Specifications

The Specification subcommittee remains the heart of “rule development” for the GWG. It is responsible for developing, reviewing, and maintaining the technical specifications and best practices that form the foundation of the GWG's standards. By working closely with industry experts and other subcommittees, it ensures that the specifications stay practical, relevant, and aligned with the evolving needs of the graphic arts and print industry. Continuous refinement of these rules helps promote consistency, interoperability, and reliable production workflows across the industry.

Mission

When the GWG was formed, it was to address the issue of PDF file verification. Specifically, printer and publisher associations in different countries needed a consistent set of rules to be followed by PDF documents used for printing advertisements and various commercial print jobs. This international discussion led to different sets of rules for different market segments and ultimately, to the founding of the international non-profit organization that the GWG is today.

The Specification subcommittee is still the heart of “rule development” for the GWG. It is a highly technical subcommittee that identifies which requirements the markets have or are developing, and updates the GWG specifications to match those requirements. Sometimes new specifications are developed directly in the subcommittee; other times different subcommittees develop initial ideas, after which the Specification subcommittee helps streamlining those into “real” specifications.

Who we are Our impact

Current activities

While the activities of the Specification subcommittee change over time, these are some of the topics we work on:

Updates to the existing GWG 2022 specifications.

Making preflight information more accessible for end-users.

Preparation work for a future version of the specifications based on PDF/X-6 and PDF 2.0.

Discussions and specification work around “Intent preflight” – this uses job metadata (such as number of pages, dimensions, expected separations, etc.) to preflight the PDF on top of any technical preflight.

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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Loïc Algon

Co-chair of the Specifications subcommittee

Loïc Aigon is Product Manager for PitStop at Enfocus, where he helps drive the development of one of the printing industry's leading PDF quality contr...

Loïc Algon

at GWG

Co-chair of the Specifications subcommittee - Ghent Workgroup

Loïc Aigon serves as Co-Chair of the Specifications Subcommittee within the Ghent Workgroup, contributing to the development and maintenance of the organization’s PDF specifications and application settings. Through his technical expertise, he helps ensure that GWG specifications remain practical, reliable, and aligned with the evolving needs of the graphic communications industry.

outside GWG

Senior Product Manager - Enfocus PitStop Line - Enfocus Software

Loïc Aigon is Product Manager for PitStop at Enfocus, where he helps drive the development of one of the printing industry’s leading PDF quality control and preflight solutions. With extensive expertise in PDF workflows, print production, and process automation, Loïc works closely with customers and industry partners to deliver practical solutions that improve efficiency, quality, and consistency across the production chain. A frequent speaker, trainer, and contributor to industry initiatives, he is passionate about sharing knowledge and advancing best practices throughout the graphic arts community.

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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.