When in 1993 Adobe Systems introduced the PDF (Portable Document Format) to the world, they probably didn’t even imagine the size of a revolutionary they started. By improving the process of creating, sharing, and accessing digital documents, they made online publishing both easy and efficient on a previously unknown scale. It would be a pity not to take advantage of this opportunity, wouldn’t it?
Is there anyone who remembers sharing documents before PDFs time? The days of floppy disks and dot-matrix printers, when everything was a cumbersome process that involved printing papers out and physically handing them over to someone.
I wonder what Generation Z would say about this process since even to Millennials it sounds so… ancient.
The truth is, thirty years later, PDF remains the most popular format worldwide for publishing almost every type of online document and publication, including digital magazines and e-books. What is new, however, is that along with the development of technology and the appearance of publishing software solutions, PDF has also become the best format for professional monetization of various types of publications.
Why is PDF the best pick
What makes PDF format so significant in document management and sharing today, is the fact that it is used commonly: by individuals, by businesses, by organizations of all sizes, as well as by some of the government agencies and courts that require documents to be submitted in this format. It is used literally everywhere and every time when there is a need to create, share, and archive files.
Such ubiquitousness is led by the number of advantages PDF offers to the digital documents world making it unbeatable in its category:
- PDF is easily accessible and thus universal. Documents can be viewed on any device or operating system without specific software access. A PDF viewer is enough to get anyone to open and read the file.
- If you are surprised because of the fact that PDFs can be used by the government, we hurry with the explanation. This format is perfect for sensitive documents thanks to the security options: password protection, encryption, and digital signatures.
- PDFs brought a new quality to the experience of reading digital files, making them a source of interactivity. Documents can be full of multimedia and include hyperlinks, audio, and video, which brings e-books, presentations, magazines, and training materials to a brand new level of reception.
- When creating PDFs, you don’t need to worry about the quality. They were designed to preserve layout, formatting, and fonts, keeping everything in its original place after downloading or printing.
Having all the above features in mind, do you see why PDF conquered the publishing world? Taking into account these points, with interactivity and quality at the forefront, it couldn’t be different.
PDF’s role in the publishing
The Internet is full of documents which, when we click, are opened in PDF automatically. We don’t even notice it in the heat of searching for the desired information. There are a bunch of units within the publishing industry for which offering publications in this format on their websites is especially profitable:
- digital magazines,
- e-books (along with other types of writing such as essays or university publications),
- comics,
- online product catalogs and brochures.
For people who specialize in those areas, publishing their publications in PDF remains the best choice. Above all, this format allows authors to create digital versions of their printed originals easily and quickly. They can just reuse their existing publication without the need of redesigning or changing it to be published on a digital platform.
What’s more, PDFs are easy to create with the usage of programs such as Microsoft Word. It’s also easy for the other side – not only do publishers have no problems with creating PDFs but readers can browse them conveniently and print them out if needed without any hassles.
But creating a PDF file is one thing. What’s next?
– “I’ve got PDF files but I don’t know where and how to publish them” – that’s the most common problem we’ve heard from the publishers and authors. And we give them the answer.
Our solution for your PDFs
Long story short – after releasing a news app for WordPress websites and blogs, and then a magazine app for digital magazines, we decided to go a step further and create a web store dedicated to PDFs.
What was our main goal?
To create a place allowing for publishing a publication digitally (whether it is free or not) in an easy way that doesn’t require technological knowledge, without any losses on the quality of the publications.
After many years spent in this industry and many hours of conversations with publishers, we already knew perfectly well their needs; people who care about the quality of the content they offer, want to monetize it, and who, running their own companies, have little time to create stores from scratch.
As an answer to all these needs the PressPad Store was created.
What is it exactly?
Let’s imagine the traditional newsstand you meet on your daily path. You come closer and look at the covers of various colorful magazines placed in a row behind the glass. You can choose and buy whatever you want, and if the seller is nice, they will let you read a piece so you don’t have to buy a pig in a poke.
Now, transfer this scene to the virtual world, where you are the seller, and the PressPad Store is a newsstand offering only your magazine issues. The difference is, people from the entire world can bump into your e-kiosk.
But before we get to this stage, it’s good to know a bunch of basic facts about the PressPad Store solution:
- It is a digital publishing platform that allows you to create your own e-kiosk to publish PDF files in one place. You don’t need to have any technological knowledge. The deal is simple – preparing and uploading PDFs are on your side while the store’s technicalities and support are ours.
- The store can either be embedded on your existing blog or website without creating anything new or on a separate store’s page within presspad.store or readmag.online domain.
- The publications you offer can be paid or free. You can also choose between selling single items and auto-renewable subscriptions. With the selling option, there are detailed reports available in your admin panel. You can also connect and set up Google Analytics for your PressPad Store account. In this way, you will get access to detailed analytics, including real-time analytics, for free.
- All your PDFs are protected, so no one can download or share paid content without permission. We do not agree to the theft of content.
- Access to your issues via the PressPad Store is also a treat for your readers:
- They get HD quality which lets them experience your content with flexible zooming and easy navigation with thumbnails. It works on every type of device.
- You can attract them by adding interactivity to your publication: YouTube videos, hyperlinks, links to Soundcloud, Vimeo, and SlideShare.
- If you want, you can publish your archive issues in a library with unlimited storage giving your regular readers 24/7 access to content they may have lost, or missed.
- PressPad Store is based on quick and reliable payment authentication readers who want to buy digital issues can use their existing Google, PayPal or Facebook accounts, to quickly authorize themselves what makes a seamless buying process.
How does it work?
Let’s take a closer look at the process of creating e-kiosk via the PressPad Store step by step.
Each publisher needs to register a PressPad account and upload their publication in PDF format themselves. The control panel is easy to use. However, we’re always happy to help you. Contact us if you need our support on any of the stages with any questions you have.
- Upload your publication as PDFs.
After that, you will be able to see your store in one of the two available domains your_store.presspad.store and/or your_store.readmag.online.
- Set up an online store to be able to see a live preview. It usually takes a few minutes.
- Your free trial starts.
You’ll be able to preview the Store’s functionalities, check how it works, and adjust its design to your needs. During that time, we stay in contact with you to make sure that your store meets your expectations. If you decide to continue with us, we will set up your payment gateway (PayPal or Stripe as per your requirements), and from this point, you’ll be able to collect money for every transaction.
Go to the PressPad Store
If you are a magazine publisher, author, or simply creator of content and you would like to share on the Internet your content conveniently, we encourage you to take a look at our cooperation with various titles. No words can explain what a PressPad Store is about if you don’t experience it for yourself.
Please remember that every kiosk can be customized individually. You can adjust the look of it to your brand identity thanks to changing the color palette or fonts. So, feel like readers and visit the kiosks made for our beloved customers mentioned earlier in the article:
What are your thoughts? Have you had any questions? Is there anything we can help you with? If your answer is yes, please write to us and we will be happy to help you.