Process Control

One of the core missions of the GWG is to develop specifications. These are lists of “what to do” and “what not to do” for PDF documents used in various market segments and for different purposes. Preflight vendors who make PDF quality control software create preflight profiles for their applications to check whether PDF files are compliant or, when possible, to make them compliant.

Mission

But who ensures that these vendors implement the correct rules and that the results you get from different applications are, for all practical purposes, the same?

The goal of the Compliancy Testing subcommittee is to create and maintain test files for the validation of preflight applications. This allows vendors to make sure they implemented everything correctly and serves as a basis for interoperability testing between vendors.

In addition, the subcommittee maintains a list of GWG-compliant preflight and PDF creation applications and ensures that proper application settings are available in the Application Settings download section of the GWG website.

Who we are Our impact

Current activities

Testing products for compliance with Ghent PDF Output Suite 5.

Preparing the release of Ghent PDF Output Suite 6.0.

Chairs

David van Driessche

Executive Director

David is a physicist by education who has spent his career working at the intersection of technology, production workflows, and people. His background...

David van Driessche

at GWG

Executive Director - Ghent Workgroup

David was instrumental in founding the Ghent PDF Workgroup and in its reorganization in 2002. He served as Documentation Officer, Technical Officer and now Executive Director of the group, which consists of close to 50 user organizations and software vendors in the professional publishing space from around the world.

outside GWG

Chief Evangelist - callas software

David is a physicist by education who has spent his career working at the intersection of technology, production workflows, and people. His background spans software development, automation, PDF, and industry standards, with a focus on real-world production challenges. Today, David is Chief Evangelist at callas software, where he works with end users, partners, and OEMs to improve PDF technology and help organizations get the most out of it – by identifying problems, explaining complexity, and moving penguins to more productive places.

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Carl Van Rooy

Chair of the Compliancy Testing subcommittee

Carl Van Rooy is an expert in the print and graphics industry with a focus on workflow optimization and automation. He works for VIGC (Flanders Innova...

Carl Van Rooy

at GWG

Chair of the Compliancy Testing subcommittee - Ghent Workgroup

Carl Van Rooy is an active member of the Ghent Workgroup and co-chairs the Process Control Subcommittee. In this role, he contributes to the development of best practices and testing methodologies that help ensure reliable, predictable PDF workflows across the graphic communications industry.

outside GWG

Senior Innovation Consultant - VIGC (Flanders Innovation & Training Centre)

Carl is an expert in the print and graphics industry with a focus on workflow optimization and automation. He works for VIGC (Flanders Innovation & Training Centre), where he contributes to advancing technology and improving processes in the printing sector. Carl is dedicated to helping businesses adopt innovative solutions that enhance efficiency and productivity.

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Participation

Join the GWG and help shape the future of print and packaging workflows. Collaborate with industry experts, contribute to internationally recognized specifications, and make a lasting impact on the industry.