A Hybrid Node.js + Java PDF Engine
We've engineered a powerful, dual-engine architecture for creating highly-compliant merchant invoices. Our Node.js API layer handles request processing, data validation, and business logic, while delegating PDF generation to a specialized Java microservice powered by Apache PDFBox 3.0 — the industry-standard library for PDF/A-3b compliance.
Unlike traditional HTML-to-PDF converters that rely on slow, resource-heavy headless browsers (like Puppeteer or Playwright), our Java service programmatically constructs documents from the ground up. This approach gives us unparalleled control over PDF structure, metadata, embedding, and conformance — resulting in perfectly compliant, lightweight, and professional invoices every time.
Why This Architecture?
- ✓ True PDF/A-3b Compliance: Apache PDFBox ensures proper XMP metadata, ICC profiles, and ZUGFeRD XML embedding
- ✓ High Performance: No browser overhead — Java service generates PDFs in milliseconds
- ✓ Scalability: Stateless Java microservice can be containerized and scaled independently
- ✓ Precision Control: Programmatic rendering means pixel-perfect layouts, not "close enough" HTML conversions
Unmatched Compliance & Quality
The result is a "hybrid" invoice that's both human-readable and machine-parseable, meeting the highest standards for e-invoicing and long-term archiving.
The Anatomy of a Compliant Merchant Invoice:
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PDF/A-3b Compliant: For long-term electronic archiving (ISO 19005-3).
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ZUGFeRD 2.4 Embedded: Contains a machine-readable XML invoice for automated processing.
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Branded & Professional: Includes your branding and store details automatically.