Anyone have experience with PDF/A-1b?

[Vaughan McAlley]

Hi,

I want to try to produce PDF/A-1b files from Lilypond to submit to the Australian Music Centre (australianmusiccentre.com.au). It looks like it would be possible to do this by exporting to Postscript and using Ghostscript:

http://www.ghostscript.com/doc/9.14/Ps2pdf.htm#PDFA

Has anyone done this and have any tips or pitfalls before I start on this journey myself?

Vaughan

PS Here are the Australian Music Centre guidelines about file formats. I think they just want to be able to open the file in Finale or Sibelius, and save them as PDF with their PDF/A1-b -compliant process.

The AMC's order of preference for file formats is as follows:

1. Sibelius or Finale files.
   These files are preferred as they can be used to generate the highest-quality archival production masters.
   
   Non-standard fonts: the AMC has access to a wide library of fonts. For Finale files AMC staff use the 'Data Check' function to identify any missing fonts and we will follow up with you should there be any issues. If you are a Sibelius user and are concerned about non-standard fonts, please use the notes box at the bottom of this page and staff will consult with you to ensure the appearance of your score is as you intend.
   
   Layout concerns: to ensure there is no discrepancy in the layout of your score when it is processed by the AMC, we firstly require that you use one of the AMC's supported paper sizes: A4, A3 or B4-JIS. Secondly, we recommend that you use Finale's 'Lock systems' or Sibelius's 'Lock format' functions to prevent the programs from reconfiguring the layout when the file is opened on the AMC's computers.
    
2. PDF/A-1b files.
   If you are unable to provide Finale or Sibelius files, but do have the ability to provide us with PDF/A-1b files, this is the AMC's second preferred submission method.
   
   PDF/A-1b is an archival version of the PDF file format designed to ensure consistent reproduction of a file's contents across different computers over time. All score materials processed by the AMC are eventually stored as PDF/A-1b files. Production of PDF/A-1b files is a fairly complex process and any submitted files must be validated by AMC staff as compliant.
    
3. PDF files.
   As a last resort, we will accept submissions of regular PDF files.
   
   This method should be avoided wherever posible as it presents the greatest difficulty in generating high-quality archival production masters. Materials submitted in this way will often have to be physically printed off and scanned - resulting in a loss in quality.

 

Frequently Asked Questions

I don't use Finale or Sibelius - why don't you accept more formats?
Unfortunately the AMC does not have resources to purchase (and keep updated) copies, and train staff in all software packages which are available on the market to produce score materials. Finale and Sibelius are used by the vast majority of our repesented artists and this is why we accept materials in these file formats.