PDF Flavors

X-1a: 2001 (Acro 4 / PDF 1.3)

- Compatible with acrobat 4.0 (PDF 1.3)

- cmyk,grayscale,or spot

- No l*a*b or RgB content

- Fonts embedded/subset

- trim and bleed boxes defined in file

- no live transparency; must be flattened

- layer not supported

X-3: 2002 (Acro 4 / PDF 1.3)

- Compatible with acrobat 4.0 (PDF 1.3)

- cmyk,grayscale,or spot, l*a*b or RgB content

- trim and bleed boxes defined in file

- Fonts embedded/subset

- no live transparency; must be flattened

- layer not supported

X-4: 2008 (Acro 7 / PDF 1.6)

- Compatible with acrobat 7.0 (PDF 1.6 spec)

- cmyk,grayscale,or spot, l*a*b or RgB content

- trim and bleed boxes defined in file

- Fonts embedded/subset

- live transparency

- layer supported

PDF / A - Archive

- Compatible with acrobat 5 (PDF 1.4)

- digital preservation of electronic documents

- no support for transparency

- long-term success dependent on future

viewer applications

PDF / VT - Variable/Transctional

- Compatible with acrobat 7 (PDF 1.6)

- cmyk,grayscale,or spot, l*a*b or RgB content

- support transparency

PDF / E - Engineering

- Compatible with acrobat 7 (PDF 1.6)

- support for layers

- support for 3D

- support for animation

High Quality Print (Acro 5 / PDF 1.4)

- intended for in house printing; no color

conversion

Smallest File Size (Acro 6 / PDF 1.5)

- convert cmyc to srgb; spot reminans

unchanged

- Aggressively compresses and

downscales images

Press Quality (Acro 5 / PDF 1.4)

- Appropriate for digital print;

converts color to destination

PDF+

- preserves original files better/ supports

ISO-standardized

Normalized PDF (legacy Esko)

- Standardize complex print files for

consistent Esko workflows

Esko (Global Software Vendor)

- A provider for ingerated hardware/software

solutions

PAdES (PDF Advanced Electronic Signature)

- ETSI Focus - basicly set and extention of a

pdf to allow for advanced secure long term

valid sigatures

PDF Healthcare (non- ISO) - PDF/H)

- best practice standerd for health care

documents