Easy Offline File Conversion, When Web Tools Won't Work

I've written quite a bit about software like Zamzar and Media-Convert, which are free online services for converting or translating files from one format to another (GIF to JPEG, DOC to PDF, and so on).

These tools are great for one-off use, but if you have a large collection of files that need converting, oversized files larger than a few megabytes, or a variety of different files you want batched up together and turned into a single file, the online services won't work for you, at least not very well.

Enter ePrint Professional 5, a $49 tool for Windows that its creator calls "The Ultimate File Converter," and I'm hard-pressed to argue with that slogan.

I'll spare you the techie explanation of how ePrint works and instead focus on what it does for you. After installation, ePrint shows up as a standard printer in Windows, and you can "print" documents or photos to it just like you would any printer. Instead of coming out in hard copy, they show up in the ePrint manager, much like a "print preview" in Word. From here, you can save the printout as a PDF or any number of other formats, from ASCII to AutoCAD.

The coolest feature is that you can do this with multiple files, turning them all into one mega-document, perfect for combining a blend of text and graphics into a single PDF. It also works with files that I've never been able to convert online: I have an old EPS photo that I've never been able to open on my PC. ePrint handled it without trouble.

A free trial version watermarks your converted files. For $49, anyone who faces problems like this on a regular basis will probably want to invest in the full version.