The Fogra Research Institute has become a new liaison member of the Ghent Workgroup (GWG). The international assembly of industry associations, suppliers, educators, and industry members was formed in 2002 and its goal is to establish and disseminate process specifications for best practices for PDF exchange in graphic arts workflows.
The touchpoints between prepress, printing techniques and print finishing with PDFs are vast. Therefore, joining the Ghent Workgroup was a logical choice for the Fogra Research Institute. As this assembly develops practical tools for automating processes, testing, and establishing consistent PDFs for print, publishing, and packaging production, it is essential for Fogra to actively contribute to this development. As a liaison member, Fogra and the GWG work closely together.
“The concept of liaison memberships allows GWG to work closely together with other industry organizations that work around technical and scientific progress,” comments David L Zwang, chair of the Ghent Workgroup, “It is amazing that Fogra has been doing this for almost 75 years already, and we’re honored to be able to work closer together in the future. The mission statements of both organizations are wonderfully aligned, and our respective focus on PDF and color is nicely complementary. We could not be happier to be able to support each other going forward.”
“For many years, our preflight recommendations were based on the well-established PDFX-ready specifications. With PDFX-ready becoming less active, aligning with GWG is a natural and forward-looking step. GWG not only offers robust, up-to-date preflight specifications but also provides them in English, making them accessible to the broader international audience we aim to reach through standards such as ProcessStandard Digital (PSD).
We look forward to contributing to and benefiting from GWG’s global expertise and collaborative spirit in the service of print quality and standardization,” adds Andreas Kraushaar, head of Prepress at Fogra.
One example of how cooperation can benefit both sides is a joint technical meeting. The GWG intends to organize one of its technical meetings at the Fogra headquarters in Munich-Aschheim, Germany, in early 2027.
This will allow experts from both organizations to meet and work closely together. It will bring together a wealth of printing knowledge for the kind of educational events that GWG typically combines with its technical meetings.
The Ghent Workgroup, formed in June 2002, is an international assembly of industry associations, suppliers, educators, and industry members from around the globe. The Ghent Workgroup aims to establish and disseminate process specifications for best practices in graphic arts workflows. Since its inception almost 20 years ago, the organization has consistently produced numerous process specifications for PDF exchange, developing practical tools for automating processes and testing and establishing consistent PDFs for print, publishing, and packaging production – all free at www.gwg.org.
Members are comprised of graphic arts associations, including CIP4, Fespa, Fogra, Medibel+, Printing United Alliance, TAGA Italia and VIGC. Vendor members include callas software, Canon, DALIM Software, Dataline, ECO3, Enfocus, Esko, Fiery, Heidelberger, HYBRID Software, PageProof, Ricoh, Taktiful Software Solutions, Tech Research (TagG) and Ultimate Tech. Industry members are CAPT, Direct Mailers, JP/Politikenshus, Lab9 Pro and RRD Communications. Educational members are CEC Latam, Future Schoolz, GIPT, Hochschule der Medien, RIPT, Rochester Institute of Technology, Ryerson University, UiTM, University of Ljubljana, University of Novi Sad and University Wuppertal.
Fogra conducts application-focused research in the fields of printing and media technologies. In many cases, Fogra has been involved in developing forward-looking and globally acknowledged process and quality inspection standards. The international membership comprises companies from across the entire spectrum of the industry, from producers of printed and electronic media to equipment manufacturers. Fogra sees itself as a modern service provider that carries out inspections tailored to the industry’s needs advises companies on quality questions, and mediates in technical disputes. Fogra’s capital consists of a massive body of knowledge combined with a high degree of technological expertise and a detailed understanding of current developments.
