Proof is in the PDF, says GASAA

PDFs can be a mystery, and even a headache, which is why Canon, GASAA and Adobe joined forces to shed some light on the subject.

Following on from last month’s event in Melbourne, Sydney-siders gathered at Canon’s digital showroom this week for The PDF-X Files presentation.
According to Garry Knespal, executive officer of GASAA, PDFs are a topical issue, worth analysing and discussing. “It was a collaborative effort between Canon, ourselves and Adobe to look at workflow and emphasis on colour standards,” he said.

Knespal said that with the increasing interest and commitment to standards-based printing across the industry in Australia, the industry is faced with the challenges of understanding a new set of parameters which define how and what we print.

Pictured: GASAA's Garry Knespal (left) with Michael Stoddart, Adobe (right).

Adobe's Michael Stoddart spoke on standards-compliant PDF from Adobe software and best practices for a successful workflow with PDF/X, with Canon's Will Parker following up from the perspective of digital production press output and how standards-based PDF printing with Adobe software and Canon imagePRESS can help illuminate the way for those needing to handle digital workflows in a world predominantly equipped to handle "plate-centric, four-or-more separated Postscript."

“From the colour settings and workflows of the design world to the job management systems, RIPs and printing engines the journey of a pixel to the page can be very different today,” said Knespal.

“The digital design revolution has effected change at the printed page just as much as on the virtual page, the PDF, web page or mobile device.  There has been a major focus on achieving predictability and consistency in printed results by adopting rigorous and robust standards, but the management, preparation and evaluation of the digital payload of a PDF, or the electronic instance of the document, remains a mystery.”

Knespal added that both Melbourne and Sydney seminars were “well attended and received.”