Issue 4, August 2001 - Society for Imaging Science and Technology

The 

REPORTER 

Volume 16, No. 4, August 2001 

"THE WINDOW ON IMAGING" 

Countering Counterfeits 

in a Digital World* 

Sara E. Church, Bureau of Engraving & Printing 

and Lorelei W. Pagano, United States Secret Service 

Abstract 

Counterfeiting of banknotes has existed 

as long as banknotes have been 

used. However, the extent of counterfeiting 

by traditional means has largely 

been controlled by the cooperative efforts 

of the banknote designers, producers, 

issuers and enforcement agencies. 

Until the introduction of office and 

desktop color reproduction equipment, 

counterfeits were mainly produced using 

photographic and offset printing 

techniques. As modern reprographic 

technology has become commonplace 

and as digital printing equipment replaces 

older formats, the challenges and 

methods of preventing counterfeiting 

have changed. In particular, preventing 

the use of digital production equipment 

to counterfeit will likely require cooperation 

between banknote authorities 

and the printing industry. 

Since its advent, paper currency has 

served as a convenient medium of exchange, 

despite its low intrinsic worth. 

The acceptance of paper notes as instruments 

of exchange is largely a social 

agreement founded on public trust, 

whether the instruments are backed by 

securities or merely promise. To maintain 

that trust and ensure that the agreement 

is upheld requires that certain related 

expectations be fulfilled by the 

design of the exchange instrument 

commonly known as a banknote. 

1. The Banknote Must Connote Its 

Value 

The set worth of the note must be 

stated or implied in a way that is recognizable 

to each party in a transaction. If 

the value of the note is arbitrary or variable 

from transaction to transaction, the 

agreement is broken and the implicit 

trust is jeopardized. Uncertainty in the 

value of local currencies has partly 

been responsible for the acceptance 

of U.S. currency as a worldwide instrument 

of value. In a number of 

Asian, South or Central American 

countries, the U.S. dollar is unofficially, 

or even officially, the base unit 

of currency. Some countries, like Argentina, 

have pegged the value of the 

local currency to the U.S. dollar, while 

other countries, among them Ecuador, 

El Salvador and Guatemala, are 

in the process of dollarizing. 

2. The Banknote Must Be Issued By 

A Credible Centralized Authority 

When banknotes first appeared in 

Canadian colonial America in the 

17th century, they took the form of 

playing cards adapted for the purpose, 

cut into different pieces depending 

on the value. If these unofficial-looking 

pieces of playing cards 

had not been signed by the Intendant 

of New France, it is unlikely that they 

would have been accepted as payment 

by potentially mutinous soldiers 

demanding compensation for 

their efforts. 

Establishing the credibility of the 

central authority played a significant 

role in the successful establishment 

of the U.S. dollar as national currency 

during the Civil War. Although the 

so-called "Greenback" dollars were 

first issued in 1862, their credibility 

among the public was at risk until 

the government established the Secret 

Service in 1865 to combat the 

rampant counterfeiting which was 

threatening to undermine the new 

monetary system. 

3. The Banknote Itself Must Be 

Credible 

To be credible, banknotes must by 

design elicit confidence in their in- 

*Paper presented at IS&T's DPP2001 - International Conference on Digital Production 

Printing and Industrial Applications, May 15, 2001.

IS&T — The Society for Imaging Science and Technology 

tegrity and authenticity. They must 

have features and characteristics that 

distinguish them from the attempted 

duplication, simulation or counterfeiting 

so that the public, as well as 

the banknote authorities and experts 

can tell they are in possession of the 

genuine article. Additionally, counterfeiting 

must be contained in order 

to maintain confidence in the 

banknote system. Prior to the U.S. 

Civil War, banknotes were issued by 

state-chartered banks. As many as 

1600 different styles of notes were in 

circulation at the time. Counterfeiting 

was prevalent, and with so many 

varieties of genuine notes, knowing 

what each type was supposed to look 

like was an onerous task. This situation 

gave rise to the compilation and 

marketing of large descriptive counterfeit 

detection manuals, which described 

in detail genuine notes and 

every known variety of the corresponding 

counterfeit. As new notes 

emerged, genuine and counterfeit, 

these manuals had to be updated. 

However, once the authority to issue 

currency was taken over by the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury, and the 

Secret Service was established to investigate 

and suppress counterfeiting, 

currency designs became more 

standard and counterfeiting was 

brought into check. 

Today, the dollar is backed by U.S. 

Treasury securities, which earn interest 

as long as the notes remain in circulation. 

Last year, the $540 billion 

of U.S. currency in circulation worldwide 

produced $26 billion in interest, 

a substantial contribution to the 

credibility of the U.S. dollar as a 

stable currency. 

Banknote Authorities 

Typically, a number of specific 

functions help to maintain a circulating 

supply of paper currency: 

Design and Production 

Issuance, monitoring and retiring of 

notes from circulation 

Enforcement of laws to protect the circulating 

supply against counterfeiting. 

In different countries, these functions 

are carried out through different 

mechanisms. In some countries, 

authority for carrying out the separate 

functions are transferred to commercial 

or added to the responsibilities 

of existing agencies. In many 

countries, banknote production is 

controlled by the state or central 

bank, while in others, the banknote 

producer is a commercial agency. 

Authority to process and monitor 

notes in circulation may also be delegated 

to commercial facilities. 

Whatever the relationship, the agencies 

supporting each of the functions 

usually work in concert to ensure the 

value, authority and integrity of the 

currency under their purview. 

Counterfeiting 

New threats from advanced reprographics 

present a much more difficult 

challenge to enforcement by 

placing an additional burden on the 

banknote designer. Conventional 

counterfeiting using lithographic 

techniques requires large, specialized 

equipment and materials. An extensive 

industry network is able to alert 

the enforcement agency (the U.S. Secret 

Service) when suspicious activity 

is noticed or suspect purchases are 

attempted. The criminals can then 

be tracked by the trail of equipment 

and materials. 

Traditionally, counterfeiting has 

been carried out by a limited criminal 

element with a specialized set of 

skills and equipment. Producing 

counterfeit currency required cameras 

and other photographic equipment, 

plate burners, presses and the 

expertise to use each. The production 

process was time-consuming, tedious, 

and required privacy to create 

counterfeit currency undetected. Beginning 

in the late 1980's, the introduction 

of high-end full-color copiers 

made push-button counterfeiting 

possible. This possibility prompted 

formation of an industry coalition to 

develop technologies to prevent 

counterfeiting with color copiers. 

Likewise, international banknote 

authorities established their own cooperative 

group to work with the 

color imaging industry on counterfeit 

deterrence issues. Working in concert, 

the copier industry and the 

banknote authorities were able to extend 

the technologies used in color copiers to 

enhance their potential effectiveness at 

preventing counterfeiting. 

