qvPDF

qvPDF is a simple-to-use software application that lets you turn any printable documents into a PDF file. It comes loaded with a lot of options and configuration settings, along with plugin support for FTP and SMTP, among others.

The installation procedure doesn't take a long time, and the one notable aspect about is that it qvPDF needs to set up a printer driver in order to work properly, in addition to GhostScript. From this point on, it can be accessed from any application that supports the "Print" feature.

The configuration panel is brought up on thee screen immediately after installation. It has a clear-cut structure that lets you tinker with general settings regarding the setup language, driver INF file path, printer driver name, and driver configuration file.

The available plugins are a debugger, FTP, GUI, Hylafax, MAPI, SaveTo, Script, ShellOpen and SMTP. They can be re-registered with one click. The software program is also capable of logging its activity to file which you may consult for any errors.

It's possible to select the process priority, set commands to execute before using GhostScript and after PDF creation, specify the document title, print PostScript files, apply an image watermark, append files to the PDF documents, rotate pages, edit metadata and layout details (e.g. page mode after full screen, hide toolbar, center document window), encrypt the file with a password using the 40-bit or 128-bit security algorithm and manage user permissions, or merge and split files.

Moreover, you can establish the default plugin, write the server, login, connection and transfer details for the FTP, write messages and indicate mail settings to send via MAPI or SMTP, load scripts from external files, show the "Save As..." to be able to specify the PDF saving directory and file name for each task and schedule a program to launch afterward, as well as manage GhostScript profiles.

We haven't come across any stability issues in our tests, thanks to the fact that the utility didn't hang, crash or display error dialogs. Its impact on computer performance was minimal, since it needed low CPU and memory to work properly.

On the other hand, qvPDF features some advanced settings that are not geared toward users less experienced with PDF printing tools. We must also keep in mind that it hasn't been updated for a while. Nevertheless, qvPDF has some powerful options up its sleeve, especially when considering that it's free.