6—and later version
7—could not open. So, we had to retain Adobe Reader as the PDF viewer despite our desire to eliminate a
piece of software that needed frequent vulnerability patching.
Q: How has Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 addressed your needs?
A: With Nuance PDF Converter 8, we no longer encounter specific PDF files that cannot be opened with the
latest version . Our line of business is now deciding whether (or when) to remove to Adobe Reader and use
Nuance PDF exclusively. This was a major improvement for our line of business.

articles that I needed to write. A clean conversion to an Office format, in this case Word, for potential cutting and pasting
was essential. In my six-paper showdown, Nuance conversions not only successfully converted the files relative to the
Adobe Acrobat XI conversions with regard to spacing, font fidelity, and other formatting, they converted to much smaller
.docx files in six out of six trials (see table below).
8
Original PDF Adobe
in Kbytes converted file size Nuance
Document 1 438 607 227
Document 2 348 253 119
Document 3 1161 671 169
Document 4 898 840 504
Document 5 981 580 157
Document 6 1153 125 101
Based on my own hands-on experience with PDFs, my knowledge of other professions, and my experience with
Nuance’s software, I have compiled an annotated table of workflows and functions I believe are most important for
users. I have also provided a description of Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 and have compared it to Adobe
Acrobat XI, including a few notes on my experiences with each.
But the pasted content nearly caused the university system’s
spell checker to blow a gasket. It paused dozens of times, not
recognizing words because the formatting was off. I gave up,
converted the same PDF via Nuance, and it pasted into the
system flawlessly.

Comparison Matrix: Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8 versus Adobe Acrobat XI
Product Evaluation Results
9
Workflow Description Nuance PDF Converter Adobe Acrobat XI Advantage
Edit PDF files: This is
beneficial to nearly any
workflow that uses PDF
files. Make either simple
touch-up edits to text or
graphics, or make
comprehensive changes
to the content of the PDF
file.
PDF document
conversion to Word,
Excel, and PowerPoint
formats: On many
occasions, workflows that
contain PDF documents
require conversion of
those files into Microsoft
Office formats to allow the
content to be used by
those applications
(calculating cells in Excel,
for example).
New “Advanced Edit”
feature, which is
accessed by a tab on the
Nuance PDF main
screen, converts PDF
files to fully editable files
using word processor-like
editing right within the
PDF file. Small and large
document edits can be
made quickly, including
line wrap, pagination,
bullets, numbering,
indents and justification.
Users can then
seamlessly switch back to
the PDF view to continue
to work with the document
as a traditional PDF file.
PDF to Word, Excel or
PowerPoint: Quick and
easy conversion of PDF
documents into common
business formats,
including Microsoft Office,
is a hallmark of Nuance
PDF. The conversion
process follows similar
steps regardless of the
resulting format. Also,
Nuance PDF supports the
conversion of selected
portions of a PDF file, or
the entire document.
Nuance also offers a
variety of workflow
options to perform
Up through the most recent
version of Adobe Acrobat
(XI), Adobe pointed to the
software’s limited editing
capability as consistent with
its philosophy that a PDF is a
snapshot of an original file.
Adobe finally has embraced
a limited form of editing, but
still trails. Flowing text
between pages, for example,
is not supported, meaning
that additional text added to a
paragraph needs to stay
within the space originally
allocated to the original
paragraph or it will bleed on
top of whatever follows.
PDF to Word: Conversion
takes multiple steps and
significant time, and
formatting results are
inconsistent.
PDF to Excel: Although
supported directly, it does not
offer selective export of
portions of the document
converted to a spreadsheet
(i.e., page ranges.)
PDF to PowerPoint:
Automatic conversion is
finally supported, in Acrobat
XI.
Significant advantage:
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8 allows users to
edit PDF files as easily as
they can edit Word files,
meaning that flowing material
between pages just happens
“naturally” without the user
even thinking about it. In
addition, Nuance’s PDF
converter retains the original
document formatting so that
users do not have to
reformat documents after
making edits to the file, which
results in significant time
savings.
Significant advantage:
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8 is a far superior
format.
In Word and WordPerfect:
Multiple examples show that
Nuance creates converted
documents with more fidelity
to the original, with more
consistent spacing and fonts.
Files converted by Nuance
also have shown to be
smaller in size.
In Excel: Nuance provides
more accurate conversions,
including table recognition
and an ability to distinguish

Cloud exchange of PDF
documents with
commonly used cloud
services: Enables backand-forth
movement
between documents in
the cloud and the desktop
PDF application.
Annotate documents
using voice: This feature
is useful when adding
notes to PDF documents,
a common task during
any PDF editing workflow.
Document assembly:
PDF files are often used
to combine files of
differing formats together
into a single file. For
example, one PDF can
include a scanned image,
Word document, and
Excel spreadsheet.
PDF/A creation: Many
courts and government
10
conversions, including
Microsoft Office and
Internet Explorer Add-Ins,
drag-and-drop, and the
PDF Create Assistant.
Supports one-click open
and save access to
documents stored in a
long list of cloud services,
including Google Docs,
Evernote, Box, Dropbox,
and Nuance’s PaperPort
Anywhere.
Built-in feature using the
award-winning Dragon
speech recognition
service by Nuance.
Document Assembly view
opens the entire desktop
to work with pages of a
PDF document and
includes traditional
capability to insert,
replace, extract, and
delete, and includes new
capabilities to split, add
footer/header, and
selectively add pages
from source files using the
Page Assembly feature
without having to convert
the entire file to PDF first.
PDF/A files can be
created directly from the
Direct connectivity with cloud
services is limited to the
Adobe Creative Cloud and
requires expensive
subscription services at
Adobe.com.
No direct support for voice
recognition.
Acrobat offers the traditional
ability to combine entire files
from the File menu, but it is
much slower than Nuance
PDF.
Acrobat offers the ability to
create PDF/A files, and
between general and
number cells.
In PowerPoint: Nuance
stands out through
recognition of
headers/footers, rule lines,
hyperlinks, text, and
background colors.
Significant advantage:
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8 includes out-ofthe-box
connectivity to most
popular Cloud document
storage and retrieval
services.
Significant advantage:
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8’s “speaking
content” includes sticky notes
and is three times faster than
typing.
Significant advantage:
Nuance PDF Converter
Enterprise 8’s Document
Assembly with Page
Assembly feature offers far
greater flexibility and
productivity in selectively
building PDF documents
from source files without
having to first convert all files
to PDF.
Draw: Nuance has pulled
even in this one-time Adobe

