ISO/DIS 15930-2

Graphic technology -- Prepress digital data exchange -- Use of PDF

Technologie graphique -- Échange de données numériques de préimpression -- Emploi de PDF

Standards Content (sample)

DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO/DIS 15930-2
ISO/TC 130 Secretariat: DIN
Voting begins on Voting terminates on
2002-12-05 2003-05-05

INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION • МЕЖДУНАРОДНАЯ ОРГАНИЗАЦИЯ ПО СТАНДАРТИЗАЦИИ • ORGANISATION INTERNATIONALE DE NORMALISATION

Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange —
Use of PDF —
Part 2:
Partial exchange of printing data (PDF/X-2)

Technologie graphique — Échange de données numériques de préimpression — Emploi de PDF —

Partie 2: Échange partiel de données d'impression (PDF/X-2)
ICS 35.240.30; 37.100.99

In accordance with the provisions of Council Resolution 15/1993 this document is circulated

in the English language only.

Conformément aux dispositions de la Résolution du Conseil 15/1993, ce document est

distribué en version anglaise seulement.

To expedite distribution, this document is circulated as received from the committee

secretariat. ISO Central Secretariat work of editing and text composition will be undertaken at

publication stage.

Pour accélérer la distribution, le présent document est distribué tel qu'il est parvenu du

secrétariat du comité. Le travail de rédaction et de composition de texte sera effectué au

Secrétariat central de l'ISO au stade de publication.

THIS DOCUMENT IS A DRAFT CIRCULATED FOR COMMENT AND APPROVAL. IT IS THEREFORE SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND MAY NOT BE REFERRED TO

AS AN INTERNATIONAL STANDARD UNTIL PUBLISHED AS SUCH.

IN ADDITION TO THEIR EVALUATION AS BEING ACCEPTABLE FOR INDUSTRIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, COMMERCIAL AND USER PURPOSES, DRAFT

INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS MAY ON OCCASION HAVE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THE LIGHT OF THEIR POTENTIAL TO BECOME STANDARDS TO WHICH

REFERENCE MAY BE MADE IN NATIONAL REGULATIONS.
© International Organization for Standardization, 2002
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ISO/DIS 15930-2
Contents Page

Foreword............................................................................................................................................................ iii

Introduction ........................................................................................................................................................ iv

1 Scope ..................................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Normative references ........................................................................................................................... 1

3 Terms and definitions........................................................................................................................... 1

4 Symbols and notations ........................................................................................................................ 4

5 Conformance......................................................................................................................................... 4

6 Technical requirements........................................................................................................................ 5

Annex A (Informative) PDF feature summary................................................................................................... 8

Bibliography ..................................................................................................................................................... 10

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ISO/DIS 15930-2
Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies

(ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO

technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been

established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and

non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

International Standards are drafted in accordance with the rules given in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.

The main task of technical committees is to prepare International Standards and related documents Draft

International Standards adopted by the technical committees are circulated to the member bodies for voting.

Publication as an International Standard requires a two-thirds majority vote of the P-members voting of the

technical committee or subcommittee.

ISO 15930-2 was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 130, Graphic technology, with the support of ANSI

Committee for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards (CGATS).

Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this part of ISO 15930 may be the subject of

patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

ISO 15930 consists of the following parts, under the general title Graphic technology — Prepress digital data

exchange — Use of PDF —
Part 1: Complete exchange using CMYK and spot colour data (PDF/X-1a)
Part 2: Partial exchange of printing data (PDF/X-2)
Part 3: Complete exchange suitable for colour-managed workflows (PDF/X-3)
Annex A of this part of ISO 15930 is for information only.
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ISO/DIS 15930-2
Introduction

ISO 15930 defines methods for the exchange of digital data within the graphic arts industry and for the exchange

of files between graphic arts establishments. It is a multi-part document where each part is intended to respond

to different workflow requirements. These workflows differ in the degree of flexibility required. However,

increasing flexibility can lead to the possibility of uncertainty or error. The goal throughout the various parts of

ISO 15930 has been to maintain the degree of flexibility required while minimising the uncertainty.

Many printed documents are assemblies of partial pages and/or pages created at different locations and by

different organizations. The merging of these individual elements into the final printing form and the subsequent

printing may take place at different locations. Some of these elements may also be routed to multiple sites for

incorporation into other documents. Each of these elements is referred to in ISO 15930 as a compound entity.

