Another PDF to XPS converter

Well, now that PDF and XPS are becoming alternative formats, there is going to be great demand for tools to convert one format to the other. People who have selected XPS, a newer format, are going to be demanding a tool for converting PDF to XPS given the large number of PDF documents are already available.
Well, here is the promise of another tool for that purpose, called PDFTron PDF2XPS (link).

What is XPS?

"XPS" stands for "XML Paper Specification" and is a new document format as well as the native print spooler format in Microsoft's Windows Vista™. The XPS document format consists of XML markup that defines the layout of a document and the visual appearance of each page along with rendering rules for distributing, archiving, rendering, processing and printing the documents. Just like PDF, the XPS document format enables users to view, print, and archive any type of documents without the original program that created them and without loss of fidelity.

Key Features of PDF2XPS:

* Fast, high-quality conversion from PDF (Portable Document Format) to XPS (XML Paper Specification) that maintains the original document quality and layout and preserves hyperlinks, colors and fonts.
o Font support: Type1, TrueType, Type3 and Type0/CID Fonts, font subsetting on all supported PDF font types.
o Color: ICC, DeviceN, Separation, RGB, CMYK, Indexed, etc.
o Support for encrypted PDF documents (40 and 128 bit RC4, 128 bit AES, Crypt filters).
o Support for all kinds of patterns, functions, and compression schemes.
o Support for all annotation types.
o Support for soft, explicit, and color-key masks.
* The conversion preserves image and data compression resulting in small and efficient XPS documents while fully maintaining the original image quality.
* The conversion process preserves the original document's meta-data as well as other non-graphical information such as bookmark outline, logical structure, and articles to produce XPS documents that directly map to their PDF equivalents.
* Forms, annotations and other PDF structures without XPS equivalents can be optionally exported as private namespace XML elements for further manipulation and processing by XPS consumers.
* Thumbnail generation option for fast navigation through multi-page documents.
* Automatic repair of broken PDF documents.
* Support for all versions of the PDF Language Standard, including PDF 1.7 and Acrobat 8 documents.

Interested in converting PDF to XPS

There is a tussle going on between Adobe and Microsoft about their respective formats, PDF and XPS respectively for final document formats that can be published and made available to large sections of users. A bit of background on why this is needed ?

What is PDF?
PDF stands for Portable Document Format. As the name implies, it is a data format that can be used to describe documents. Adobe, the developers of PDF, market software to create, edit and visualize PDF files. Because the specifications of the file format are publicly available, a lot of other companies develop software for PDF as well. In prepress, PDF is used more and more as a format to exchange data between applications.
Adobe Systems invented PDF technology in the early 1990s to smooth the process of moving text and graphics from publishers to printing-presses. At the time, expectations were modest, but no longer. PDF turned out to be the very essence of paper, brought to life in a computer. In creating PDF, Adobe had almost unwittingly invented nothing less than a bridge between the paper and computer worlds. Adobe's business -- and yours -- will never be the same again.

XML Paper Specification (XPS)
The XML Paper Specification (XPS) makes modern documents possible for all. Simply put, XPS describes electronic paper in a way that can be read by hardware, read by software, and read by humans. With XPS, documents print better, can be shared easier, be archived with confidence, and are more secure.
Microsoft has integrated XPS-based technologies into the 2007 Microsoft Office system and the Microsoft Windows Vista operating system, but XPS itself is platform independent, openly published, and available royalty-free. Microsoft is using XPS to bring additional document value to its customers, its partners, and the computing industry.

What can this particular converter, PDF to Vector Converter do (refer link) ?

PDF to XPS Converter (PDF2XPS) can be used to batch convert from Acrobat PDF files to other scalable vector graphics formats, such as EMF, WMF, SVG, Postscript (PS), EPS, SWF (Flash), XPS, HPGL, PCL etc. The software can be run using the handy interface or in batch mode to convert large volumes of PDF files in real-time. PDF to Vector Converter is available via an easily integrated COM object (or DLL Library, or Command Line), enabling developers to access the converter via any programming or scripting languages, such as Visual Basic, C/C++, Delphi, ASP, PHP, C#, .NET, etc. Using the COM object (or DLL Library, or Command Line), file conversions can be done consecutively or simultaneously.