The Ghent Workgroup Releases Its Updated GWG2012 Specification

Using RIP technology for output that renders such PDFs do not perform flattening at any stage. Thus, visual artifacts, such as thin white lines or outlined text as known from flattened files, are history.

This kind of workflow change brings new problems and functionality that need to be addressed such as checking of transparency blend color spaces, hence the importance of a new reliable set of preflight checks and best practice guidelines that users can turn to when making such a change in their workflow.

In addition to new requirements, the preflight checks within the specification have also been updated with specific new checks for different industry segments. As an example, the newspaper industry asked the group for a check for single image pages, and improved checks for image resolution to better handle the many ads they receive as PDF files. Other improvements include more detailed checking on small black or white objects, such as text and lines, in-depth ink coverage checking, and more.

Early Adopters
Implementations of the specification by companies such as Enfocus, Adobe and callas have already been released, and are available in the latest versions of Adobe Acrobat XI Pro, Enfocus PitStop Pro and PitStop Server, callas pdfToolbox and callas pdfToolbox Server.

Andrew Bailes-Collins, senior product manager, Enfocus says, “These specifications are a great resource for people interested in moving from PDF/X-1a based workflows to PDF/X-4, to reap the benefits. The GWG has done all of the hard work; it’s up to the market now to embrace these standards and put them into practice.”