In the mid 1990's, a new threat 

emerged when low-end full-color ink 

jet printers and inexpensive scanners 

became available. Today, abundant, 

cheap and ease to use, digital imaging 

equipment not only provides the 

counterfeiter with powerful imaging 

abilities, but also with the twin luxuries 

of time and privacy. With hundreds 

of products marketed specifically 

for personal use, the equipment 

IS&T REPORTER 

The IS&T Reporter is published bimonthly 

by IS&T—The Society for Imaging Science 

and Technology. 

Editorial 

Executive Editor Vivian Walworth 

Managing Editor Ashley Young 

New Productions Editor Allan Ames 

Standards Editor David McDowell 

Articles in this newsletter do not necessarily 

constitute endorsement or the opinions 

of the editors or IS&T. Advertising and 

copy are subject to acceptance by the editors. 

IS&T—The Society for Imaging Science 

and Technology—is an international onprofit 

society whose goal is to keep members 

aware of the latest developments in 

photographic and other imaging fields 

through conferences, journals and other 

publications. We focus on imaging in all 

its aspects, with particular emphasis on 

silver halide, digital printing, electronic 

imaging, color science, phtofinishing, image 

preservation, pre-press technologies 

and hybrid imaging systems. The Society 

presently has 2,500 members in 36 countries 

and 7 chapters. 

We publish the Journal of Imaging Science 

& Technology and co-publish with 

SPIE the Journal of Electronic Imaging. 

We conduct 4 to 8 conferences per 

year on selected topics of imaging science 

and technology. 

©2001 Society for Imaging Science and 

Technology. All rights reserved. 

IS&T— The Society for Imaging Science 

and Technology, 7003 Kilworth Lane, 

Springfield, VA 22151 USA. 703-642- 

9090; Fax: 703-642-9094; E-Mail: 

info@imaging.org; Web page: http:// 

www.imaging.org. 

Inside This Issue 

E-commerce .................. 4 

New Products ................ 6 

Standards ....................... 9 

Calendar ...................... 12 

2 IS&T Reporter "THE WINDOW ON IMAGING" —Volume 16, Number 4—August 2001

IS&T — The Society for for Imaging Science and Technology 

is readily accessible to the counterfeiter in the privacy of 

his own home. No longer does the print shop employee 

have to sneak in during off hours to photograph the images, 

burn the plates, mix the inks, print the notes and 

clean the press. Now the counterfeiter can leisurely scan or 

download images, tweak the images in a graphics program 

and print when needed. This shift in venue is reflected in 

current U.S. seizure statistics. Before 1995, nearly all counterfeiting 

was done in professional print shops. Statistics 

for fiscal year 2000 indicate that 94% of the ink jet counterfeiting 

plants suppressed for which venues were reported 

were in homes. Nearly all the remaining operations suppressed 

were in venues such as hotels, dorm rooms, offices, 

schools and storage facilities. 

Until 1995, U.S. counterfeit currency was almost exclusively 

created by offset lithography. In the mid 1990's, the 

market exploded with inexpensive full color printers and 

copiers. Since then these ink jet printers/copiers have increasing 

supplanted the offset printed counterfeit. Currently, 

almost half of the counterfeit notes passed domestically 

are ink jet counterfeits with essentially all of the 

domestic counterfeit printing operations employing ink 

jet machines See Figures 1 and 2. 

Figure 1. Domestic Counterfeit Passing Activity 

Figure 2. Domestic Counterfeiting Operations 

High Volume Threat 

As industrial print shops upgrade to realize the benefits of 

digital systems, this equipment will become more available 

to rogue individuals with criminal intentions. In fact, in a 

recent case, an operation using a digital press was discovered and 

thwarted by police before any of the counterfeits were circulated. 

The counterfeiters had produced hundreds of millions worth of 

U.S. and German counterfeit over the course of a couple weeks. 

Fortunately, either due the lack of need or the lack of familiarity 

with the equipment, the full capabilities of the system were not 

exploited and no special attempts to simulate the security features 

of these banknotes were made. 

With these digital industrial presses, the major problems 

associated with both traditional offset equipment and modern 

digital systems are combined to form a more challenging 

enforcement threat than either type of equipment alone. The 

high speed and high volumes associated with the methods of 

the traditional counterfeiter and the ease and flexibility of 

modern digital methods make counterfeiting easier. 

Banknote Design 

In the past, designing banknotes that would be secure 

against counterfeiting was relatively straightforward. Cash 

was handled only by human beings, and counterfeits were 

generated almost exclusively using cameras to image and 

offset presses to print. The traditional techniques used to 

make banknotes, including hand-engraved designs, machinescrolled 

line-work, non-standard engraved and typographic 

lettering and seal styles, plus tightly registered front and 

back offset rainbow tints, worked well in this environment. 

In recent decades, the requirements for banknote design 

have become more complex. Banknotes are handled both by 

humans in direct transactions and by machines with varying 

ranges of sophistication, from simple over-the-counter authentication 

devices to complex, multi-detector, high-speed 

central bank processing machines. Methods of counterfeiting 

are not limited to traditional lithographic methods but 

extend to modern reprographics, such as office and desktop 

color copiers, scanners and printers. These new methods of 

counterfeiting require new methods of counteraction. One 

method employs traditional banknote designs that incorporate 

features that are reflective or diffractive, properties that 

are not captured in the imaging process, forcing the counterfeiter 

into additional processes to mimic the feature. 

The advancements in digital technology have also created 

new opportunities for banknote designers and good 

corporate citizens within the imaging industry. Digital techniques 

for both banknote designing and for anti-counterfeiting 

systems in imaging equipment have been developed and 

implemented to make banknotes more secure. As new imaging 

technologies are developed and implemented, new alliances 

must be formed between the banknote and imaging 

industry to prevent its misuse for counterfeiting. 

Biography 

Sara E. Church is a program manager and research chemist 

in the Securities Technology Institute at the U.S. Bureau of 

Engraving and Printing. Her background includes a doctoral 

degree in physical chemistry and twelve years of experience 

at the Bureau in counterfeit deterrence. Her responsibilities 

include broad participation in programs to implement counterfeit 

deterrence and authentication features in U.S. currency. 

She participates extensively in national and international 

activities concerning counterfeit deterrence. 

IS&T Reporter "THE WINDOW ON IMAGING" —Volume 16, Number 4— August 2001 3


E-commerce, After the Hype, 

the Naked Truth* 

Eddy Hagen, VIGC 

Introduction 

At the beginning of the magical 

year 2000 you had to be in to e-commerce 

to be taken seriously. Otherwise 

your company would have been one 

of the 'old economy', a species threatened 

with extinction. New companies 

emerged, the e-services proliferated. 

Now we're about a year later. And 

the landscape has changed… Several 

e-commerce service providers had to 

cut down on personnel and costs, others 

merged or shifted focus. But is e- 

commerce already history or is there 

still a future for it? 

E-commerce 

The first question we have to ask 

ourselves is what is e-commerce? There 

are several definitions, but most commonly 

used is 'doing business by the 

means of electronic communication'. 

