[WEB4LIB] Re: PDF versus HTML

[JOHN MARQUETTE]

As I have been reading this thread, it occurs to me that the best of all possible worlds _for me_ would be C&I in PDF in one column.  My old eyes don't support page width-readable text in two columns.  If Walt were to do any kind of alteration to his publishing method, I'd recommend one that mirrors our library's selection process for printed matter - "regular" print versus large print.  In this case "large print" would be just one column, and not the 16-point font of type-on paper large print.

John Marquette
City of Commerce Public Library
Commerce, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: web4lib at webjunction.org [mailto:web4lib at webjunction.org] On Behalf Of Walt_Crawford at notes.rlg.org
Sent: Wednesday, March 30, 2005 7:56 AM
To: Multiple recipients of list
Subject: [WEB4LIB] Re: PDF versus HTML






Re Jennifer's comments:

"1 to 10%" strikes me as considerably different than the reality I see, at
least using Acrobat 7 directly in Word. A 20,000-word Cites & Insights
(that is, about 120K of pure text) becomes a 290K PDF; at that's at worst a
2.5:1 expansion over the pure text. HTML requires overhead as well.

Ditto the "very large amount of space"--in fact, the stories within a
typical C&I, separated out into HTML pieces, take up almost exactly as much
space as the single PDF, thanks to HTML overhead.

As far as "cable modems" are concerned, somehow I don't have any trouble
loading ordinary PDFs on a dial-up modem...

I'm sure there are cases where PDF is enormously larger (for example, if
you're comparing a scanned page in PDF to the same page rekeyed as text),
but for cases where the PDF is being created directly from a document, and
there are no bit-mapped graphics, I'd love to see evidence that even a 10:1
ratio is at all common.

I note one aspect that's not being mentioned: PDF allows typographic
integrity, which HTML does not, particularly because HTML depends on font
availability at the user's computer.

-walt crawford-


                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                       




Dear John,

The practical question is: how much space do you have, and how much time
and effort do you expect your users to go to in order to use these
documents?

If the format of the documents is very important (say, a scholarly paper
or complex annual report in which formatting and layout are important),
PDF is the way to go. If you have a large collection of documents that
require uploading quickly, and you have a very large amount of space
available to you, and are primarily targetting people who have cable
modem or better connections, then PDF can be helpful.

If speed and ease of use, as well as file space issues, are of primary
importants, HTML is the way to go. HTML does not require any plugins in
the browser, it takes up 1-10% of the space that PDFs do, and it is a
lot easier to change and correct. Also, links can be easily inserted in
the document.  In order to replace/change/fix a PDF copy of the
document, you will need to fix the original and re-generate the PDF.

-- Jenne Heise

>Hi,
>
>We have a number of print documents which we wish to make available on
>the web. My boss is very keen on saving these documents as PDF files and
>making them available on the web in this format.
>
>I think it would be better to convert the documents to HTML but am
>finding it difficult to marshal my arguments. Many newspapers eschew PDF
>in favor of HTML; they must have their reasons. Newspapers are
>essentially a print medium and it would seem that PDF is tailor made for
>putting print media on the web.
>
>When should PDF be used and when should HTML be used?
>
>Regards
>John
>
>John Fitzgibbon
>
>Galway Public Library
>Island House
>Cathedral Square
>Galway
>Ireland
>
>p: 00 353 91 562471
>f: 00 353 91 565039
>w: http://www.galwaylibrary.ie
>
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--
/   Jennifer Heise, Helpdesk/Librarian, Email: jahb at lehigh.edu
\ \ Lehigh Library & Technology Services, Phone: (610) 758-3072
  / Fairchild-Martindale Library, 8A Packer Ave, Bethlehem PA 18015

"Comment is free, but facts are on expenses." -- Tom Stoppard