There’s a lot more to the humble PDF than meets the eye. All may appear calm on the surface but so much can go wrong along the journey from your screen to the printer. Since quite a few PDF creators are unaware of this, printers often need to spend precious time editing their clients’ PDFs to get them print-ready and, understandably, there are some printers who would prefer to avoid all that fuss and simply accept Certified PDFs only.
What is a Certified PDF?
Certified PDF is a concept that was first introduced by Enfocus in the early 2000s. A certified PDF is a PDF that ticks all the boxes on any checklist (the so-called PDF profile) provided by printers (or any other party on the receiving end).
Certifying does not make changes to the document you created, but simply tells receiving parties that making changes won’t be necessary as the print will turn out the way it’s supposed to. If changes are necessary, you won’t be able to get your PDF certified unless those changes are made.
Is it necessary?
You are probably wondering if certifying your PDF is really necessary to get a great-looking print. The answer is no. But, it is certainly very useful nonetheless?
Industry-wide PDF standards
Many printers only accept certified PDFs that adhere to standards determined by ISO or the Ghent Workgroup (GWG), a collective of graphic arts and specification specialists striving to spread global PDF standards across the printing industry.
How to create a certified PDF
Remember how easy it was to create certified PDF files using Instant PDF? Then you’ll love Connect YOU. Just like its predecessor, Connect YOU makes creating certified PDF files easy-breezy and takes all the guesswork out of PDF creation for print production.