There is also a difference between 

e-commerce and e-business. E-commerce 

focuses on the 'selling' of products, 

where e-business integrates with 

the administrative and production 

processes. 

The expectations of e-commerce 

where very high. Thanks to the use 

of open technology and the easy access 

to the Internet, e-commerce 

would change the way we are doing 

business. It would open up the markets, 

in a way that the buyer would 

always get the best price. Virtual 

shops like Amazon.com emerged and 

their stocks went sky high. 

Also the people in the graphic arts 

industry were believers. A research by 

Cahners Research (1) showed that 

77% of the graphic arts companies 

thought that they could offer a better 

service thanks to e-commerce. About 

55% believed that it would generate 

more jobs and 49% believed that they 

would be more competitive. 

Another research, by CAP Ventures 

(2), showed that printers believed that 

internet-based workflow tools and 

process automation tools would improve 

their margins in excess of 20%. 

Print buyers find e-commerce appropriate 

for business cards and other 

simple print jobs. But only 7% believe 

it would be suitable for complex 

print jobs such as catalogs or 

annual reports. 

The Technological Enablers 

Using electronic communication 

to do business is not new. In the 'old 

days' it used to be called EDI and it 

was rather expensive. The Internet 

changed this. The connection is 

cheap and it uses open standards. The 

rise of software-tools like Java and 

XML and protocols like TCP/IP 

paved the path for e-commerce. 

Broadband Internet-access is already 

widespread in the US. In Europe 

ADSL and cable modem are becoming 

more and more popular, but 

still, most of the Internet connections 

are made with a simple modem and 

telephone line. Leased lines, with a 

fixed and guaranteed bandwidth, 

aren't common. 

The Upcoming Standards 

Exchanging data in an electronic 

form is one of the key issues in e-commerce. 

This has to be done in a specific 

form. In the graphic arts industry 

we see the rise of several standards. 

JDF 

The first is of course JDF, the Job 

Definition Format. A new, xml-based 

job ticket with important founders: 

Adobe, Agfa, Heidelberg and MAN 

Roland. It integrates all computeraided 

business and production processes 

in the graphic arts industry, 

starting with the 'genesis' of a document 

and ending with the delivery. It 

is designed to streamline the information 

exchange between different 

applications and systems. 

JDF is a framework, which has to 

be implemented in individual 

workflow solutions, in other words: 

in specific job tickets. 

JDF is now managed by CIP3, 

which changed its name into CIP4: 

International Cooperation for the Integration 

of Processes in Prepress, 

Press and Postpress. 

a strong focus on e-commerce. They 

found - from their point of view - 

some gaps in JDF, i.e. the commercial 

part of the process. This is the 

reason why PrintTalk 'combines' JDF 

with cXML (commercial XML). In 

cXML all transactions of a selling / 

buying process are defined. So, combining 

JDF with cXML gives a strong 

job ticket format. 

PCX 

But there is one e-commerce company 

that is not in the PrintTalk initiative: 

PrintCafé. At Drupa they 

launched their initiative: PCX, which 

stands for eProduction eCommerce 

eXchange. It was said that it would 

be a competitor for the JDF, but later 

this was changed and PCX would be 

another implementation of JDF (announced 

august 2000). 

A Classification 

There are several ways to classify 

the e-commerce providers. 

A first one is what kind of product 

or which kind of service they provide. 

We can distinguish 3 kinds: software, 

services via a portal and ASP's (application 

service providers). 

Another way of classifying them 

is looking at their target audience: 

print buyers, printers or both. 

The third way is the most interesting 

one: the focus of the 'solution'. 

One is what kind of product or which 

kind of service they provide. We can 

distinguish 3 kinds: software, services 

via a portal and ASP's (application 

service providers). 

Another way of classifying them 

is looking at their target audience: 

print buyers, printers or both. 

The third way is the most interesting 

one: the focus of the 'solution'. 

Commercial Solutions 

A first group of e-commerce solutions 

are the commercial solutions. 

This includes marketplaces and print 

procurement solutions. 

The proposition of marketplaces 

is very simple: matching buyers and 

sellers. They position themselves to 

print buyers as the perfect way to get 

the best offer; of course much better 

then they have at the moment. To the 

printers they position themselves as 

the perfect way to generate extra 

work. Extra work at a very low price? 

PrintTalk 

No! Only 20% of the print buyers 

A first implementation of JDF is choose for the cheapest offer, according 

to one of the big marketplaces… 

PrintTalk. A group of companies, with 

A dodge or reality? 

*Paper presented at IS&T's DPP2001 - International Conference on Digital Production Printing and Industrial Applications, May 16, 2001. 



The business model is very interesting, 

at least for the print buyers. 

The service is free for them. Printers 

sometimes have to pay a 'membership 

fee' and they have to pay a fee on the 

closed deal. One of the marketplaces 

even charges a 2% fee on all subsequent 

jobs for the same print buyer 

for a period of 2 years! 

There are also 'closed' systems 

were e.g. a print buyer works with 

several printers and they all have access 

to the same service. 

The commercial solutions can be 

extended with jobtracking, groupware 

and other collaboration tools. 

Some systems work with 'free forms' 

for RFQ's (request for quotes), but 

most use strictly defined rules. This 

is the preferable way, because print is 

a rather complex product and a small 

change in specifications can have a 

big difference in prize as a consequence. 

To prevent errors, these strict 

rules are a necessity. 

Administrative Solutions 

Most of the time, there is an overlap 

of the commercial and administrative 

solutions. The services offered 

are ordering, jobtracking, … 

Production Oriented Solutions 

The largest and most interesting 

part of the solutions is production 

oriented. We can distinguish several 

types, from very simple to very complex. 

But they all offer some kind of 

automation or streamlining of the 

production. 

The first and least complex solutions 

are the template based on-line 

ordering systems. They are mainly 

used for business cards and other stationary. 

The buyer can choose form 

different templates, he fills in the 

necessary fields (e.g. name, address, 

…) and he can upload a logo. He can 

view a 'softproof' on screen and order 

his print job. 

The advantages are obvious. The 

print buyer does whole the work, 

makes fewer mistakes - or at least 

doesn't admit making a mistake. And 

the printer gets a perfect file. A study 

from iPrint.com, one of the first to 

offer such a solution, revealed that 

the amount of reprints lowered from 

between 10 and 15% to less then 1%! 

The second group of solutions is 

catalogue-based solutions. E.g. the 

marketing department can choose 

from a catalogue of brochures and 

order them on-line. It is not possible 

to alter the document. 

A step further is the solutions where 

you can assemble and personalize 

documents on-line. Here you can 

choose from a library the parts which 

have to be assembled to build a personalized 

document. 

All kinds of workflow related services 

have been brought to the 

Internet: digital asset management, 

on-line proofing, on-line preflighting, 

… 

Also the whole workflow can be 

opened via the Internet. Recently we 

see more and more workflow management 

systems with an Internet addon 

or plug-in. This will enable clients 

to access the workflow management 

system via the Internet and look 

at information like jobtracking or 

view proofs. 

