New workflows and Digital Front Ends compatible with the ISO PDF 2.0 standard are rolling out to print service providers as Harlequin RIP OEMs gear up to future-proof their systems to process PDF 2.0 files.

Latest out of the blocks are Xitron’s Navigator RIP Version 12, which has already been released for shipment, and the HP Production Pro for Indigo Labels and Packaging Version 7.1, which was unveiled at Labelexpo Americas.

Other Harlequin RIP OEMs will soon follow: Harlequin Version 12 was launched with PDF 2.0 support in April 2018 so that OEMs could start the integration into their next round of products early.

The Harlequin RIP was the first major PDF RIP for production printing to offer compatibility with the PDF 2.0 standard. It supports all of the features of the new PDF 2.0 standard that are relevant for production printing.

Martin Bailey, CTO and head of product management at Global Graphics Software, says “If your Digital Front End or workflow is not compliant with this new standard it will silently ignore the new features available with unexpected results in output, or may even error when processing PDF 2.0 files. Upgrading your DFE and continuing to consume PDF 1.7 files is safe; not upgrading and trying to consume PDF 2.0 files is not. We strongly recommend that print service providers and converters should start planning upgrades to support PDF 2.0 for all applications consuming PDF, starting with the end of the workflow, with their Digital Front Ends and working upstream. We all know that just saying ‘don’t send me PDF 2.0 files’ does not prevent customers from doing so. Upgrading to support PDF 2.0 ensures that you can confidently accept their files and spend your valuable time concentrating on areas that can differentiate your business.”

The PDF 2.0 standard was published in 2017 by the International Standards Organization and is billed as the first “post-Adobe” standard.

Reputed for the quality of its output as well as its speed, the Harlequin RIP transforms design and prepress data into a format that can be printed and feeds those pages to the press at fast speeds.  Harlequin Version 12 is available in two editions:  the Harlequin Host Renderer SDK, which powers the Digital Front Ends used in high-volume digital production environments; and Harlequin MultiRIP for conventional and light digital production printing.

Bailey, the primary UK expert to the ISO committees working on PDF, PDF/X and PDF/VT,  has authored a White Paper The impact of PDF 2.0 on print production, which is available for download.