agencies now require the
submission of documents
in PDF/A format.
11
PDF/A
Save As menu. A variety
of PDF/A format options
are available to choose
from. When a document
is saved in the PDF/A
format, a compliance
checker automatically
launches and gives the
user the ability to fix
components of the file
that do not comply with
regulations. In addition,
the user is automatically
notified upon opening a
PDF/A file that the
document is indeed a fully
compliant PDF/A file.
advanced pre-flight steps are
available to check and fix
compliance.
stronghold (see the sidebar
below).
One of the key market-driven improvements in Nuance PDF is the inclusion of PDF/A, which provides the ability to
create documents as more refined versions of a PDF file (along with “regular” versions 1.3 to 1.7), and the
inclusion of the PDF/A compliance checker. The Nuance Reference Guide does a nice job of explaining the
compliance checker, as follows: “This PDF Converter Enterprise facility checks the compliance of PDF/A files you
create or receive and reports any non-complaint elements to meet the standards of different PDF/A variants.
PDF/A is a set of standards for PDF files, to ensure maximum accessibility over a wide range of PDF products
under different platforms, and also to make the files ‘future-proof.’ PDF/A is based on PDF version 1.4, so older
PDF products can handle them. It excludes elements like JavaScript, which may not be correctly interpreted in
some environments. It requires certain items, such as adequate tagging, good accessibility, and suitable
metadata.” The “A” in PDF/A stands for “archive,” and one of the most important elements is that PDF/A
documents include embedded fonts, which means the document is not dependent on a given system’s resident
fonts to offer its intended look and feel.

Our View
Document management is an extremely broad field of information technology. It embraces storage, cloud, printing and
imaging, and publishing. Products such as Nuance PDF Converter Enterprise 8, however, represent document
management in its most basic, personal form. Nuance has a two-line passage in the “About Us – Who We Are” section
of its Web site that states, “We give people more than just control over their communications. We give them command
of their lives.” We talk about organizations becoming more nimble and efficient, but that all comes down to the people
within an organization and the systems and software deployed to help them do a better job and “take command their
lives.” Nuance PDF has done that for me, and it will for you. Run, don’t walk, to get this product.
Additional Resources:
12
Nuance White Paper
http://www.nuance.com/ucmprod/groups/imaging/@web-enus/documents/collateral/nc_025192.pdf

Contact Info
HEADQUARTERS MASSACHUSETTS OFFICE
107 W. Main Street 320 Nevada Street, 1st Floor
Midway, KY 40347 Newtonville, MA 02460
+1 859-846-9830 +1 617-454-2600
NEW YORK OFFICE ASIA-PACIFIC OFFICE
51 Ridgefield Road Shinagawa East One Tower 4F
Warwick, NY 10990 2-16-1 Konan, Minato-ku
+1 845-987-6201 Tokyo 108-0075, Japan
+81 3 6890 8207
About the Author
Jim Lyons leads the Transformation of Imaging Advisory Service. Prior to joining Photizo, Lyons served as senior editor
for Lyra’s The Hard Copy Observer. Lyons independently blogs and tweets (@jflyons) on developments in the printer
industry. He is a faculty member at the University of Phoenix, where he teaches marketing and economics. From 1981
to 2005, Lyons was employed at HP.
About Photizo Group
Photizo Group has been at the forefront of the industry’s transition to a services-based business model. Photizo’s
conferences and Industry Observer 360 publication offer a way for businesses in the broader industry to learn
about becoming a services-led company (SLC). The company’s conferences also provide a meeting place for the
key players as they make this transition. In addition, Photizo Group’s consulting and market intelligence services
provide the guidance and metrics required to accelerate companies’ transition to an SLC model and to reduce their
risk in making this transition.
Copyright Notice
This report is copyrighted by Photizo Group and all content, including, but not limited to, text, charts, images,
illustrations, audio clips, and video clips, is the exclusive property of Photizo Group and is protected by U.S. and
international copyright laws. All rights not expressly granted to recipients of this PDF are reserved for Photizo
Group.
Use of Content
This report should be treated as proprietary and remain confidential, and any reproduction, modification,
distribution, display, preparation of derivative works based on, or disclosure or other use in whole or in part to
parties other than to whom this document was originally sent without express written permission is prohibited.
Licensee may quote from the PDF for purposes of internally and externally oriented documents and presentations
provided that all such uses include full attribution to Photizo Group as the source of the data and analysis and
provided that the subscriber obtains advance approval from Photizo Group in each case.
13