Global Inkjet Systems (GIS), a leading developer of software, drivers, firmware and electronics for industrial inkjet printheads, is one of the sponsors of the new, free and independent guide “Do PDF/VT RIGHTTM“. Edited by Martin Bailey, CTO of Global Graphics and an expert on the ISO committees that maintain and develop PDF and PDF/VT, the guide clearly explains the “do’s and don’ts” of optimising variable data PDF files for the fastest, most efficient processing by digital front ends.
The impact of poorly constructed PDF files on production schedules has become a significant issue for print service providers as VDP becomes more popular. Statistics show that a delay of half a second on every page of a 10,000-page job running at 120ppm adds 30 minutes to the whole job, while for a job of a million pages at 5,200ppm an extra tenth of a second per page adds 24 hours to the total processing time. This guide provides objective information and advice to anyone with a stake in VDP.
GIS selected the Global Graphics Harlequin Host Renderer in 2012 and integrated it into its software drivers to provide a fast PDF RIP, capable of handling variable data even when the file is not constructed in PDF/VT – a requirement for an increasing number of GIS’ customers in labelling, packaging and book-printing applications.
Nick Geddes, CEO of GIS commented, “PDF is such a universally used format, that it is critical for users to understand the complexities of the software and ensure they use it in the most effective way. We believe the guide will become indispensable for many organisations in the industry, and we’re delighted to be associated with it.”
The main aim of the guide is to promote one simple maxim: don’t ask the workflow to do more than it needs to if there’s no benefit for the designer, marketing department or recipient of the printed piece. This doesn’t mean reducing the freedom of the designer to achieve the visual effects they want – instead the aim is to ensure their design can be encoded into a PDF file as efficiently as possible.
The concise, practical and actionable information in this guide is relevant to anyone involved with variable data print. It is recommended for designers, prepress experts, variable data and other prepress software providers who work with PDF. The free guide is available to download from the Global Inkjet Systems web site.
Other sponsors of the guide include: DirectSmile, PODi, HP Indigo, HP Inkjet High-speed Production Solutions, Screen and Xplor.
