More PDF sub-sets; Adobe PDF-PRC

Markzware‘s FlightCheck can preflight Adobe Acrobat PDF and many other file formats to check documents for print quality assurance before output. An RSS feed, “PDF-PRC and ISO 10303 (aka STEP)” intrigued me to look further, especially after our last post about the Evolution of PDF; Adobe PDF/X-5g with OPI type prepress workflow:

“The PRC format Adobe introduced in Acrobat 9 accommodates both precise B-rep and surface tessellation data as well as product structure, Product Manufacturing Information (PMI) and metadata.”

Preflight PDF with FlightCheck
FlightCheck handles PDF preflight, yet what is this Adobe PDF-PRC? It is a spec, like the 3D STEP file format, for architects, industrial designers and more broadly, engineering documentation, as the source feed continues:

Design re-use: STEP is more appropriate for pulling data into a CAD system and making modifications, and although there are now direct B-Rep modeling systems that enable using PRC this way, use of STEP will provide much higher fidelity.
Visualization: PRC targets this use case squarely while STEP ignores it.
Technical Publications like process planning, work instructions, repair operations: PRC is better for this we think as it is lighter weight and includes visualization information.
Interrogation of precise geometry for downstream processes: This is the one where there is likely be some overlap as CAM and CAE applications often only need/want the B-REP data and PMI. Today PRC meets these requirements as does STEP AP 203 E2.
Archival and Retrieval: here the two formats are complimentary due to the non-overlapping use cases above. We are actually seeing more and more companies archiving 3D PDF along with native CAD and STEP datasets.
SOURCE: http://graphicstart.com/a/pdfprc_and_iso_10303_aka_step

FlightCheck for PDF Preflight
Yes, another PDF subset, not too sure if printers will edit, preflight or output PDFs of this flavor much, but it’s interesting to see the extension of the term “portable” in Portable Document Format (PDF). You can check PDF file types for printing quality with FlightCheck by Markzware. Preflight PDF files and more for print quality control of document output. See more PDF compatible solutions on the Markzware Products page.