A variety of data formats and structures are used for the creation of this type of material, but with two prevalent

kinds of underlying data structures. These are vector-based data for the encoding of line art and textual

information; and raster-based data for the encoding of image information, including previously rasterized line art

and textual information. Both kinds of data structures are required along with page description information in an

open electronic workflow. The exchange of raster-based data using the TIFF/IT file format is defined in ISO

12639. The subject of ISO 15930 is a format for the exchange of object-based data where individual objects

may be in either vector or raster data structures.

This part of ISO 15930 complements the other parts by defining a data format and its usage to permit the

predictable dissemination of a compound entity to one or more locations, as colour-managed data, CMYK data ,

and/or spot colour data, by transfer of a file with some elements not included but with provision for unique

identification. An exchange identified by this part of ISO 15930 may require communication between sender and

receiver to select the mechanism by which elements not included may be identified.

These goals are accomplished by defining a specific use of the publicly available Adobe Portable Document

Format version 1.4. In order to achieve a level of exchange that avoids any ambiguity in interpretation of the file,

it identifies a limited set of PDF objects that may be used and adds restrictions to the use, or form of use, of

those objects, and/or keys within those objects.

While this part of ISO 15930 defines a data format and its usage to permit the predictable dissemination of a

compound entity to one or more locations where some or all of the elements may be more logically present at

the receiving site, or may be exchanged at a different time, there are occasions where this is not appropriate.

Parts 1 and 3 of ISO 15930 specify the exchange of complete material, with all elements present.

It is anticipated that a variety of products will be developed around PDF/X, such as readers (including viewers)

and writers of PDF/X files, and products that offer combinations of these features. Different products will

incorporate various capabilities to prepare, interpret and process conforming files based on the application

needs as perceived by the suppliers of the products. However, it is important to note that a conforming reader

must be able to read and appropriately process all files conforming to a specified conformance level.

An ongoing series of Application Notes [1] is maintained for the guidance of developers and users of the ISO

PDF/X family of International Standards. They are available from NPES The Association for Suppliers of

Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies in the standards section at
http://www.npes.org/standards/workroom.html.
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ISO/DIS 15930-2
Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange —
Use of PDF —
Part 2:
Partial exchange of printing data (PDF/X-2)
1 Scope

This part of ISO 15930 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF) for the dissemination of digital

data, where all elements necessary for final print reproduction are either included or provision is made for unique

identification. Colour-managed, CMYK, and spot colour data are supported in any combination.

2 Normative references

The following normative documents contain provisions which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions

of this part of 15930. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or revisions of, any of these

publications do not apply. However, parties to agreements based on this part of ISO 15930 are encouraged to

investigate the possibility of applying the most recent editions of the normative documents indicated below. For

undated references, the latest editions of the normative document referred to applies. Members of IEC and ISO

maintain registers of currently valid International Standards.

ISO 15930-1:2001 Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange — Use of PDF — Part 1: Complete

exchange using CMYK data (PDF/X-1 and PDF/X-1a)

ISO 15930-1:2003 Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange — Use of PDF — Part 1: Complete

exchange using CMYK data (PDF/X-1a)

ISO 15930-3:2002 Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange — Use of PDF — Part 3: Complete

exchange suitable for colour managed workflows (PDF/X-3)

ISO 15930-3:2003 Graphic technology — Prepress digital data exchange — Use of PDF — Part 3: Complete

exchange suitable for colour managed workflows (PDF/X-3)

ISO/IEC 11578:1996 Information technology - Open Systems Interconnection - Remote Procedure Call (RPC)

DCE 1.1: Remote Procedure Call. Open Group Technical Standard Document Number C706, August 1997.

http://www.opengroup.org/publications/catalog/c706.htm

PDF reference: Adobe Portable Document Format version 1.4, 3 Ed., Adobe Systems Incorporated (ISBN 0-

201-75839-3)

XMP, Extensible Metadata Platform, Version 1.5, September 14, 2001, Adobe Systems Incorporated

3 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this part of ISO 15930, the following terms and definitions apply:

3.1
characterized printing condition

printing condition (offset, gravure, flexographic, direct, etc. ) for which process control aims are defined and for

which the relationship between input data (printing tone values, usually CMYK) and the colorimetry of the printed

image is documented

NOTE 1 The relationship between input data (printing tone values) and the colorimetry of the printed image is commonly

referred to as characterization.
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ISO/DIS 15930-2

NOTE 2 It is generally preferred that the process control aims of the printing condition and the associated characterization

data be made publicly available via the accredited standards process or industry trade associations.

