How to Convert PDF to PDFA in Java

How to Convert PDF to PDF/A in Java

1. Install IronPDF Library
2. Create PDF using PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf
3. Load an existing file using PdfDocument.fromFile
4. Use the convertToPdfA method
5. Save with saveAsPdfA

IronPDF - Java PDF Library

IronPDF - Official Website for Java is a powerful and versatile library for working with PDFs in Java. It allows you to create, manipulate, and convert PDF documents with ease. One of its key features is the ability to convert regular PDFs to the PDF/A format, ensuring long-term document preservation. IronPDF provides a simple and efficient way to perform this conversion within your Java applications.

Prerequisites

Before we get started, make sure you have the following prerequisites in place:

1. Java Development Environment: Ensure you have a Java development environment set up on your system. You can use tools like IntelliJ IDEA, Eclipse, or any other Java IDE.
2. IntelliJ IDEA (Optional): We will be demonstrating the process using IntelliJ IDEA Feature Overview, but you can use any Java IDE of your choice.
3. Maven: Maven is a build automation and project management tool that we will use to manage project dependencies. Make sure you have Maven installed. In IntelliJ, it will be installed automatically.

Create a Java Project using IntelliJ IDEA

1. Open IntelliJ IDEA or your preferred Java IDE.

2. Click on "New Project" or from "File" > "New" > "Project".

   

3. Fill in the project details like name and location.
4. Select "Maven" from the build version.

5. Choose your project's JDK (Java version).

   

6. Review the project settings, and click "Create" to create the project.

Install IronPDF using Maven

To include IronPDF in your project, you need to import the JAR dependency in your project's pom.xml file. Open the pom.xml file and add the following dependency:

<!-- IronPDF Maven Dependency -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>YOUR_IRONPDF_VERSION</version>
</dependency>

<!-- IronPDF Maven Dependency -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>com.ironsoftware</groupId>
    <artifactId>ironpdf</artifactId>
    <version>YOUR_IRONPDF_VERSION</version>
</dependency>

Another necessary JAR dependency is Slf4j-simple, which is required to work correctly with IronPDF.

<!-- SLF4J Simple Logger Dependency -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
    <artifactId>slf4j-simple</artifactId>
    <version>2.0.9</version>
</dependency>

<!-- SLF4J Simple Logger Dependency -->
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.slf4j</groupId>
    <artifactId>slf4j-simple</artifactId>
    <version>2.0.9</version>
</dependency>

After adding dependencies, save the POM XML file, and Maven will automatically download and include the IronPDF library for Java in your project. Reload the Maven project to update the dependencies added to the POM file. Once installed, we are ready to use IronPDF to convert PDF files to PDF/A.

Steps to Convert PDF to PDF/A

Now that we have set up your project and added the IronPDF dependency, we can start converting PDFs to PDF/A within our Java application. Here are the steps that demonstrate how to convert PDF to PDF/A:

// Creating a PDF from an HTML string using IronPDF
PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Creating a PDF from an HTML string using IronPDF
PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1> Made with IronPDF!");

// Loading an existing PDF file
PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("input.pdf"));

// Loading an existing PDF file
PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("input.pdf"));

// Converting the PDF to PDF/A format
PdfDocument pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();

// Converting the PDF to PDF/A format
PdfDocument pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();

// Saving the converted PDF/A document
pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("input_pdfa.pdf");

// Saving the converted PDF/A document
pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("input_pdfa.pdf");

package org.example;

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Set your IronPDF license key here
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-HERE");

        // Convert HTML String to PDF/A
        // Creating a PDF document from HTML string
        PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1> Made with IronPDF!");
        // Convert to PDF/A
        PdfDocument pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();
        // Save as PDF/A
        pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("html_saved.pdf");

        // Convert an existing file to PDF/A
        // Load an existing PDF file
        pdfDocument = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("input.pdf"));
        // Convert to PDF/A
        pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();
        // Save as PDF/A
        pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("input_pdfa.pdf");
    }
}

package org.example;

import com.ironsoftware.ironpdf.*;
import java.io.IOException;
import java.nio.file.Paths;

public class Main {
    public static void main(String[] args) throws IOException {
        // Set your IronPDF license key here
        License.setLicenseKey("YOUR-LICENSE-KEY-HERE");

        // Convert HTML String to PDF/A
        // Creating a PDF document from HTML string
        PdfDocument pdfDocument = PdfDocument.renderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>Hello World</h1> Made with IronPDF!");
        // Convert to PDF/A
        PdfDocument pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();
        // Save as PDF/A
        pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("html_saved.pdf");

        // Convert an existing file to PDF/A
        // Load an existing PDF file
        pdfDocument = PdfDocument.fromFile(Paths.get("input.pdf"));
        // Convert to PDF/A
        pdfaDocument = pdfDocument.convertToPdfA();
        // Save as PDF/A
        pdfaDocument.saveAsPdfA("input_pdfa.pdf");
    }
}

Conclusion

Converting PDF documents to PDF/A is essential for long-term document preservation and accessibility. IronPDF is a reliable Java library that simplifies this conversion process. In this article, we discussed the prerequisites, setting up a Java project using IntelliJ IDEA, and adding IronPDF as a Maven dependency.

We also outlined the steps to convert a regular PDF to the PDF/A format. With IronPDF, you can ensure that your documents remain accessible and reliable over time, complying with ISO standards for archiving electronic documents.

IronPDF offers a Free Trial for Commercial Use. Download the IronPDF JAR file from the IronPDF Java Download Page.