PDF/VT - A presentation from Crawford Technologies Inc - http://www.crawfordtech.com/

1. PDF/VT A presentation fromCrawford Technologies Inc. www.crawfordtech.com Follow, Like and Join us at about.me/CrawfordTechInc

2. What is PDF/VT? An ISO standard - ISO 16612-2 Provides Variable Data Printing Competing with VIPP, PPML and AFP Plugs the ‘variable data gap’ present in native PDF files

3. PDF/VT PDF/VT-1 for a complete single file exchange. PDF/VT-1 requires all resources necessary for proper interpretation of the PDF data. PDF/VT-2 for multi-file exchange. PDF/VT-2 permits references to external ICC profile and PDF/X. PDF/VT-2s for streamed delivery. A PDF/VT-2s stream is a MIME package that contains a sequence of one or more PDF/VT files and supporting resources.

4. What is the problem? Designers are under increasing pressure to find new ways to promote their customers Pushing the limits of creative software Personalizing content WYSIWYP – What You See Is What You Print

5. What is the problem? Print service providers need to adapt to these new technologies and advancements Currently convert PDF to another format before printing PDF doesn’t offer variable data natively

6. Why do these issues exist? Disparate progression has led to fragmentation Line printer to laser printer technology Form overlays to replace pre-printed forms Multiple fonts Graphical elements Full colour laser printing Deployment of AFP architecture Use of PDF for printing workflows/online viewing and PDF/A for archiving.

7. Fragmented marketplace Print on demand Direct mail Personalised documentation Transpromo Promotional printing Full-colour one-to-one Marketing

8. Shifting the landscape

10. Geared towards high-speed output

11. Bi-directional communication, error notification, resource management

12. Tray pull information, duplex etc.Graphical complexity Transparency, ICC profiles, layers Low-volume or desktop output

14. Transparency, ICC profiles, layers

15. Graphical complexityBi-directional communication, error notification Tray pull information, duplex etc. High-volume variable output Geared towards high-speed output

16. Why Does PDF/A Matter for Transactional Customer Communication Documents? PDF/A is the standard for transactional document storage for customer service and compliance purposes Conformance levels are not well understood – accurate rendering is the key concern Text re-flow and accurate text extraction should be considered for mobile use and workflow needs Contains tagging and metadata necessary for document accessibility

17. PDF/VT adds to these positives Native PDF processing Allows for very late changes Switching between presses Switching between digital and offset Mixed jobs that start digital and then move to offset Direct output of transparency Less potential for banding, sharp edges on drop shadows Flexibility For high or low volumes Transactional or graphical output

18. Challenges for PDF/VT Still a long way to go The competition, notably AFP, has been established for over 20 years PDF/VT still to be fully defined Once in PDF/VT format, you have to print to ‘realise’ the output You can ‘proof’ using a PDF reader Supported printers are very specific The competition (AFP for example) allows for output to virtually any device or format, including PDF and PDF/A

19. PDF/VT and PDF/A

20. Conclusion PDF/VT solves some problems Avoiding the RIP to PostScript Late changes Flexibility to work with mixed volumes PDF, PDF/A and PDF/VT Will work in parallel development for some time before PDF/VT can emerge fully formed The return on investment is not high enough yet for organisations to throw out existing infrastructure

21. Conclusion PDF/VT does offer many benefits One-time rendering and caching Graphical complexity Practical for lower-volume runs If other current shortcomings, and the relation to PDF/A for compliant archiving, can be solved, PDF/VT will be a format to consider for many.

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