FESPA Endorses Enfocus Certified PDF Profiles for the Screen and Wide Format Digital Printing Industry.

Enfocus Software, the world leader in PDF workflow tools, in cooperation with FESPA --Federation of European Screen Printers Associations-- will present at FESPA 05 the newly developed FESPA Certified PDF Profiles, specifically modified for the needs of the global screen and wide format printing industry.  The new profiles are FESPA-certified and will be launched and marketed in 26+ countries with the financial support of FESPA.  This innovative drive to globalize the Certified PDF standard is based on cooperative research efforts between Enfocus Software, FESPA and ZSO, the Dutch affiliate membership of FESPA.

According to Michel Caza, FESPA Past-President and Member of the FESPA board of Directors, this announcement underscores the growing international adoption of Enfocus Certified PDF to ensure a reliable, error-free printing process. “Market surveys indicate that over 50% of files delivered for printing contain errors that will create problems in the workflow, impacting deadlines and the print quality,” says Caza.  “This problem is not limited by geography—it impacts printers everywhere in the world.”

ZSO, the Dutch Screen Printing and Sign Association, adopted the use of Enfocus Certified PDF as a file certification standard already in 2004. The successful adoption in the Dutch market, as well as Enfocus Certified PDF’s recognition as an industry standard in the offset printing process, confirmed FESPA’s enthusiastic support. “As the world becomes smaller and we work more globally, standardization is a must. From FESPA’s perspective, Enfocus Certified PDF offers the best solution,” states Caza.

A special FESPA committee consisting of Michel Caza, Christian Duyckaerts, Member of the FESPA Board of Directors & Managing Director from Print and Display Belgium, and Marius Gort, Secretary of ZSO, worked closely with Saskia Desmet, Director of International Sales at Enfocus Software, and the Enfocus support team to develop the new profiles. The resulting FESPA Certified PDF for Screen and Digital Printing from Enfocus was approved by the full FESPA board.  The profiles will be marketed to FESPA associations in 26 European countries, as well as India, and expand to the Ukraine and Baltic region in the near future.  Discussions are underway with ASGA, the Asian counterpart of FESPA, as to how Enfocus Certified PDF will be adopted in the Chinese and Asia-Pacific market.

Saskia Desmet states that FESPA’s commitment to approve and market the Certified PDF standard amongst its global membership, along with ZSO’s cooperative efforts, will improve the quality and reliability of file exchange in the international print industry.  “Certified PDF as a global standard gives all parties involved in the graphic arts chain the absolute guarantee that files respond to defined quality specifications, thus eliminating any uncertainty in file exchange,” says Desmet.

“Extending the Enfocus Certified PDF Profile to FESPA’s members offers tremendous potential for print companies who wish to compete in the global print economy, whether it be screen or digital wide format printing, the graphics arts, or in signage, textile or industrial applications,” concludes Michel Caza. “We would like our FESPA members to profit from what is on the market today and to help them in streamlining the printing process.”

Enfocus Certified PDF technology allows graphic arts professionals to guarantee quality, eliminate ambiguity and communicate precisely at every stage in the PDF workflow process. Certified PDF ensures that a PDF document was preflighted with the appropriate PDF Profile and stores both the preflight report and PDF Profile inside the PDF. If any changes are made, the file re-preflights itself to insure compliance and catch any errors as they happen. A Certified PDF file records all changes made, making it “self-aware” as it moves through the workflow. Different versions of the file can be compared and a roll back to previous versions is available.