The Best of Both Worlds
Output management of the future – meaning the creation and output of "intelligent documents" with a wide range of postprocessing options, for print and electronic channels alike. The AFP and PDF data formats play a key role.
AFP or PDF? Opinions differ on which data format is better for output management. Considering its "triumph" in electronic data exchange, the Portable Document Format (PDF) is often viewed as irreplaceable. To be sure, PDF from Adobe, originally designed for office communication, is establishing itself in more and more industries. Meanwhile numerous special versions have become ISO standards – such as in archiving (PDF/A), digital prepress (PDF/X) and engineering (PDF/E) – with others waiting in the wings. PDF is also increasingly popular as an exchange format in healthcare and variable transaction output. No surprise there – PDF has real benefits. Having emerged from the widely used PostScript page description language, it offers the best properties of vector graphics, which are better than in AFP. PDF also has many extra functions: direct access to pages, compression, and interactive navigation.
Without a doubt, one of the biggest advantages is integrated font management. All the fonts used can be directly embedded in the document, ensuring that the text will always look exactly the same when displayed. To save space, the fonts can be restricted to only those characters that are actually used.
Other unique features argue in favor of PDF. If a document needs updating, the changed objects are simply added at the end. This way, minor additions such as watermarks or text corrections are quick and easy to incorporate. Document creation is likewise uncomplicated. How the objects in the document are arranged is irrelevant when generating a PDF. No preliminary step to arrange the objects is needed; PDF needs only a single work step. It’s also possible to embed metadata (title, author, creation date, etc.). Metadata are important for any downstream processing of the document, such as archiving, but do not affect its final appearance. Furthermore the format supports various types of encryption, access controls and digital signatures, making it just right for processing confidential documents being sent over the Internet or used in a Web browser application. PDF is not just a pure document format, and hasn’t been for some time. Common technologies such as multimedia, XML, Java, form processing, etc. have become part of this format. Because it’s possible to include additional attributes such as the document structure, reading direction, and alternative explanatory text for images, PDF continues to rise in popularity. It is a valuable and high-power format that outperforms AFP when it comes to document display.
AFP Endures
Nonetheless, AFP remains the most used format for mass printing. The reason is its compact data stream, which allows print speeds of up to 3,000 pages per minute. In addition, resource management is more flexible and comprehensive than for PDF. AFP deals more intelligently with paper tray control, for example. A control file can be used to specify which pages are output on which printers and how (simplex/duplex). It is also possible to set the AFP data stream for simultaneous web and single-sheet printing, an option that PDF does not have (yet).
Yet another advantage is that AFP remains the only data stream with integrated error handling. AFP printers automatically check whether all the characters and numbers from the data stream were actually printed. If something is missing or incomplete, it generates the appropriate error message. This control function is not only important for producing account statements and checks. It’s no accident that AFP sets to tone in industrial production of invoices and account statements. Almost all high-performance printing machines the world over are run using AFP. With prepress, it’s a different story. PDF has probably finally established itself here. Nonetheless, PDF will not be replacing AFP in the foreseeable future, nor does it have to. Why not bundle the advantages of both data streams to make output management of a company more efficient overall? Why not use the "coexistence of two strong formats" to create and output "intelligent documents" using all possible channels? While "data delivery" is handled more and more by PDF – high-value, secure and powerful – AFP strengths play out in the "last mile" to the printer.
Output management today is not about producing as many documents as possible as fast as possible. The trend is toward intelligence, to documents with content that is both generally and inclusively accessible. In this context, freedom from barriers is important. Inclusion is growing in importance from a legal standpoint as well. Someone with impaired sight has the same rights as a sighted individual to the content of the document. The PDF/UA format takes this into account. It uses a screen reader (see PDF Glossary) to read a document with semantic and stylistic accuracy. Even though PDF/UA still has some way to go to create completely barrier-free documents, it does address important – and essential – requirements, such as the definition of the reading direction, language and document structure and the identification of artifacts.
Metadata – The Alpha and the Omega
Intelligent and efficient output management requires one thing above all: metadata that can be read and saved and can travel with the document throughout the entire generation and conversion process. Metadata are the foundation for downstream or parallel processing, such as when a document not only needs to be printed, but also output as an E-Postbrief. Metadata is already a must for archiving. However what sounds logical is still problematic in practical application. In many companies, the data are incomplete. PDF can help here because metadata can be integrated, displayed and read without difficulty in this format.
The potential of the PDF format is far from exhausted. The enthusiasm on the part of many suppliers of output management systems (OMSs) for developing new PDF standards clearly illustrates that more innovations in intelligent document processing can be expected. Among the companies behind this drive is Compart. This globally active OMS specialist contributes to numerous associations and organizations. Among its activities Compart participates in the PDF/A Competence Center, of which it is a founding member, and works to promote worldwide format standardization in the AFP Consortium. The company also stands energetically behind the establishment of new standards such as PDF/UA and PDF/VT. Compart’s DocBridge family of products support PDF standards as well as AFP, from both the input and output side.
With comprehensive expertise in data stream optimization, Compart is a key driver for development of innovative solutions that target efficient output management that lowers operating costs and reduces the sources of error in document generation, processing, conversion and output.