Similar services are project management 

and collaboration tools via 

the Internet. 

There are also many additional 

service, like information services, 

data transmission, even color correction 

via the Internet are possible. 

The Economics… 

The business models of the e-commerce 

solutions depend upon the kind 

of solution. If it is software, the costs 

will be quite simple to calculate: the 

investment plus the support contract. 

Service providers who use websites 

and portals usually charge a transaction 

fee (commonly 1 to 2%). Some 

charge a (small) subscription fee. But 

there are also service providers who 

will charge the transaction fee on all 

subsequent jobs, for a period of 2 

years! So it's very important to look 

at this aspect, otherwise it can be a 

financial disaster. 

The ASP-models are usually more 

complex. First you have the fee for 

setting up the service, e.g. 'branding' 

your website. Then there will be a 

monthly or yearly fee for using their 

service and some charge an additional 

transaction fee. 

If we look at the costs for the 

printer, we have the costs related to 

the e-commerce services. But that's 

not all. The software, setup fees, transaction 

costs, investments in hardware 

are just the beginning. 

Hosting the website and e-services 

can be done internally or externally. 

In both cases this will cost money, 

either on personnel and bandwidth 

or on a fee for the service provided 

by the hosting company. 

If the e-services a printer wants to 

provide also include jobtracking, this 

means that there must be a connection 

between the e-services, the MISsystem 

(management information 

system) and the production. Otherwise 

keeping track of a job can be 

hard and the information won't be in 

real-time. These connections are usually 

possible, but can require additional 

software. 

An important factor is the required 

bandwidth. For some applications, 

you will need to have a broadband 

Internet access, e.g. ADSL, cable modem 

or a leased line. For 'have duty' 

ASP-service, the cost of the Internetconnection 

can be quite high, certainly 

in Europe. And if you host your 

own website with e-services, you 

must be able to guarantee a minimum 

uptime of over 99,9%. If a service 

provider hosts your site, this can be 

part of the service level agreement. 

The Naked Truth 

After the hype, the naked truth. What 

is it really good for, all this e-stuff? 

The marketplaces didn't really meet 

their promises. Probably for a very logical 

reason: they are too expensive. The 

margins in the graphic arts industry are 

already very low. Giving up 1 or 2% of 

the margin on a job where price will 

be one of the most important criteria is 

a financial bleeding. 

If we look at the printed products, 

we have to be aware that 'print' is not 

a uniform product, nor a commodity. 

Business cards are something completely 

different from personalized 

catalogs. The realization of a print 

job often is a project, not just a buy / 

sell activity. It's an interaction between 

several parties. So communication 

is important. 

If we look at the different types of 

print jobs, we can identity some that 

are more or less standardized: business 

cards, letterheads and other stationary. 

If this is a large part of your 

business, an on-line solution can be 

very interesting. Either a template 

based or a catalog based solution. Big 

corporations are the perfect clientele 

for this kind of services. And we have 

already seen several successful implementations. 

For the more complex job types, 

collaboration tools and workflow 

solutions can be very interesting. But 

for the latter you certainly need to 

Continued on page 8. 



NEW PRODUCTS 

New Products 

Edited by Allen Ames 

A 

B 

C 

D 

DIGITAL CAMERAS 

KODAK DCS 720X (A) 

Successor to the DCS 620x digital 

camera, the new model has the 

ISO settings available -400 to 6400 

(calibrated to 4000) and two-stop 

push for exposures at up to 2560 -- 

with a wide range of functional enhancements. 

Based on the Nikon F5 camera 

body, the DCS 720x camera features 

a burst rate of 4.3 fps and burst depth 

of 25 images. Shutter response speed 

has been improved so it now rivals 

that of conventional film cameras. 

Kodak's newest camera features 2- 

megapixel resolution. 

The DCS 720x camera uses 

Kodak's improved, proprietary indium 

tin oxide (ITO) full-frame CCD 

sensor, color filter array (CFA) pattern 

and low-noise electronics, including 

a new software noise-reduction 

filter. The CFA delivers unsurpassed 

spectral response for exceptional 

picture quality at extremely 

high ISO ranges. 

Photographers will appreciate 

"Picture Protection" - a package of 

complementary features including 

post-shot exposure compensation, 

white balance correction and file recovery. 

Direct e-mail image transmission 

over web-enabled cellular 

phones will become available as an 

upgrade later this year. 

Website: http://www.kodak.com/ 

go/dcs720x.com 

KODAK DCS PRO BACK (B) 

Kodak announces the Kodak Professional 

DCS Pro Back digital camera 

with unprecedented 16- 

megapixel resolution to create large, 

versatile 48-megabyte image files. 

This digital camera is designed for 

commercial locations and tabletop 

photography and high-end portraiture 

applications. Complementing 

the DCS Pro Back is Kodak Professional 

DCS Capture Studio Software 

Version 1.5, a powerful stand-alone 

application for capture and editing 

digital images. 

Website: http://www.kodak.com 

PENTAX OPTIO 330 (C) 

PENTAX Corporation has announced 

the Optio 330, the smallest 

and lightest digital camera on the 

market within the 3 megapixel CCD, 

3X optical zoom lens category. The 

Optio 330 has a selection of shooting 

modes for a variety of situations 

and a range of options for exposure, 

focusing, and flash. It can record 

movies with its 3.34 megapixel, primary 

color filter CCD for a duration 

of up to 30 seconds at 15 frames/sec. 

Movies are recorded in AVI format and 

can be played back via PC, using a 

USB connection. 

The Optio 330 has a built in alarm 

clock function, which can be set to 

display the photo of your choice, 

mode memory function, and a video 

output function that allows recorded 

images to be viewed on a TV screen 

as a slide show. 

For more information call: (303) 

799-8000 x261 Website: http:// 

www.PENTAXUSA.com 

SAMSUNG DIGIMAX 210 SE (D) 

Samsung Opto-Electronics 

America, Inc. has announced the 

Digimax 210 SE. It has a 2.1 

megapixel 3X optical and 2X digital 

zoom or CCD and features an F5.8 

- 17.4mm lens that is equivalent to 

380115mm in 35mm format and a 

1.8" TFT color LCD monitor 

(528x220). The Digimax 210 SE incorporates 

a real image zoom optical 

viewer and auto focus with a focusing 

range of 0.8m - 0.2m - 0.8m. 

The image size is 1600x1200 and 

800x600. Other features include a removable 

8MB compact flash card. 

The shutter is a mechanical and electronic 

shutter: ½ - 17.500 sec; white 

balance, auto/manual; exposure, 

type: program AE, exposure compensation: 

-2.0 +2.0; self timer, and 10 

second delay. 

Website: http://www.samsung.com 



PAPER 

KODAK METALLIC COLOR 

PAPER LINE-UP 

Kodak Professional's new color 

negative paper features a metallic undertone 

that adds a cutting-edge look 

suitable for a wide range of professional 

photography. The Color Metallic 

Paper opens a host of opportunities 

for unique, eye-catching, retail 

display material and other large-format 

displays with its 50-inch wide 

rolls. Photographers who have used 

the paper say their prints have a 3/d 

quality to them and that they have 

achieved colors that were not possible 

using standard color negative 

papers. 

