How do I convert a PDF to PDF/A for long-term archiving?
Upload the PDF to Sealique: it is rewritten as PDF/A-2b on the server with Ghostscript, fonts embedded, and the archive copy lands in your library ready for a digital signature.
Records that must still open in twenty years (contracts, minutes, certificates, filings) belong in PDF/A, the archive profile that embeds every font and forbids anything that depends on outside resources. The tool makes that copy on the server and keeps the original next to it.
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Key facts
- PDF to PDF/A on Sealique produces a PDF/A-2b file, the ISO 19005-2 archive profile, included with an account.
- The conversion runs on Sealique servers with Ghostscript: fonts are embedded, colours are mapped to RGB and features PDF/A forbids are removed.
- The PDF/A copy is saved in your private library as a new document; the original stays untouched.
- Files of up to 50 MB are accepted; large files are converted in the background.
- A PDF/A document can still be signed: PAdES digital signatures are designed for PDF/A.
What does the conversion change in the file?
Ghostscript re-renders every page object on Sealique servers into a new PDF that obeys the PDF/A-2b rules: all fonts are embedded as subsets, colours are expressed in a declared RGB space, transparency is kept (allowed in part 2), encryption, JavaScript and external links to resources are dropped, and the XMP metadata declares the conformance level so validators recognise it.
Why archive records as PDF/A and sign them?
An archive copy proves what a document looked like; a PAdES digital signature proves it was not changed since. Together with the verification ID and QR code that Sealique adds, a sealed PDF/A can be checked online years later without the original software.
PDF to PDF/A, step by step
Open PDF to PDF/A
Sign in, open PDF tools and choose PDF to PDF/A.
Choose the PDF
Drop a PDF of up to 50 MB or pick one from your library.
Convert
Press Convert. Ghostscript rewrites the file on the server; the page shows the result when it is ready.
Archive or sign
The PDF/A copy is in your library: download it for the archive or send it for signature.
PDF to PDF/A is included with a Sealique account; the processing happens in your browser and on our servers, nothing is shared with third parties.
What PDF to PDF/A includes
- PDF/A-2b output (ISO 19005-2)
- Fonts embedded, colours converted to RGB
- Converted on the server with Ghostscript
- Original kept, archive copy in your library
- Ready for a PAdES digital signature
- Works from a phone or a computer
Questions people ask
What is PDF/A?
PDF/A is the ISO 19005 profile for long-term archiving: fonts embedded, colours defined, no encryption, scripts or external references, so the file renders the same decades later.
Sealique produces level 2b, which guarantees visual reproduction; it does not add a tag structure (level a).
Does the document change visually?
No. Text and images stay the same; colours are converted to RGB and fonts are embedded, which can change how a missing font is substituted.
Can a PDF/A file be signed?
Yes. PAdES digital signatures are compatible with PDF/A; sign the archive copy on Sealique and it stays verifiable online.
Is the original replaced?
No. The PDF/A file is a new document in your library; the original is kept as it was.
Why does the page say a server component is missing?
The conversion needs Ghostscript on the server; when it is absent the page says so and the administrator can install it.