Java PDF engines and licensing

[Richard Watson]

I'm looking at how to generate PDF's. I see PDFjet and iText can now both run on GAE. PDFjet's license is $295 per user, iText is a woolly it's-a-secret cash extraction setup.  I'd rather lean towards the former rather than pay someone who won't put their prices on their site.

http://pdfjet.com/java/buy.html 

http://itextpdf.com/terms-of-use/

Any experiences with either/both, or alternatives?

[Drake]

If only there was an API for that in AppEngine… Something for Conversion of PDF… What would they call that?

 

Makes you think maybe they didn’t price the tool correctly.

 

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[Richard Watson]

I mailed iText about pricing and got the general price list. It's "are you out of your fricken mind with these prices", basically.  I'll default to PDFjet unless I hear from others about alternatives.

[Drake]

Have you considered building an API to a Python PDF generator?  http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pisa/3.0.27 should work on AppEngine.

You can even have a version in your App that is python if you want to share quota.

 

 

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[Richard Watson]

I've toyed with a couple ideas, but I'd rather pay $300 once-off and reuse much of the code I already have.  Someone should build an invoicing app on GAE, expose via an api, get a callback with your newly generated PDF, pay X money per PDF or month.

[Drake]

How many are you going to run? How much do you want to pay?

 

$300 once indicates I can’t make enough off of you to make it worth while… Do you have 1000 friends?

 

 

From: google-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:google-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Watson
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 1:21 AM
To: google-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [google-appengine] Java PDF engines and licensing

 

I've toyed with a couple ideas, but I'd rather pay $300 once-off and reuse much of the code I already have.  Someone should build an invoicing app on GAE, expose via an api, get a callback with your newly generated PDF, pay X money per PDF or month.

On Friday, August 31, 2012 10:17:58 AM UTC+2, Brandon Wirtz wrote:

Have you considered building an API to a Python PDF generator?  http://pypi.python.org/pypi/pisa/3.0.27 should work on AppEngine.

You can even have a version in your App that is python if you want to share quota.

 

 

From: google-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:google-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Watson
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 1:04 AM
To: google-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [google-appengine] Java PDF engines and licensing

 

I mailed iText about pricing and got the general price list. It's "are you out of your fricken mind with these prices", basically.  I'll default to PDFjet unless I hear from others about alternatives.

On Friday, August 31, 2012 9:30:59 AM UTC+2, Brandon Wirtz wrote:

If only there was an API for that in AppEngine… Something for Conversion of PDF… What would they call that?

 

Makes you think maybe they didn’t price the tool correctly.

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[Richard Watson]

The suggestion isn't aimed at someone with a $2m hole in their pocket, it's aimed at a person who has skills but is looking for a business idea.

$300 is an upfront payment, but a SaaS setup could charge for volume and high-volume customers would pay much more than $300.  I wouldn't mind being the 1st port of call for developers looking to send invoices out on app engine, just I'm a touch busy right now.

[Drake]

Sorry, it’s late and I’m a little loopy…

 

I would set it up on the weekend and just say “here pay as you go, tell your friends” if I thought it was going to make $1,000 over the next year. I can’t quite justify it at $300. 

 

Hopefully the link I provided will inspire some young kid on the list to set something up for you.

 

 

From: google-a...@googlegroups.com [mailto:google-a...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf Of Richard Watson
Sent: Friday, August 31, 2012 1:34 AM
To: google-a...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [google-appengine] Java PDF engines and licensing

 

The suggestion isn't aimed at someone with a $2m hole in their pocket, it's aimed at a person who has skills but is looking for a business idea.

[Richard Watson]

No worries, simpler for me to just use a java lib and reduce external dependencies.  Still keen to hear what others have done.

[Richard Watson]

That looks awesome. Templates, and rational pricing.  I'll definitely try it out.

On Friday, August 31, 2012 2:26:22 PM UTC+2, hugues2 wrote:

Hi,

I am using docmosis (www.docmosis.com) which can generate .pdf and .doc documents. It is an external dependency but their customer service has been great so far.

Hugues

[Joakim]

Them using document-files as templates got me thinking, it doesn't seem all that hard to automate Google Docs to make a copy of a designated document and replace some strings. At that point you can download the new Google Doc in nine different formats (e.g. PDF, JPEG and PNG) to a blob and you're home free.
References:
Documents API: https://developers.google.com/google-apps/documents-list/
Apps Script: https://developers.google.com/apps-script/

[Richard Watson]

Definitely possible. If anyone tries it, please post.  I'm going to have a go with Docmosis just so I can tick the issue off for now.

[Richard Watson]

Hi Hugues,

Thanks much, but I got it running yesterday already.  I haven't uploaded images (was that tricky?) so I'll shout if I need any help with that, but so far I have it creating PDF's and storing them in my blobstore, serving them, all happy.

It's a great solution.  The core benefit is their template-like language work to handle the intricacies of flow control and output inside the document. They've figured out things I haven't begun to worry about yet, and pricing means I just saved a bunch of time and cost not having to do so.  The templating aspect means I can offer users multiple document styles sooner. So I'll happily swallow the external dependency issue for now.

Good find, thanks!

Richard

On Saturday, September 1, 2012 8:35:11 PM UTC+2, hugues2 wrote:

Hi Richard,

If it can help, I can provide you with the code samples I used to integrate with Docmosis. I am using GAE/Java.

I managed to interface through their JSON interface. The type of services I use are :

--> Render templates (that is, the standard service they offer)

--> Upload and delete images

Just let me know if I can be of any help,

Hugues