Ghent, Belgium – The London College of Communication at the University of the Arts London hosted the Ghent Workgroup to provide commercial printers and packaging professionals with the latest in best practices for PDF production. All seminar presentations are available for download here. 

GWG Chairman David Zwang says, "We are extremely pleased with the turnout from printers and premedia professionals in the area, who were able to hear firsthand – from their peers and the experts -- about the ways they can use GWG specifications in their own operations.

"Hearing these ‘living’ examples of problems and solutions referenced by companies that  successfully use GWG specifications, and the advantages they are acquiring as a result of doing so, made a big difference for many."

Seminar recap
The full-day event was packed by professionals interested in hearing PDF for Packaging and PDF Specifications presentations from the experts; and the seminars elicited positive feedback by many attendees. Mark Anderton of Colour Engine Ltd., for example, called the GWG seminar "an interesting day with a high standard of presentations." 

London-based Repro and Colour Specialist, Bill Greenwood concurred, saying that "the GWG seminar at LCC was informative and very well presented," and that he is "looking forward to the next one in London."

The following is a summary of the GWG expert presentations: 

PDF for Packaging seminar
Brand owners and packaging production professionals heard from global industry packaging leaders Steve Carter of Phototype, and Christian Blaise of bleuprocess; along with a team of experts including Lieven Plettinck of Esko, Peter Kleinheider of PDF/X Ready, David van Driessche of Four Pees, and Andrew Bailes-Collins of Enfocus. 

Each discussed the latest GWG PDF for Packaging specifications, and how they are being used to streamline and ensure consistency in packaging design and production workflows across the supply chain. 

The experts educated attendees about the future of PDF in packaging, and how "Smart Layers" will be used to enhance and drive they way the packaging industry uses PDF files going forward. 

PDF Specifications seminar

Zwang, a world-renowned consultant who continues to serve as GWG chair, hosted a team of experts including Andrew Bailes-Collins of Enfocus, Didier Hazen of the VIGC, Peter Kleinheider of PDF/X Ready and Bart Van Looy of Sanoma Media. The presenters highlighted the newest GWG 2012 specification for the creation and preflight of PDF/X-4 files to ensure successful production, as well new developments in Cross Media publishing.

Developer preview session

During this special developer session, GWG representatives from member companies Adobe, callas, Enfocus, and Specle each spoke to the crowd about how their company’s software’s compliance with the GWG2012 specifications, and integration into their products is meaningful for the marketplace.

Zwang says that GWG efforts and best practices are evidently giving companies the profit-leading edge they need. As a result, more developers are taking notice of the significant value-add GWG compliance can bring, and are consequently inquiring about membership in the GWG. 

Staying in touch with GWG 

For more information about GWG, or to stay up-to-date with the latest presentations and events taking place worldwide, visit: www.gwg.org. Also, be sure to follow GWG on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/GhentWorkgroup.