2. Problem
• You can have all this fancy, shiny,
good looking PDF’s & PDF-
standards
• But what does it help if they’re not
rendered properly by your
workflow-system or RIP
3. Goal
• Need for a easy to use, vendor
independent set of files (test
patches) to check PDF-workflows
and RIP’s
4. A historical overview
• 2001: Global Graphics PDF/X
overprint patch
− Nice , but limited
− Only covers certain types of overprint
− Delivered as an EPS to be placed in a
layout application and then exported
as PDF/X-file
5. A historical overview
• 2002-2004: Altona Test Suite
(Technical page)
− The other side of the coin…
− Interpretation most of the times up to
vendors to figure out the result
• Beyond knowledge and capacity of most regular
users
6. A historical overview
• 2006: Ghent Output Suite
− What if we take best of both worlds
• Nice, real live situations -> e.g. cases that can
be created with regular layout and PDF creation
tools
• Combined into tiny, ‘little’ test patches that can
be used to test almost any kind of workflow
step or output form: page layout, page
assembly (imposition), RIP’ping for proofing,
platemaking, digital printing,
Gravure!
• Result, Ghent Output Suite v1,
dd. Feb. 2006
7. The Ghent Output Suite (v3)
• Areas that are covered
− Overprinting
− Fonts
− Font substitution
− Gradients
− PDF/X Output Intents
− DeviceN colors
− Spot to CMYK conversions
− Default CMYK color spaces
− White knockout / overprinting
− Rendering Intents (CM)
8. The Ghent Output Suite (v3)
• Patches - basics
− One file per issue
− Always visual comparison
− Created with real live layout tools and
PDF software
− Important: PDF/X-compliancy
• No shiny fancy tricks or new features
• All regular PDF/X-3 and PDF/X-1a content
(overprint, fonts, gradients, DeviceN)
9. The Ghent Output Suite (v3)
• Patches - Interpretation
− The “X” approach
Visual comparison with reference
image (rendered object)
