1. General questions on callas software products
2. Questions on command-line modules
3. Questions on pdfInspektor4 CLI
4. Questions on pdfColorConvert
5. Questions on pdfCorrect
6. Questions on archiving PDF print files with PDF/A and PDF/X

Question: I am already using a single plug-in of the new callas pdfToolbox 3. Do I have to get a new license for the plug-in or is there something else I have to consider?

Answer: No, you do not need a new license for your plug-in. Current customers can use their already licensed plug-in as a callas pdfToolbox 3 - Module. For that purpose you should download and install the current version of callas pdfToolbox 3. The new modules will be installed over the old one`s. pdfToolbox 3 will identify already installed licenses and activates them as a new callas pdfToolbox 3 modules. The newly added modules run for 30 days without restrictions and afterwards in limited Demo-Mode. It is possible to upgrade these modules to fully licensed versions at any time.

Question: What is the target user group of the callas software prepress plug-ins and command-line (CLI) modules?

Answer: Both the plug-ins and the CLI modules are targeted at users who want to create PDF files that are suitable for printing both quickly and easily. pdfColorConvert and pdfCorrect are the ideal tools for converting the colors of PDF file objects such as images and graphics and eliminating typical sources of error in PDF files in order to prepare them for professional printing. The plug-ins, which boast easy-to-use user interfaces, are particularly well suited for use with a manageable number of PDFs for checking and post-processing. The CLI modules are suitable for use in automated workflow systems with high output volumes.


Question: I am already using a single server module of the new callas pdfToolbox Server 3. Do I have to get a new license for the product or is there someething else I have to consider?

Answer: No, you do not need a new license for your module. Current customers can use their already licensed CLI-Version as a callas pdfToolbox Server 3 - Module. For that purpose you should download and install the current version of either callas pdfToolbox Server 3 or callas pdfToolbox CLI 3 for UNIX . The new modules will be installed over the old one`s. [en:products:pdftoolboxserver|callas pdfToolbox Server 3]] or [en:products:pdftoolboxcli|pdfToolbox CLI 3]] will identify already installed licenses and activates them as a new callas pdfToolbox 3 modules. The newly added modules run for 30 days without restrictions and afterwards in limited Demo-Mode. It is possible to upgrade these modules to fully licensed versions at any time.

Question: Do I need Adobe Acrobat Standard or Professional to process PDF files with callas software tools?

Answer: Only for our plug-in products. Our command-line (CLI) modules can be fully automated and act as stand-alone products that can be run on a whole range of operating systems and workflow systems.


Question: Are the demo versions of the plug-ins and CLI modules identical to the full versions?

Answer: Yes, the demo versions are fully-functional. However, they have a restricted lifetime. You can test our software for 30 days without restriction or obligation.


Question: How do I get the full version of a plug-in?

Answer: If you want to buy an Adobe Acrobat plug-in, simply download the product you require – if you have not already done so – from the Web shop in the download area of the callas software Web site. If you want to buy a CLI module, you can also contact your local dealer.


Question: Who do I contact if I have general questions on a product?

Answer: First, contact your local dealer. As a rule, our partners are able to provide you with sufficient information on all our products.


Question: I’m experiencing problems when installing or uninstalling software. Where can I get help?

Answer: If you have a more complex, technical question, you are welcome to send an e-mail to support@callassoftware.com.


Question: How can I update my callas software product?

Answer: It’s really easy to update a callas software product – you simply install the new version on top of the old version.


Question: How do I find out when the new version of my software is available?

Answer: Customers who have a software maintenance agreement (SMA) automatically receive a notification informing them of all version changes for callas software. They can also access detailed information on the changes made in the special SMA area of the callas software Web site.

In addition, we list all new versions of our software at www.versiontracker.com.

Recipients of our newsletter are only informed about major updates to our software.


Question: When a new version of a plug-in or CLI module comes out do I need to uninstall the old version before installing the new one? Do I need the serial number?

Answer: No. The old serial number remains valid and is stored in the system. You do not need to delete the old version. The new version overwrites the old version including the registration information.


Question: I urgently need a particular additional function for a callas software product. What can I do?

Answer: At callas software, we are constantly striving to improve our products. Past experience has shown us that it pays to collaborate with customers on solutions and enhancements to the CLI versions. These functions can be tested on site in real production environments and then integrated into the standard version later on. If you have questions or suggestions, please send an e-mail to technology@callassoftware.com.


Question: Where can I exchange information with other users?

Answer: callas software has a forum where interested users can exchange information about their experiences and specific usage conditions and discuss the integration of callas software into their existing workflows. Click here to visit the forum.

You might also like to visit the Swiss-based site www.hilfdirselbst.ch (German only). It contains prepress forums on the professional use of software for prepress processes, color management, and further processing. Many valuable posts about using our tools in your daily work can be found here.

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Question: Can callas software command-line versions also be downloaded directly from the site?

Answer: No. However, you can use the e-mail form in the download area of our Web site to order a 30-day test version.

You can only buy CLI modules from your local authorized dealer.


Question: How do I call the command-line modules?

Answer: You call the command-line modules using a script command. This allows them to be integrated individually even in highly complex workflow systems. The command-line modules are also delivered with pdfAutomator, an easy-to-use user interface for the client PC.

This allows you to set up and test checking, correction, and color conversion processes in just a few minutes and without requiring scripting. Extensive workflows can be set up using FullSWITCH workflow software from Gradual Software. Pre-installed configurators and interfaces for the callas software CLI modules enable a seamless integration process and the processing of large datasets without the need for the customer to write a single line of code. Click here to visit Gradual Software...