TETENAL PREMIUM FINE ART 

PAPER 

Tetenal has expanded its highquality 

ink-jet material in its spectra 

jet range to include a Fine Art subrange. 

The new Premium Fine Art 

Glossy Paper 290g is one of the heaviest 

ink-jet papers ever, which makes 

printouts look of even higher quality. 

The degree of whiteness displayed 

by the first-class paper is no 

less impressive. A special coating ensures 

that the ultra "photographic" 

impression thus achieved is complemented 

by intense and finely differentiated 

color reproduction and high 

dot sharpness. It is both water and 

smudge resistant. 

Kodak's Large Format Printer 

LARGE FORMAT 

PRINTERS 

KODAK EXPANDS 4000 

INKJET PRINTER SERIES 

Kodak Professional announces the 

4860 and 4842 Large-Format inkjet 

printers. These thermal head-based 

printers are 600 dpi writing systems 

that MicroBurst technology use the 

means which fewer passes to produce 

the high image 

quality typically 

associated 

with more 

passes and 

longer print 

times. 

Website: 

http://www. 

kodak.com 

NEW PRODUCTS 

SCANNERS 

ULTRA-FAST 1728 PIXEL, 250 

PPM SCANNER MODULE 

Designed for high-speed scanning 

applications, the Peripheral Imaging 

Corporation PI227 module is capable 

of outputting up to 15,000 - A4 document 

size duplex images per hour 

capturing both sides of the document 

simultaneously, at a resolution of 8 

dots/mm. 

The integrated chips include the 

photo-sensors' associated multiplex 

switches, digital shift register and 

chip selection switch. Four bufferamplifiers 

output the individual pixel 

signal to the users image acquisition 

and storage system. The module contains 

a 660nm LED light bar and 1:1 

graded indexed micro lens array that 

focuses the document onto the imager 

sensing line. 

Volume production pricing for the 

PI227MC-A4 is typically less than 

$100. Prototype quantities are available 

for evaluation from stock at $175 

each. 

For further information Telephone: 

408-428-0123; Fax: 408- 

428-0168; Website: http://www.pimaging.com 

SOFTWARE 

LAMDA RESEARCH 

TRACEPRO ® RC 

Lambda Research Corp. announces 

release of its TracePro RC 

software for illumination and optomechanical 

analysis. The TracePro 

line now includes four editions: 

TracePro RC, LC, Standard and Expert. 

The new TracePro RC edition 

was specifically designed for lighting 

engineers as a CAD tool for reflector 

design. This easy-to-use product 

features a CAD interface to create 

almost any reflector geometry. Easy 

mouse-driven screens add surface 

properties that reflect, absorb and scatter 

light from built-in catalogs or 

customizable surface properties. Finally, 

pull-down menus add sources 

from included bulb catalogs or create 

customized new ones. A full set 

of output capability is included in 

the program including irradiance/illuminance 

maps, candela plots, and 

both IES and Eulumdat output formats. 

Website: http://www.lamdares.com 

ZEISS AXIO "AUTOFOCUS" 

Carl Zeiss, Inc. has introduced 

AxioVision "Autofocus" software 

module, designed to make documentation 

of microscopic examinations 

reliable and accurate. "Autofocus" 

software will automatically optimize 

your microscope and digital camera 

settings to always take razor-sharp 

and crystal clear images of your specimen. 

The optimum focus position is 

determined by digital image analysis. 

This benefit is especially useful 

in fluorescence photography. 

"Autofocus" software can also be used 

in reflected, transmitted, and incident 

light, and in brightfield, darkfield and 

fluorescence without any need for 

special hardware. 

Website: http://www.zeiss.com 



NEW PRODUCTS 

ILLUMINATORS 

CHUI FO-50 ILLUMINATOR 

Chiu Technical Corporation has 

introduced the FO-50 high intensity 

fiber optic illuminator, with the 

smallest footprint in its Chiu line. 

ENZ Lamp color temperature is 

3450°K. The FO-50 is a low profile 

(5" high) halogen light source that 

conserves lab bench space while providing 

specimen lighting for microscopic, 

borescopic and endoscopic 

examination. 

The front panel rotary dimmer adjusts 

FO-50's voltage and controls a 

continuous light flow. 

The precision illuminator accommodates 

single and bifurcated flexible 

fiber bundles, as well as standard 

and adjustable ring lights. 

Tel: (631)544-0606.Fax: (631) 

544-0809; Website: http:// 

www.chiutech.com 

Disclaimer 

Please be advised that material 

presented in the New Products 

Update is solely for your information, 

and that IS&T cannot be 

responsible for the accuracy or 

the content. IS&T and its editors 

rely exclusively on the representation 

of manufacturers, representatives 

or vendors of the 

products and services described. 

Continued from page 5. 

have the connection between the production, 

the MIS-system and the e-services 

you want to provide. This may 

be a difficult and expensive job. So the 

first job has to be the internal organization 

of the information flow. It is advisable 

to open this up to your own 

people, before opening it up to clients. 

And last of all, never forget the personal 

touch. E-commerce can enhance 

the relation with customers, but it can 

never replace a face-to-face contact. 

There will always be sales people who 

will visit clients and prospects and for 

complex projects, there will be project 

meetings. E-commerce will be a tool 

to support these, but won't replace them. 

Some people say that Europe is lagging 

behind on the US, about 18 

months. We have seen a different, but 

more realistic approach in Europe. In 

the US, where the e-hype started, many 

service providers saw the graphic arts 

as just another business they could provide 

with an e-commerce solution. 

Many of them didn't really understand 

the business printers are in. After a short 

while they discovered some essential 

problems, i.e. the connection with 

MIS-systems and the production. Also 

the complexity of print jobs was often 

underestimated. The service providers 

who did have knowledge about the 

graphic arts business, are the ones who 

survived the first crisis. 

The e-commerce solutions in Europe 

started from within the workflow. 

It is an extension of the workflow management 

systems that are in place. This 

makes the implementation a lot easier. 

We also see lots of printers and prepress 

companies who develop their 

own systems, based upon their own 

experiences and to provide a service 

to their existing clients. 

Conclusion 

The hype is over and for some companies 

it even became a hell. Nevertheless, 

e-commerce - or better e-business 

- has its benefits, if it's is implemented 

in the right way and focused 

to the right people and services. These 

were the problems with several e-commerce 

solutions; they treated the 

graphic arts like just another industry 

and had no feeling with the 'real world'. 

If you use the right tools, e-commerce 

can have a big power: it can 

strengthen the relationship with the 

clients. And isn't that what we are all 

looking for? 

