Page 195 - Graphic Design and Print Production Fundamentals

Graphic Design 183
Table 6.5 Evolution of PDF
Data source: Adobe Systems Inc, 2008, p. 4
Preset Compatibility Settings Usage

PDF/X-1a: 2001 Acrobat 4/PDF 1.3 PDF/X-1a ensures that the files
are ready for print
production—fonts are
• Convert RGB colour to embedded, colours must be
CMYK (spot colors allowed)
PDF/X-1a: 2003 Acrobat 5/PDF 1.4 • Transparency flattened CMYK or spot, layers and
transparency are flattened. Note
that there is no minimum
resolution required for PDF/X.
PDF/X-3: 2002 Acrobat 4/PDF 1.3 • Leave RGB and CIELab PDF/X-3 has all the benefits of
color unchanged (profiles PDF/X-1a plus it allows
PDF/X-3: 2003 Acrobat 5/PDF 1.4 allowed) colour-managed workflows.
• Transparency flattened

Has all the benefits of PDF/X-3
plus it allows live (unflattened)
transparency and layers for
versioning. Print workflows
PDF/X-4: 2008 Acrobat 7/PDF 1.6 • Leave RGB and CIELab based on the Adobe PDF Print
colour unchanged (profiles Engine will be able to process
allowed) PDF/X-4 jobs natively, without
• Live (unflattened) flattening artwork or converting
transparency to PostScript.
• Layers allowed
Use PDF/X-4p when a required
ICC profile is unambiguously
PDF/X-4p: 2008 Acrobat 7/PDF 1.6
identified and supplied
separately.

Submitting documents for print using one of these standards is highly recommended as it eliminates
many of the causes of print issues and is a more reliable method for graphics file exchange.

Digital Front End

Digital front end (DFE) describes the combination of hardware and software that drives and manages a
print device. Hardware is often custom built for this specific purpose and may have proprietary video
interfaces that connect directly to the print engine. An operating system serves as the base for the
software components of the DFE and is often Microsoft Windows based or a Linux or Unix variant.
Although the Windows running on a DFE is much the same as its desktop counterpart, Linux- and Unix-
based systems are often custom distributions that are compiled specifically for the DFE.

One of the key components of a DFE is the raster image processor (RIP). The RIP refers to the
software component that interprets the PDL and performs the function of rendering or rasterizing the
complete instructions into an image or raster the print engine will reproduce. The term RIP is often used
interchangeably with DFE. This may have been accurate in the past when a DFE really only performed
the ripping function and little else. Modern DFEs, however, do much more. In fact, a DFE may contain