PDF Profiles for Better Screen Print Workflows

Enfocus Software has developed certified PDF Profiles specifically for screen and wide format printing.

Enfocus Software has developed certified PDF Profiles specifically for screen and wide format printing.

The PDF Profiles were created and tested by a working group of members of the Dutch Screen Printing and Sign Association ZSO, supported by Enfocus Software and FESPA.

Enfocus reported that the file certification standards received an enthusiastic response at the recent SGIA Imaging Symposium held in Brussels and at the September general assembly of the Federation of European Screen Printers Associations (FESPA) in Stockholm.

Certified PDF is a technology developed by Enfocus Software that guarantees that a PDF file fully complies with a set of technical requirements.

The technical requirements are defined in an Enfocus PDF Profile and cover a wide series of elements such as images resolution, colour space, fonts, text size and printer marks.

Over the last few years, several industry associations have developed such quality specifications for their respective industries.

The best-known are the PDF specifications developed by the Ghent PDF Workgroup.

They are utilised for offset and web printing, packaging and for advertisement delivery to magazines and newspapers.

Certified PDF gives all parties involved in the graphic arts chain the guarantee that files respond to these quality specifications, thus eliminating any uncertainty in file exchange said Enfocus.

The developments attracted the interest of screen and large format digital printers, who also wanted to benefit from the efficiency and time savings offered by certified PDF technology.

However, the PDF specifications developed by the Ghent PDF Workgroup were not fully suited for screen printers and wide format digital printers, due to differing technical requirements (formats, DPI, and other technical issues).

Therefore ZSO, in consultation with Enfocus Software and FESPA took the initiative to develop PDF Profiles specifically targeted at those market segments.

The result has been three PDF Profiles that are fully suited for these print processes claimed Enfocus.

The new PDF profiles include Screen Print CMYK 1v1 for full colour screen printing.

The second profile is Screen Print Spot_1v1 for full colour screen printing using spot colour, whilst WF-Digital Print CMYK1v1 is for full colour large format digital printing.

As a result of the developments screen and wide format printers can now use to the fullest extend the Enfocus product range said the company.

Marius Gort, secretary of ZSO, the Dutch Screen and Sign Association, explained why the new profiles based on Enfocus' Certified PDF technology were chosen.

"We were impressed with the PDF standardisation that was achieved in the traditional graphic arts market segments, such as offset and newspaper printing," he remarked.

"However, in the screen and digital print market, the PDF file format is still not as widely accepted as in the other sectors.

We felt that we have a role to play in the interest of our members.

Certified PDF has demonstrated substantial benefits in reduced production time and cost for those who generate as well as receive files.

PDF Profiles enable a smoother communication process between printer and print buyer," he added.

Wim Herbold from Point7, chairman of the ZSO Working group, was one of the Dutch ZSO members who intensively tested the new PDF Profiles in daily production "In every industry there are hard price negotiations.

This is no different in our market segment.

If a file is delivered full of problems, precious time is lost in getting it corrected.

The printer ultimately pays for the time lost in production time and still needs to adhere to tight deadlines.

By using Certified PDF profiles, the print buyers and advertising agencies know exactly how to create correct files ready for output.

These new PDF Profiles are definitely a big achievement and will enormously streamline our communication process," he said.

David van Driessche, the chief executive officer of Enfocus, views the new certified PDF Profiles as a clear indication of Enfocus's commitment to serving a broader spectrum of the graphic arts domain.

He welcomed the opportunity to work with industry associations to develop the new profiles.

"We immediately supported the initiative from the associations and worked together to develop new profiles tailored to their needs.

Having successfully implemented certified PDF workflow procedures in the traditional graphic arts sector, we will now broaden our focus by also servicing specialised markets.

Screen printers and digital wide format printers have a need to establish more streamlined workflow procedures that will save production time and ultimately be more cost effective.

They will certainly benefit from maintaining a flawless workflow, as did offset printers," said van Driessche.

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