PS: An e-commerce solution should 

also work properly… During our research 

we found several templatebased 

systems that were very slow, although 

we used a 128 Kbps-line. And 

one of them crashed every time we tried 

to use it… 

References 

1. Cahners Research, printCafe Image 

Study, April 2000 

2. Print e-Procurement in the U.S. An 

Industry Overview, CAP Ventures, 

2000 

VIGC 

Eddy Hagen (born 9 October 1965) 

has a degree in Photography and in Communication 

Management. He has been 

active in the graphic arts industry for more 

than 11 years. First he worked for the Belgian 

Federation for the Graphic Arts Industry. 

Afterwards we worked as pre-press 

manager for a small editor and publicity 

agency. He has been involved with VIGC 

from the beginning, in 1998, where he is 

responsible for training and trend watch. 

VIGC, the Flemish Innovation Centre 

for Graphic Communication, recently 

launched a new service: Graphic 

Brain.com. It is a specialized search engine, 

focused on the graphic arts and 

publishing industry and related areas. 

Build on powerfull technology (Autonomy 

and MediaMine) and with a very 

specific focus, it offers a fast way to the 

right information. You can not only retrieve 

product information, but also 

magazines, reports, white papers, even 

messages from discussion forums. One 

of the nice features are the summaries: 

they are up to 10 sentences long, generated 

on the fly and based upon the query! 

See for yourself: www.graphicbrain.com. 



Standards Update 

David McDowell, Editor 

The PDF/X Family of Standards 

This issue of the Standards Update 

focuses on a family of standards 

being developed within ISO TC130 

(Graphic technology) that is revolutionizing 

the exchange of material 

between providers and publishers/ 

printers. It is also unique in that it 

demonstrates a new style of cooperation 

between the owner of an industry 

specification and the activities of 

an accredited standards body to formalize 

the use of certain aspects of 

that specification. 

The PDF/X family of standards 

is: 1) a focused subset of the Adobe 

PDF file format specification; 2) intended 

for reliable graphic arts data 

exchange; 3) defined in ISO standards. 

The first question most people 

have is: "Why do we need more file 

formats? Aren't the formats out there 

already good enough?". The answer 

is both yes and no. The most reliable 

file exchange format for graphic arts 

applications has been TIFF/IT (formally 

known as ISO 12639:1998, 

Graphic technology - Prepress digital 

data exchange - Tag image file 

format for image technology (TIFF/ 

IT)). It has and will continue to serve 

the industry well, but it is restricted 

to raster data. An additional standard 

format is required that will support 

object based file types in addition to 

raster data. 

As we look at this class of file 

formats we really have too many to 

choose from - most of them unique to 

specific application programs. PDF 

is more general, but has so many options 

that it is very difficult to be sure 

that the sender and receiver of a file 

have the same understanding of the 

options chosen and how to handle 

them. PDF by itself does not provide 

the level of reliability required for the 

graphic arts industry - particularly for 

catalogue and advertising material. 

This is where the "/X" in PDF/X 

comes in. Although never formally 

defined, the "/X" to most of the folks 

involved in the standards activity 

represented reliable eXchange. This 

is accomplished by identifying a limited 

set of PDF objects that may be 

used and adding restrictions to the 

use, or form of use, of those objects, 

and/or keys within those objects. The 

goal is that as long as both the sender 

and receiver of a data file use applications 

that meet the same PDF/X restrictions, 

then the received file when 

printed will be exactly what the 

sender intended - no surprises and no 

detailed conversations to iron out the 

details! 

The term "blind exchange" conveys 

some of the intent behind the 

development work. The belief is that, 

particularly for the placement of advertising, 

the prepress shop that created 

the final ad file should be able 

to send the same file to anyone the 

agency has contracted with to print 

the ad. PDF/X should be an electronic 

substitute for the distribution of film 

separations that worked so well for 

so long. 

One other caution, many people 

confuse the Adobe products such as 

Acrobat and Distiller, that use the PDF 

file format, with the PDF file format 

specification itself. They are two different 

things. Both Acrobat and Distiller 

are based on the PDF file format 

specification and read or create many 

different types of PDF files whose features 

depend on the particular settings 

used. However, as yet there is not a 

check box in either product that says 

PDF/X. 

The Members of the Family 

The PDF/X family of standards 

includes a standard (ISO 15929:2001, 

Graphic technology - Prepress digital 

data exchange - Guidelines and 

principles for development of PDF/ 

X standards) that specifies the guidelines 

and principles that serve as the 

basis for the development of the parts 

of ISO 15930 that define the use of 

the Portable Document Format (PDF) 

in various graphic technology applications. 

National bodies are also 

encouraged to base any standards that 

define the use of the PDF file format 

for graphic technology applications 

on this International Standard. 

The rest of the PDF/X family is 

contained in the multi-part standard 

ISO 15930, Graphic technology - 

Prepress digital data exchange - Use 

of PDF. There are currently three parts 

identified and in preparation. These are: 

• Part 1: Complete exchange us 

ing CMYK data (PDF/X-1 and 

PDF/X-1a), 

• Part 2: Partial exchange (PDF/X- 

2), and 

• Part 3: Blind exchange suitable 

for color-managed workflows 

(PDF/X-3). 

A common question is "why so 

many different parts or options? All 

graphic arts electronic data exchange 

is a compromise between three issues 

- reliability, flexibility, and application 

complexity (and cost). If we had 

only a single format specification for 

the most reliable simplest exchange, 

it would not meet many real workflow 

needs. Conversely, a very flexible allin-one 

approach would put a burden 

on many application areas that do not 

want to pay for features that they will 

not use. A good example of this is the 

support for OPI (Open Prepress Interface 

Specification - a method used to 

reference external files for substitution 

at time of final imaging). Some 

markets absolutely insist that it is a 

required feature; others say that requiring 

the inclusion of the OPI capability 

will make the receiving 

applications too costly for widespread 

use. The nub of the problem 

is this: If PDF/X is to be successful, 

every receiving software application 

must be able to read and appropriately 

process all conforming PDF/X 

files as defined for that compliance 

level. 

Base PDF/X 

A key requirement of ISO 15929, 

or Base PDF/X, is that "The PDF file 

format, as defined in the Portable 

Document Format Reference Manual, 

shall not be violated. " It further states 

"PDF/X standards should be developed 

as far as is possible without adding 

extensions to the PDF file format 

upon which they are based. When it 

is found absolutely necessary to extend 

beyond the relevant version of 

PDF, the following guidelines shall 

be taken into account: 

o Care should be taken to avoid 

the mechanisms and constructs used 

in a part of ISO 15930 coming into 

conflict with the mechanisms and 

constructs that might be expected to 

be added to a future version of PDF 

to provide the same functionality. 

• Extensions to PDF shall be constructed 

in such a way that the result- 

STANDARDS 



STANDARDS 

ing file may still be read without error 

by a PDF compliant reading application 

that is not also compliant 

with the part of ISO 15930 standard 

being developed, and by reading applications 

compliant with other parts 

of ISO 15930. 

