Ronkonkoma, NY & Ghent, Belgium – April 28, 2006 –- Flexographic Technical Association (FTA), the world's leading professional society dedicated to supporting and advancing the flexographic printing industry, announces it has joined the Ghent Workgroup (GWG). FTA will host the next GWG packaging subcommittee meeting during the FFTA Annual Forum & INFO*FLEX Exhibition in Louisville, Kentucky, on Tuesday, May 2, at 11:30 a.m., (Room 213, Level 2), at the Kentucky International Convention Center. The GWG is an international organization made up of graphic arts users, associations & developers building best practices for publishing workflows. The resulting GWG recommendations and specifications are making it easy for increasing numbers of professionals around the world to successfully create, process, and exchange graphic arts files for numerous applications. “The Ghent Workgroup's specifications have become an international benchmark for PDF quality assurance. As formats such as PDF become more prevalent in flexographic applications, the ability to effectively manage and determine quality standards for creation and production becomes an important issue. We are pleased to represent our members in contributing to the GWG's efforts in this regard,” says Dr. John Anderson, Technical and Education Director of the FTA. David L. Zwang, Vice Chairman of the GWG, adds, “It was crucial to have the FTA join our efforts, for the benefit of the international graphic arts community. Flexo professionals look to the FTA for guidance for good reason – it is a powerful, resource-rich, association that enjoys a successful history in providing member services. It's those same attributes that will make the FTA an important contributor to the GWG.” GWG Packaging Subcommittee One of the most active groups within the GWG is the packaging subcommittee, with members representing more than 30 companies all over Europe and throughout the USA - from Prepress/Printing/Converter/Repro and industry associations to brand owners, vendors, consultants, and educational institutions. Among its members are: Nestle, Kraft, L'Oreal, Brachs Candies, Sara Lee, AGI, Curwood North America, Fort Dearborn Company, Graphic Packaging, Bemis Graphics, Southern Graphic Systems, Schawk, Vertis, Phototype, FTA, IPA, CalPoly Tech, R.I.T., Adobe Systems, Agfa, Artwork Systems, Creo, Enfocus Software, Esko-Graphics, and Global Graphics Software. The subcommittee's goals include definition of “best practices” to include settings, rules, guidelines, workflows and a framework to define PDF as the ultimate exchangeable file format for the packaging industry, based on industry standards and market demands. Guidelines and settings produced that will be suitable for the entire process, from design through print, and covering all printing processes (flexo, offset, gravure, etc.). In 2005, the GWG packaging subcommittee successfully delivered its first packaging design specification. The subcommittee is now preparing a complete “package” of deliverables that broadens the scope of packaging offerings, including “downstream” profiles for offset, FLEXO and gravure test files, as well as documentation, and more.