New PDF/X workflow specifications released by the Ghent Workgroup include support for new Universal Preflight. The v4 specifications are available for free download from www.gwg.org/GWGversion4.phtml and cover automated workflow efficiency in a range of application and output environments. Specifications support Adobe Acrobat 9, which itself includes Universal Proof of Preflight developed by the Ghent Workgroup. Heading the list of additional enhancements to v4 is a check for missing glyphs, one of the leading causes of preflight and page production frustration. Peter Kleinheider, documentation officer for the GWG and Print Publishing Technologies Manager for Callas Software says the main interest was the reduction of unnecessary restrictions like the use of double byte fonts or to ignore elements completely outside the trimbox. “On the other hand, the check for image resolution or line-width was adopted to reflect today's printing capabilities,” he says. Other highlights of the v4 specification, according to Kleinheider, include: • A response to the growing amount of font problems in pdfs. Now all font-related restrictions introduced by the PDF/A ISO Standard are mandatory. • In response to the increasing use of standardized ICC Profiles, a set of recommended ICC-Profiles to be used for the various printing conditions of the market segments for which the GWG supplies specifications (http://www.gwg.org/colormanagement.phtml).