Ghent Output Suite

Introduction

An Easy Way to Test your PDF Workflow

The Ghent Output Suite was created for users who process PDF files in the graphic arts industry, as an aid to determine whether their workflows are behaving as expected. We believe these patches can be used by end users of graphic arts equipment as well as developers of applications that handle PDF files.

Use the Patches Together

The suite is distributed as a series of PDF patches. Each patch is numbered and contains several related tests. The patches can be used on their own but the intention of the suite is that the patches be grouped together (as PDF files would normally be grouped together within a workflow). The reason for this is that it is likely that some problems will only appear when certain patches are processed together. It is also likely that application settings and RIP settings can have a significant effect on the results.

All the issues tested by these patches are real world issues that can be found in a production environment; however, these patches do not reflect normal production files and the results may in some cases appear extreme. They have been carefully constructed to allow effects that are normally subtle, to be seen clearly and unambiguously, and this should be taken into account when evaluating the results of any tests based on these patches. On a technical note, all patches conform to either the PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 ISO standard; they do not always conform to the Ghent PDF Workgroup specifications.

Be on the Watch for New Patches and Updates
It is likely that this suite will be updated, new patches will be added, and existing patches will be revised. For this reason the documentation for each individual patch is distributed along with the patch. The most recent version of the patches and documentation will always be downloadable from this page.

Download

Version 3.0

In version 3.0 we have made some minor adjustments to some of the existing patches and documentation in order to make them clearer and easier to understand. We have also introduced four new patches.

Since we have changed so much, we have removed the older versions from the site and included the entire updated suite in this download.

• Read the main documentation (download, pdf)
• Download all patches and detailed documentation (download, zip)