While many different programs can be used to write simple documents depending on the type of information written (tables, plain text, text with images, etc.), to send and share a document and to be sure that it can be read, we must use the format PDF. PDF is the standard for publishing and sharing documents of all kinds because it maintains the formatting therefore, whatever program you use to open it, the file is identical, anywhere in the world and with any operating system.
In addition, the PDF cannot be edited accidentally and can be protected from editing or printing, in case we are distributing a confidential document.
Creating a PDF on PC is really simple and we can do it with some free programs or without using any additional software.
READ ALSO -> PDF document scanner app for Android and iPhone
1) Create PDF with the integrated printer
Today we can create a PDF from a Windows 10 PC without the need to install a program, since a virtual printer is integrated in the system which can be used to create PDF from any Word document or image.
All we have to do is click on the Print button or use the keyboard shortcut CTRL + P, then choose the Microsoft PDF printer.
Using this option in the programs that provide for printing, we can create any PDF quickly and easily, without additional software.
Same thing happens on the Mac, where you just have to select PDF as a print option from any application to print Web pages, documents and images in this format.
2) Use third party PDF printers
On other versions of Windows or to have some options in the printing phase, we can install a third-party PDF printer .
These programs act like virtual printers and allow you to create PDF files from any application that has a Print option , as already seen for the printer integrated in Windows 10.
Compared to printers integrated into operating systems, third-party programs also have options for sorting pages, for separating them, for dividing them, for discarding those that are not needed to protect the file, to correct the orientation and various other things.
We talked about these "virtual printers" programs to create PDF from documents and web pages in another article and, to summarize, here are the best free programs for Windows PC :
- Bullzip Free PDF Printer, really well designed and equipped with all the tools to edit your PDF files as you wish.
During the installation you will be asked to install Ghostscript Lite, a component to keep (while any other software can be disabled).
To create a PDF file, after installing Bullzip, you only need to use the function to print from Word or any other application and choose, instead of the physical printer, the Bullzip PDF printer.
For the PDF we can choose the title, add a personalized watermark, apply a digital signature, add pages from other PDF files, add password protection and adjust the permissions for printing and editing.
You can also change the initial zoom level when opening the PDF file, so you can choose a different default setting.
Truly one of the best programs to create PDF using the print function.
- PDFCreator is an excellent free program to create PDF easily through printing, with an advanced PDF editor that can be called up during printing.
PDFCreator is an easy-to-use flexible PDF printer, easy to program thanks to the printing profiles that can be created (we will be able to add a PDF printer for each type of file to be printed).
With the advanced options we will be able to edit the PDF, include metadata and watermarks, rotate the PDF, compress files or even sign documents.
- PDF24 Creator is one of the most popular PDF printers, since in addition to the virtual printer it also includes other valid tools to manage PDF documents.
To use PDF24 it is also necessary to create a free account, so that you can use all the tools included without limit: send PDF to fax, screen capture, cloud printer management system, PDF compression, PDF converter and other valid tools.
- doPDF : another very fast and simple program to convert any document or image to PDF.
With this program we will have the classic PDF printer that can be used in any program that supports printing, with the settings screen adjustable before each print, so you can always customize the creation of the PDF.
Simple, fast and effective, difficult to ask for more to such a program!
3) Use the scanner
The scanner is another way of creating PDFs, so as to convert sheets of paper into PDF documents, ready to be stored or shared via the Internet.
If we have a printer, scanner or multifunction, we should be able to convert each paper document to PDF using the supplied software or using one of the best programs to use the scanner.
The best program of its kind is iCopy, which in a simple and clear interface allows you to select any scanner detected by the PC and use it to acquire the previews, the actual scan and finally choose in what format to save the scanned file or files ( including PDF).
Once the program is open, simply click on the PDF-shaped button to start scanning the sheet or sheets to be saved in the digital document.
4) Create and edit PDFs with LibreOffice
To create and edit unprotected PDFs you can use LibreOffice, the free office suite that we can use without time limits and without paying a license.
To create the PDF, all we have to do is type or open the document with one of the compatible programs in the suite (for example Word documents we can open them in Writer) and, when ready to create PDFs, click on the top button Export in format PDF .
So we can create any document without necessarily using virtual printers.
To edit unprotected PDFs, simply open documents in this format within the LibreOffice Draw program, which allows you to edit every component contained in the PDF.
In another guide, we specifically talked about programs to edit PDF .
5) Create PDF online
In addition to using the programs, we can create PDFs online, converting any document into PDF format in one of the many sites for conversion.
The best site that does this for free and directly is today smallPDF, also excellent for compressing PDFs and reducing file size.
All we have to do is upload the file in .doc format within the site or from one of the supported clouds (Dropbox and Google Drive), then download the conversion to PDF file.
In addition to Word documents, we can use the site to convert images and other file formats.
A site that we can use as an alternative to smallPDF is FreePDFConverter, which is able to automatically recognize the source file and convert it to PDF with a single mouse click.
In another guide we have collected all the best sites to be able to create PDF online, even from scratch; just read here -> How to create PDF files online for free .