• Wherever possible the extensions 

should be specified in such a 

way as to maximize the probability 

that they may be implemented using 

plugins or other minor extensions to 

existing mainstream PDF applications. 

• Extensions that will cause a significant 

difference in output when 

processed by a PDF/X complient application 

as opposed to a baseline 

PDF application should only be 

added after conclusive discussion 

and shall be clearly identified in the 

defining part of ISO 15930." 

The technique used to enable 

these requirements has involved cooperation 

between Adobe Systems 

Inc. and the standards activities to 

identify (and justify) additions to the 

PDF file format needed by the printing 

and publishing industry. These 

are both documented in Adobe Technical 

Notes to allow immediate use 

and added to future editions of the 

Adobe PDF specification. 

As part of the ISO 15929 standard, 

CGATS (and its secretariat, 

NPES The Association for Suppliers 

of Printing, Publishing and Converting 

Technologies, 1899 Preston 

White Drive, Reston, Virginia 20191- 

4367) has agreed to make the use of 

the GTS_ PDFX name prefix (used to 

identify various compliance levels) 

available without prejudice to accredited 

standards groups within the 

worldwide graphic technology industry 

and to maintain an open registry 

of all such uses. 

Base PDF/X has been approved 

and is currently being prepared for 

publication by ISO. We anticipate 

that it will be available in early fall. 

PDF/X-1 

Part 1 is largely intended to meet 

the needs of the traditional publication 

marketplace - in essence a digital 

equivalent of film separations. To 

quote directly from its introduction: 

"Part 1 of this International Standard 

defines a data format and its usage 

to permit the predictable 

dissemination of a compound entity 

to one or more locations as CMYK 

data, in a form ready for final print 

reproduction, by transfer of a single 

file. This file must contain all the 

content information necessary to process 

and render the document, as intended 

by the sender. This exchange 

requires no prior knowledge of the 

sending and receiving environments 

and is sometimes referred to as 

"blind" exchange. It is platform and 

transport independent. 

"These goals are accomplished by 

defining a specific use of the publicly 

available Adobe Portable Document 

Format as specified in Version 1.3 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 which may be used 

and adds restrictions to the use, or form 

of use, of those objects, and/or keys 

within those objects. It includes two 

compliance levels, PDF/X-1 and PDF/ 

X-1a, that differ only in their allowed 

use of OPI references and encryption, 

which are allowed in PDF/X-1 but not 

in PDF/X-1a." 

The term "compound entity" is 

defined as a "unit of work with all 

text, graphics and image elements 

prepared for final print reproduction 

and may represent a single page for 

printing, a portion of a page or a combination 

of pages". 

PDF/X-1a is essentially a simplified 

version of PDF/X-1 and, therefore, 

a PDF/X-1 receiving application 

will be able to easily receive both 

PDF/X-1 and -1a files. For smaller 

and/or simpler installations PDF/X- 

1a may suffice. In all cases the writing 

applications only need to 

support those features in the standard 

that the user requires. 

ISO 15930 Part 1, is based on 

ANSI CGATS.12/1-1999, Graphic 

technology - Prepress digital data 

exchange - Use of PDF for composite 

data - Part 1: Complete exchange 

(PDF/X-1) which is still a valid standard 

based on Version 1.2 of the 

Adobe PDF file format specification. 

However, as the ISO version was being 

prepared there was great pressure 

to both make it compatible with Version 

1.3 of the PDF file format specification 

(and new features introduced 

in PDF 1.3) and to allow a compliance 

level that did not require support 

for OPI. To minimize any 

confusion users and vendors are being 

asked to refer to the CGATS version 

as PDF/X-1:1999, and the ISO 

versions as PDF/X-1:2001 and PDF/ 

X-1a:2001. While a PDF/X-1:2001 

reader will probably be designed to 

accept and properly read files conforming 

to PDF/X-1:2001, PDF/X- 

1:1999 and PDF/X-1a:2001, readers 

meeting the other two conformance 

levels should not be expected to properly 

read files outside of their own 

conformance level. 

ISO 15930-1:2001 has been approved 

and is being prepared for publication 

by the ISO Central Office. It should 

be available by mid to late August. 

I am sure many are saying "why 

can't the standards committees keep 

more current with the Adobe PDF file 

format specification releases?" 

Therein lies a problem. Because the 

Adobe PDF file format specification 

is a private specification (albeit documented 

and publicly available), 

Adobe has chosen not to make the 

various versions of the specification 

publicly available until Adobe products 

implementing the specification 

are available in the marketplace. Although 

many developers (even those 

participating in the standards process) 

have signed non-disclosure 

agreements and have advance insights, 

the whole concept of non-disclosure 

runs counter to the open 

standards process. As long as companies 

maintain such policies, the 

standards will be one step behind. For 

example, although Acrobat 5 is based 

on Version 1.4 of the Adobe PDF file 

format and is currently being sold, 

an Adobe Technical Note describing 

the changes between Version 1.3 and 

Version 1.4 was only recently made 

available. To wait for final documentation 

and incorporate Version 1.4 

would have delayed the standards 

approval process significantly. 

Let's jump to PDF/X-3 

PDF/X-3 has many things in 

common with PDF/X-1a. They are 

really sisters. The one big area in 

which they differ is that PDF/X-3 allows 

the use of color managed threecomponent 

data in addition to 

CMYK data. 

What does "color managed" data 

mean? One of the ways in which the 

PDF/X family differs from plain old 

PDF is that all data in a set of files 



being exchanged must be color corrected 

and adjusted for a single characterized 

printing condition prior to 

exchange. That means that all process 

color data must be based on the same 

inks, densities and dot gain. In PDF/ 

X-1, allowing only CMYK data was 

one step taken to make this more predictable. 

In addition an ICC input profile 

(device to PCS transform) had to 

be included, or referenced, to define 

the particular type of CMYK printing. 

In PDF/X-3 the standards committee 

got braver and agreed to allow 

the inclusion of an ICC output 

profile (PCS to device and device to 

PCS transforms) to define the relationship 

between three-component 

data and the data to be used to for 

final rendering. While this is typically 

CMYK data for printing and 

publishing applications, this mechanism 

allows any output color space 

to be used; for example web RGB, 

some special RGB or CMY printing 

device, photographic output, etc. 

The requirement still exists that all 

data has to be prepared for the same 

"printing" condition so that all data 

in the files being exchanged will 

work together. The recent Adobe 

Technical Note #5413 (Recording 

Output Intentions for Color Critical 

Workflows) describes the use of the 

Output Intents array in the Catalog 

object as the way that this information 

is carried in a PDF file. 

ISO 15930-3 (PDF/X-3) has 

passed its first ISO ballot (Committee 

Draft or CD) and is being prepared 

for balloting as a Draft 

International Standard (DIS). That 

requires a five-month voting period 

so hopefully PDF/X-3 can be approved 

by the end of the year and 

published early in 2002. 

