PDF/VT
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While PDF/VT-1 always consists of a self-contained file, other variants of the standard support the use of external graphic content (PDF/VT-2) as well as streaming through the use of multi-part MIME packages (PDF/VT-2s). In addition to being a digital master for VDP printing, it can be shared, viewed and interactively navigated by human operators using a normal PDF reader, though completely accurate rendering requires a PDF/X-4 or PDF/VT conforming viewer.
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Products
A number of vendors announced their support for PDF/VT upon publication of the standard in 2010. Over the subsequent few years various other PDF/VT-consuming and -producing products also reached the market:
- PDF/VT producer: The vendor PDFlib joined the ranks of producing vendors in April 2011 with PDFlib 8 VT Edition which is able to generate valid PDF/VT data. The vendor PrintSoft (now Objectif Lune) since late 2013 provides PReS 6.3.0 which is able to generate valid PDF/VT data.
- PDF/VT validator: callassoftware has upgraded its Pre-flight (printing) application "pdfToolbox" version 5 with the option to check for PDF/VT conformity.
- PDF/VT consumers: Adobe have upgraded their Raster image processor software Adobe PDF PrintEngine (APPE) to add support for efficient PDF/VT processing. APPE is embedded and built into many high speed printers made by different vendors. Global Graphics have supported PDF/VT in their Harlequin RIP since v8.2, which was launched at Ipex in April 2010 by Hewlett-Packard in the DFE driving the Indigo Digital Press.
The ubiquity of PDF, as well as the fact that PDF itself now is an ISO standard (ISO 32000-1:2008) clearly work in favor of PDF/VT. Nevertheless, it is currently difficult to predict where in the industry PDF/VT will be adopted and how fast that will happen, and how it will be positioned vis-à-vis other formats and architectures for variable data printing.
The practical requirements and benefits of PDF/VT are explained in more detail, along with related recommendations, in a guide from Global Graphics.