PDF Update

• The IPA had published—and hundreds of users had downloaded—the free Ultimate PDF/X Guide; and

• The Ghent Workgroup had formed to advocate best business practices for PDF.

As well, the IPA Association of Graphic Solutions Providers this spring hosted a PDF/X-3 proofing device shootout based on the Altona Suite of test files developed by several European trade groups. Eleven vendors tested 19 different proofing systems at the event. Michael Jahn, a prolific PDF proselytizer who recently joined the ranks of Pantone as Hexachrome evangelist, was a judge. He says the shootout "wasn't intended to rate the devices" but rather to provide a venue for a non-biased appraisal of how well the vendors were prepared to exploit the PDF/X specification. (Visit www.ipa.org for more on the shootout.)