GWG PDF certification for Agfa's Apogee prepress workflow includes the developer's integrated preflighting software.

The Ghent Workgroup certification includes the already-certified Enfocus PitStop preflighting software integrated in Apogee and adds Agfa's own preflighting engine.

Workflow systems marketing manager Erik Peeters says the systems process more than a million PDF pages daily: "Making sure that potential issues are detected early in the process is essential, so preflight has always been a key component of our workflow solutions."

The GWG2015 prefight certification is a validation of the prepress quality control specification developed by the GWG. It contains 14 different 'variants' aimed at different print market segments and output methods, all based on the ISO PDF/X-4 standard, but with additional conditions and restrictions relevant to each segment. The variants cover the majority of common print applications and include web CMYK and/or spot colour, magazine and newspaper advertisements.

Because the certification is based on the PDF/X-4 standard, it also includes variants which include the use of RGB colors within artwork files as well as 'live' transparency to support the most sophisticated and up-to-date graphic arts workflows.

A test suite comprises 260 test files that cover aspects such as correct detection of minimum image resolution, use of correct colour spaces, white and grey overprint settings, ink coverage and spot colour usage and naming. File content that does not meet the necessary conditions is flagged with an error message or a warning.

VIGC senior innovation advisor Didier Haazen says the preflight certification does not only check 'bad' cases where errors or warnings should be flagged, but adds positive vetting of 'good' examples where no messages should be presented. "The test set is the result of years of expertise and real-world experience. The use of so many test files allows for thorough checking against the GWG2015 preflight requirements."