d'accord: Feature Chart
What is special about d’accord Workflow?
d’accord Workflow allows interactive comparison of PDF documents in the GUI. Additionally, you can automate d’accord Workflow to check large volumes of PDF files. You can call d’accord Workflow from your own software or a workflow system.
In addition to the PDF proof reports, you can also generate machine-readable results in the XML format. These reports document all changes and similarities from one comparison: with exact indication of the positions, the changes and a graphical representation of the affected PDF pages.
Here is an overview of the features of the two d’accord versions:
| d'accord Professional | d'accord Workflow | |
|---|---|---|
| For demanding requirements in quality assurance: Graphical comparison of single- or multi-page PDF, user comments, detailed QA report. Includes the Adobe® PDF Library™. | Extended functionality with additional functions for automation and workflow integration. Also interactive comparison in the GUI possible as in the Professional edition. | |
| Platform | ||
| Mac OS X (11 or newer) | ||
| Windows (64 Bit) | ||
| Input | ||
| Single-page documents | ||
| Multi-page documents | ||
| Printing sheets with mutiple-ups or gang forms | ||
| Graphical User Interface | ||
| Highlighting of differences in graphics & text | ||
| Navigable list of differences | ||
| Acceptance of differences by the user | ||
| User comments | ||
| Synchronized display of input files | ||
| Magnifier function incl. blinking | ||
| Repeat counter | ||
| Saving of results | ||
| Comparison Engine | ||
| Adobe® PDF Library™ | ||
| Adjustable tolerance parameters | ||
| Freeform transform by PDF boxes | ||
| Freeform transform by punching lines | ||
| Exclusion of certain spot colors | ||
| Automatic localization | ||
| Recognition of multiple-ups | ||
| Detection of missing pages or forms | ||
| Report Output | ||
| Detailed QA report (PDF) | ||
| Input with annotated differences (PDF) | ||
| Automation | ||
| Automation (CLI-/Workflow-Interface) | ||
| Batchprocessing with hotfolders | ||
| Optional Add Ons | ||
| PDF Layer (hiding, as punching line) | () | () |
| PDF Color Replacement (Match spot colors) | () | () |
| Barcode Decoder (Plain text of 1D/2D codes) | () | () |
| XML Export | () | () |
| Virtualization (installation on VM architectures) | () | () |
10 reasons why you should compare your print-ready PDF with the PDF artwork from the customer
1. You will never print the original PDF, but always a modified file
Even if the PDF file of your customer is perfect, you will almost never print the file unchanged. Already during the preflight the PDF is loaded and saved again. And at least from the imposition software, the PDF is reloaded and saved modified. When using a workflow (see item 3), generally more tools are used to make modifications to the PDF.
Hence, even if you have not made any manual changes to the original PDF, the printed file is no longer identical to the customer’s file.
2. PDF is a highly complex format and therefore error prone
Sure, the Portable Document Format (PDF) is intended as a layout-preserving exchange format between different systems. But the specification of the format is very complex and there are numerous versions - PDF 1.0 to PDF 1.7 - and subformats - PDF / X, PDF / A, PDF / E and PDF / UA. For the print-relevant sub-format PDF / X, there are seven specifications up to now: PDF / X-1a: 2001, PDF / X-3: 2002, PDF / X-1a: 2003, PDF / X-2: 2003, PDF / X -3: 2003, PDF / X-4, PDF / X-5.
Each format allows different commands, settings and display options. In addition, editing programs load PDFs in one format and save them in another format. So there are many reasons why the content of a PDF can change over the course of the processing chain. And this sometimes has the undesirable side effect of changing the appearance of graphics or text elements.
3. A workflow software can not prevent all errors, only make them reproducible
If you are using workflow system, what has been mentioned in item 1 and item 2 still applies. The workflow will standardize the process of processing, but nevertheless the input files from your customers will come to you in all possible variations. And the files are modified on the way to the print-ready PDF by several software tools.
A carefully configured workflow will prevent many mistakes - but unfortunately not all.
4. You have to make modifications to the customer PDF and want to review your changes
It often happens that you receive an older PDF artwork from the customer and you want to update it before printing. In such a case, you want to compare the old PDF with the newly created PDF. This will allow you to verify that all changes requested by the customer have been made. And, of course, whether editing caused something to change elsewhere unintentionally.
5. The imposition of sheets from multiple PDF files may result in missing or superfluous forms
Especially for print jobs that consist of several individual PDF files, it may happen during imposition that a form occurs several times or not at all on the printed sheet. You therefore want to make sure that the correct number of each form is placed on the sheet.
6. Imposition may trim the originals improperly or create incorrect overlaps
If a PDF form was not created correctly, for example, the border trim is not taken into account or the PDF boxes are missing, errors can occur during the imposition. In addition, markers on the sheet may overlap with the forms. When using a collar offset, you can see which parts are lost from the inside edge froms.
7. Your customers may be viewing PDF files with wrong display settings
Your customers may view the submitted PDF files with another PDF viewer (such as Apple Preview) or with settings other than yours. In this case, overprinting features will not be visible to your customers, even if they exist in the PDF. The expected result differs from the actual print result.
8. If you edit PDF files with a graphics program, you can inadvertently delete, duplicate, or move graphic or text elements
If you make manual changes to a PDF file - e.g. with Adobe Illustrator or Acrobat - you can accidentally delete, duplicate, or move graphics or text. Sometimes element parts are concealed or previously invisible elements become visible again.
9. Graphic elements may be displayed incorrectly or not at all due to software errors
Because of the complexity of the PDF format, it is not easy even for market-leading software houses to develop error-free software. Sometimes deviations from the PDF specification are ignored and lead to the expected representation. However, such deviations can sometimes lead to incorrect display results. In particular, the behavior regarding transparencies, fill algorithms and graphic formats is prone to error. For example, in Kodak Pandora, greyscale bitmaps may be lost if they do not contain a color profile.
10. If you detect an error early, you save a lot of costs
There is a rule of thumb that the cost of failure increases approximately 10-fold with each production step. So if a mistake in Preflight costs $ 10, then the cost of the RIP already on $ 100 increase, in the plate production even to $ 1000. Even higher is the cost of mistakes that go into print.
So the sooner you can detect and eliminate a mistake, the better!