The Fogra Research Institute has become a liaison member of the Ghent Workgroup (GWG). The workgroup is an international organisation focused on developing process specifications and tools for best practices in PDF exchange across graphic arts workflows.
Formed in 2002, GWG brings together associations, suppliers, educators and industry members to create practical standards for print, publishing, and packaging. The collaboration with Fogra, which has been active in prepress, printing, and finishing research for nearly 75 years, is seen as a natural step to strengthen alignment in PDF standards and automation.
“The concept of liaison memberships allows GWG to work closely together with other industry organisations that work around technical and scientific progress,” said David L. Zwang, chair of the Ghent Workgroup. “It is amazing that Fogra has been doing this for almost 75 years already, and we’re honoured to be able to work closer together in the future. The mission statements of both organisations are wonderfully aligned, and our respective focus on PDF and colour is nicely complementary.”
Dr Andreas Kraushaar, head of prepress at Fogra, added: “For many years, our preflight recommendations were based on the well-established PDFX-ready specifications. With PDFX-ready becoming less active, aligning with GWG is a natural and forward-looking step. GWG not only offers robust, up-to-date preflight specifications but also provides them in English, making them accessible to the broader international audience we aim to reach through standards such as ProcessStandard Digital (PSD). We look forward to contributing to and benefiting from GWG’s global expertise and collaborative spirit.”
As part of the partnership, GWG will hold one of its technical meetings at Fogra’s Munich-Aschheim headquarters in early 2027, creating opportunities for knowledge exchange and joint educational events.