3.2
complete exchange

exchange of compound entities in which all elements and element resources are present as part of a single

exchange and all of the information needed to process the compound entity is either in the compound entity or is

specified within the applicable standard and its normative references
3.3
compound entity

unit of work with all text, graphics, and page elements prepared for final distribution, representing a single page,

a portion of a page, or a combination of pages, whose contents may reside in one or more computer files,

uniquely linked together
3.4
conformance level

identified set of restrictions and requirements to which files, readers and writers must comply

3.5
element

substructure of a compound entity relative to the current processing environment, such as a block of text, a

contone picture or an outline graphic that, by itself, comprises the smallest logical composed unit of a compound

entity
3.6
font
identified collection of graphics that may be glyphs or other graphic elements
3.7
FPO file

file containing a low resolution rendition of an external file and information about the full resolution file from which

it was derived, used for placement in design applications
3.8
glyph
recognizable abstract graphic symbol that is independent of any specific design
[ISO/IEC 9541-1]
3.9
non-print element

an element not intended for final print reproduction, including previews, preview images and all annotations other

than TrapNet or PrinterMarks
3.10
partial exchange

an exchange of composite entities in which some elements or element resources are intentionally excluded from

the exchange, and are separately available
NOTE Examples of excluded elements are high resolution images.
3.11
PDF (Portable Document Format)
file format defined in the PDF reference
3.12
PDF dictionary

associative table containing key-value pairs, specifying the name and value of an attribute for objects which is

generally used to collect and tie together the attributes of a complex object
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ISO/DIS 15930-2
3.13
PDF/X-1a:2001
file conforming to the PDF/X-1a conformance level defined in ISO 15930-1:2001
3.14
PDF/X-1a:2003
file conforming to the PDF/X-1a conformance level defined in ISO 15930-1:2003
3.15
PDF/X-3:2002
file conforming to the PDF/X-3 conformance level defined in ISO 15930-3:2002
3.16
PDF/X-3:2003
file conforming to the PDF/X-3 conformance level defined in ISO 15930-3:2003
3.17
preview image

preview consisting of a raster image representing a compound entity at a resolution suitable for viewing on a

computer display
3.18
print element
an element intended for final print reproduction
3.19
printing tone value

data value corresponding to the relative area of a printing surface that is intended to transfer ink to the substrate

being printed
NOTE See 3.1, characterized printing condition
3.20
proxy

visible placeholder representing at least the size and shape of the area to be replaced by the referenced object

NOTE A visible placeholder may be something as basic as a rectangle of the appropriate size containing no image

content, or may be a partial or complete representation of the intended content. See 3.17

3.21
reader
software application that is able to read and appropriately process files
3.22
spot colour

single colorant, identified by name, whose printing tone values are specified independently from colour values

specified in a colour coordinate system
3.23
trapping

modification of boundaries of colour areas to account for dimensional variations in the printing process by

overprinting in selected colours at the boundaries between colours that might inadvertently be left uncoloured

due to normal variations of printing press registration

NOTE Trapping is sometimes colloquially referred to as chokes and spreads or grips. This is not the same as ink

trapping.
3.24
UUID style ID
a 128-bit number that is guaranteed to be globally unique.
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ISO/DIS 15930-2

NOTE This guarantee may not be absolute; it is sufficient that the probability of a collision is so enormously remote as to

be effectively impossible.
3.25
writer
software application that is able to write files
4 Symbols and notations

PDF operators, PDF keywords, the names of keys in PDF dictionaries, and other predefined names are written

in a bold sans serif type font; for example, the key GTS_PDFXVersion.

Operands of PDF operators or values of dictionary keys are written in an italic sans serif font; for example the

(PDF/X-2:2003) value for the GTS_PDFXVersion key.

For the purpose of this part of ISO 15930, references to the “PDF reference" are to

...