PDF/X-2 

PDF/X-2 is both the most difficult 

and potentially the most useful 

of the current PDF/X family. It is 

based on PDF/X-1a and PDF/X-3 and 

will be compatible with both. Both 

CMYK data as well as properly characterized 

three-component advertising 

data are supported. However, as 

its title says, it also adds something 

called "partial exchange". 

That word "partial" can be misleading. 

What it really means is that 

in certain workflows some or all of 

the referenced elements may be more 

logically present at the receiving site, 

or may be exchanged at a different 

time. These include fonts, high-resolution 

contone image files, or line art 

files. What makes this difficult is that 

the scope currently includes the 

statement "where all elements necessary 

for final print reproduction are 

either included or uniquely identified". 

It is that "uniquely identified" 

that has been causing problems. 

The committee believes that 

unique identification is a real requirement 

for reliable data exchange. Finding 

the best compromise between the 

three issues of reliability, flexibility, 

and application complexity is the issue. 

Because a PDF/X-2 exchange is 

defined to require communication between 

sender and receiver (not a blind 

exchange) some additional flexibility 

is available - but not much. 

A good example, and the most 

difficult, is fonts. While PDF/X-1, 

PDF/X-1a, and PDF/X-3 require that 

all fonts used be embedded, there are 

some fonts whose license does not 

permit embedding (or for some Asian 

fonts, they are too large to embed 

practically). PDF/X-2 would not require 

embedding, just unique identification. 

However, how does one 

ensure that the sender and receiver 

have exactly the same version of a 

font, including any edits that might 

have been made to font metrics? Most 

of the tools to accomplish such 

checking are based on proprietary 

technology and require licenses or 

fees for use. To require use of such 

proprietary technology in a standard 

is a last resort. 

One of the possibilities being investigated 

provides a field in which 

any font checking application can be 

identified and the verification data 

for all fonts used carried. It would 

then be the responsibility of the 

sender and receiver(s) to agree on the 

use of a particular application that 

they felt was a reasonable compromise 

between reliability, flexibility, 

and application complexity. The 

choice of a particular application 

might even be made by a trade group 

for a particular class of work (e.g., 

Newspaper Association of America 

for US newspapers, etc.) 

PDF/X-2 is being developed 

jointly by ANSI CGATS (Committee 

for Graphic Arts Technologies Standards) 

and ISO TC130. Subcommittee 

6 Task Force 1 of CGATS is taking 

the lead and developing the details 

that are being reviewed by a Task 

Force in TC130/WG2. As soon as a 

satisfactory draft is available it will 

be placed in ISO ballot. It is hoped 

that a Committee Draft will be ready 

for ballot late this year. 

Which Version of PDF/X to Use? 

The choices available to users will 

in part depend on the vendors and the 

applications they choose to develop. 

With this new suite of standards the 

opportunity exists for a variety of applications 

based on standard exchange 

formats to meet virtually every publication 

and commercial printing 

workflow need in the printing and 

publishing industry. However, user 

commitment and vendor implementation 

is required to make it happen. 

TIFF/IT will also continue to be useful 

in many situations where raster data 

is the preferred format. 

PDF/X-1a will probably be the 

preferred choice for most of the publication 

markets. Initially, the principal 

users of PDF/X-3 will probably be 

found in the newspaper area and possibly 

for individualized printing using 

digital presses. The catalogue and 

commercial printing areas will benefit 

most from PDF/X-2. However, as experience 

and confidence develop (and 

as various application programs become 

available), the use of the various 

versions of PDF/X is probably going 

to become very mixed and job dependent. 

Ideally they will be like flavors 

of ice cream - mix and match as taste 

(or need) dictates. 

--------------- 

For suggestions for future updates, or 

standards questions in general, please 

contact the author at mcdowell 

@npes.org or mcdowell@kodak.com 

STANDARDS 



Other Meetings 

September 5 - 12, 2001 

Prints 01, McCormick Plaza Complex, 

Chicago, IL. Sponsored by: GASC-The 

Graphic Arts Show Company. For more 

information: http://www.gasc.org/ 

mailbot.htm 

September 15 - 17, 2001 

Photomask Technology and Management, 

San Jose CA. Sponsored by SPIE. 

For mor information: SPIE; 360-676- 

3290; Fax: 360-647-1445; http:// 

www.spie.org/web/meetings/ 

na_mtgs.html; E-mail: spie@spie.org 

October 2 - 17, 2001 

PMA Europe Regional Imaging Conferences, 

Europe. Sponsored by: Agfa- 

Gevaert AG. For more information: 517- 

788-8100; Fax: 517-788-8371; http:// 

www.pmai.org 

October 14 - 18, 2001 

OSA - Annual Meeting 2001, Long 

Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, 

CA. Sponsored by: Optical Society of 

America. For more information: 212-416- 

1980; Fax: 202-416-6100; E-mail: 

confserv@osa.org 

Upcoming IS&T Conferences 

September 30 - October 5, 2001 

NIP17: The 17th International Congress on Digital Printing Technologies 

Harbor Beach Marriott Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 

November 5 - 9, 2001 

9th Color Imaging Conference: Color Science, Systems & Applications 

The SunBurst Resort Hotel, Scottsdale, Arizona 

January 18 - 25, 2002 

IS&T/SPIE Electronic Imaging: Science and Technology 

San Jose Convention Center, San Jose, CA 

February 20 - 21, 2002 

12th International Symposium on Photofinishing Technology 

(co-located with PMA) Orlando, FL 

April 2 - 5, 2002 

CGIV: First European Conference on Color in Graphics, Image and Vision 

Poitiers, France 

April 7 - 10, 2002 

The PICS Conference 

Portland Marriott Hotel, Portland, Oregon 

MORE Meetings 

For a more complete listing of imaging conferences, visit IS&T’s web 

site: www.imaging.org 

October 28 - November 2, 2001 

XPLOR - 22nd Annual Electronic Document 

Systems Conference & Exhibit, 

Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, 

Florida. Sponsored by: XPLOR 

International - Assoc. for Electronic Document 

Professionals. For more information: 

310-373-3633; Fax: 310-375-4240 

May 13 - 17, 2002 

ICIS '02 - International Congress of Imaging 

Science, Alcadia Ichigaya, Tokyo, 

Japan. Sponsored by: International Committee 

for Imaging Science. For more information: 

http://www.ao.u-tokai.ac.jp/ 

photo/icis/index.html; E-mail: spstj@ 

pht.t-kougei.ac.jp 

Short Courses 

RIT (Rochester Institute of Technology) 

offers an ongoing series of courses on 

graphic arts and imaging topics. Contact: 

Linda Keeney; 716-475-5852; Fax: 716- 

475-5571; E-mail: LMKTE@rit.edu; 

http:/www.rit.edu. 

IS&T 

The Society for Imaging Science and Technology 

7003 Kilworth Lane 

Springfield, Virginia 22151 USA 

Tel: 703-642-9090; FAX: 703-642-9094 

E-mail: info@imaging.org 

NONPROFIT ORG. 

U.S. POSTAGE PAID 

Merrifield, VA 

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