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How to Export PDF/A Format Documents in C#

IronPDF supports export of PDFs to the PDF/A-3b standard. PDF/A-3B is a strict subset of the ISO PDF specification used to create archival versions of documents with the intent that they will always render exactly the same as when they were saved.

Section 508 Compliance

IronPDF is happy to follow Google's initiative to increase PDF archiving and accessibility and the Section 508 Compliance of PDF documents.

In 2021, we moved to rendering PDFs from HTML using the Google Chromium HTML rendering engine. This allows our software to inherit the accessibility work Google has already implemented:

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How to Convert PDF to PDF/A in C#

How to Render HTML String to PDF in C#
  1. Download C# Library for Creating PDF/A Documents
  2. Load existing or create a PDF from file, HTML, or URL
  3. Export a PDF/A Document from an Existing PDF File
  4. Export a PDF/A Document from an HTML Design or URL
  5. Save the PDF/A compliant document to the desired location

PDF/A Versions

The two conformance levels that IronPDF supports are A and B. 'A' represents 'accessible,' and 'B' represents 'basic.' These levels are available across PDF/A-1, PDF/A-2, and PDF/A-3 standards. The information below has been taken from Adobe's documentation on PDF/A.

  • Level A conformance meets all requirements in its specification, allowing assistive software to improve accessibility for physically impaired users.
  • Level B has a lower level of conformance, with minimal compliance, focusing on preserving the visual appearance of the file long-term.

PDF/A-1: The PDF/A format is based on the original PDF 1.4 version.

PDF/A-2: Released in July 2011 as a new standard called ISO 32001-1, this standard includes all features of PDF versions up to 1.7 as well as new features. Its features include the support of JPEG2000 which is handy for scanned documents and specific requirements for customized XMP metadata.

PDF/A-3: This PDF/A format includes all of the requirements of Level 2. It also allows the embedding of additional file formats—like XML, CSV, and word processing formats—into PDF/A conforming documents.

From an Existing PDF File

I have an example PDF "wikipedia.pdf," which was generated using IronPDF and saved as a PDF file.

I will load and re-save it as a PDF/A-3B compliant PDF file in this demonstration.

Input file: "wikipedia.pdf"

Code

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/pdfa-fromfile.cs
using IronPdf;

// Create a PdfDocument object or open any PDF File
PdfDocument pdf = PdfDocument.FromFile("wikipedia.pdf");

// Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("pdf-a3-wikipedia.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b);
Imports IronPdf

' Create a PdfDocument object or open any PDF File
Private pdf As PdfDocument = PdfDocument.FromFile("wikipedia.pdf")

' Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("pdf-a3-wikipedia.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b)
VB   C#

Output

The output file is PDF/A-3b compliant:

license complete

From a HTML Design or URL

I have an example HTML design "design.html," which I would like to render from HTML to PDF using IronPDF and then export as a PDF/A compliant file.

I will save it as a PDF/A-3B compliant PDF file in this demonstration.

HTML Design Example

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/pdfa-fromhtml.cs
using IronPdf;

// Use the Chrome Renderer to make beautiful HTML designs
var chromeRenderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render an HTML design as a PdfDocument object using Chrome
PdfDocument pdf = chromeRenderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("design.html");

// Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("design-accessible.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b);
Imports IronPdf

' Use the Chrome Renderer to make beautiful HTML designs
Private chromeRenderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()

' Render an HTML design as a PdfDocument object using Chrome
Private pdf As PdfDocument = chromeRenderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("design.html")

' Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("design-accessible.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b)
VB   C#

The output file is PDF/A-3B compliant:

license complete

URL Example

I have the following website "https://www.microsoft.com," which I would like to render from URL to PDF using IronPDF and then export as a PDF/A compliant file.

I will save it as a PDF/A-3B compliant PDF file in this demonstration.

:path=/static-assets/pdf/content-code-examples/how-to/pdfa-fromurl.cs
using IronPdf;

// Use the Chrome Renderer to make beautiful HTML designs from URLs
var chromeRenderer = new ChromePdfRenderer();

// Render a Website as a PdfDocument object using Chrome
PdfDocument pdf = chromeRenderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.microsoft.com");

// Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("website-accessible.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b);
Imports IronPdf

' Use the Chrome Renderer to make beautiful HTML designs from URLs
Private chromeRenderer = New ChromePdfRenderer()

' Render a Website as a PdfDocument object using Chrome
Private pdf As PdfDocument = chromeRenderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://www.microsoft.com")

' Use the SaveAsPdfA method to save to file
pdf.SaveAsPdfA("website-accessible.pdf", PdfAVersions.PdfA3b)
VB   C#

The output file is PDF/A-3B compliant:

license complete