Question: Does callas software also offer special project implementation or the integration of one or more CLI modules in a workflow with software such as HELIOS or Gradual FullSWITCH?

Answer: callas software does not provide these services. However, we would be happy to put you in touch with a competent software integration specialist and callas software partner in your area who will be able to advise you and provide practical help. For more information, contact technology@callassoftware.com.


Question: Which CLI license do I need?

Answer: callas software offers different licenses for command-line modules depending on your particular usage scenario.

One option is the server license. It enables you to process PDF files in the CLI module and then print them out.

Another option is the ASP license. This creates a digital file as the result of the entire process. This file can be reused within the license holder’s company, meaning that the added value lies solely in the digital processing.


Question: What is the main advantage of signing up for a software maintenance agreement (SMA)?

Answer: The main advantage of a software maintenance agreement is the fixed, calculable price of the software. A user with an SMA has permanent access to free updates and technical support, enabling secure technical and financial planning for your company.

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Question: What does pdfInspektor offer me in comparison with other products for checking PDFs?

Answer: Because callas software developed the Preflight module for Adobe Acrobat Professional itself and because pdfInspektor accesses the same engine, our product meets the exact specifications of the inventors of the Adobe Systems PDF format.

pdfInspektor allows you to freely combine more than 1,000 check features in order to define almost any validation rule you can think of.


Question: How can I modify profiles for pdfInspektor4 CLI?

Answer: Extremely easily:

• Start the Preflight module in Acrobat Professional 8.
• Import the profile that you want to edit from pdfInspektor.
• Use the ‘Edit’ function to make any required modifications in the Preflight module.
• Save the new profile.
• Export it to be used in pdfInspektor.
  

Question: Can existing test profiles from Acrobat 7 or pdfInspektor3 CLI also be used in Acrobat 8/pdfInspektor4 CLI?

Answer: Yes. However, we recommend that you import such profiles into Acrobat 8 and then export them again the first time that you use them. This updates the structure of the profiles.


Question: Why can’t I execute the same fix-ups with pdfInspektor4CLI as in Acrobat 8 even though the Preflight module in the Acrobat Professional version is based on the same callas software engine?

Answer: pdfInspektor4 CLI is designed solely for the specialized checking of PDF files. We offer special products for carrying out corrections and converting colors that greatly extend the fix-up options of Preflight in Acrobat Professional. For example, pdfCorrect allows you to embed fonts later on and pdfColorConvert enables optimized color conversion for PDFs created in OFFICE programs. pdfAutoOptimizer automatically reduces transparencies.

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Question: Can I keep spot colors when converting colors with pdfColorConvert?

Answer: Regardless of whether you are converting to CMYK or grayscale, you can decide whether to convert spot colors or to retain them. You can also define the process for each spot color (conversion to CMYK, conversion to another spot color contained in the document, and so on).


Question: Can I convert RGB or CMYK objects into spot colors in pdfColorConvert?

Answer: No. It is not technically possible to do so.


Question: Can I convert a PDF into RGB in pdfColorConvert?

Answer: The pdfColorConvert command-line (CLI) module offers this feature. It is not currently supported by the plug-in. The plug-in is mainly targeted at customers who prepare PDF files for the prepress process.


Question: Can I use settings I’ve made in the pdfColorConvert plug-in in the CLI version?

Answer: No. The pdfColorConvert plug-in does not provide a function for creating or exporting your own color correction profiles. The settings in the command-line version must therefore be made using the setting files in the delivery. They are practically identical to the popup menus in the plug-in.


Question: What do the terms ‘black preservation’ and ‘gray preservation’ mean in pdfColorConvert?

Answer: When carrying our professional printing, it is particularly important that black objects are only reproduced on the black printing plate. pdfColorConvert can detect black and gray objects in CMYK, RGB, and Lab and transfer them directly to the black channel. pdfColorConvert allows a small tolerance in the source color values and also sets black objects to overprint.

This is a significant advantage over pure ICC-based color conversion, which depicts black on all CMYK color channels.


Question: How can I use DeviceLink profiles in pdfColorConvert.

Answer: In the user-defined settings for the PDF source, which you reach from the upper popup of the pdfColorConvert plug-in, you can select the DeviceLink profile for the required CMYK color conversion as the source for images and graphics. This also determines the target color space for CMYK objects.


Question: Is there a user interface for the definition of configuration files in the pdfColorConvert command-line (CLI) module?

Answer: No, but the options available in the plug-in are delivered with pdfColorConvert CLI by default. Further user modifications can be made by editing these configuration files.

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Question: The new version of pdfCorrect can embed fonts later on. Where does the new pdfCorrect version search for fonts that are already installed?

Answer: pdfCorrect searches in ‘c:\windows\fonts’ on Windows, and ‘/Library/Fonts’, ‘/User/<user>/Library/Fonts’, and ‘/System/Library/Fonts’ on Macintosh.

You can also define a folder that you want pdfCorrect to search for fonts. pdfCorrect also takes subfolders into account when searching for fonts.


Question: I am already using the pdfCorrect plug-in (version lower than 2.2.093). I’ve downloaded the new version in order to be able to embed fonts later on and installed it on top of the existing version. However, the new correction features are not displayed. What can I do?

Answer: Users who previously had an older version of pdfCorrect on their computers have to activate the new features before they can use them. These features are available in profile editing mode under ‘Add Features’ but they are not displayed in the Profiles view.

To display them by default, download the new correction profiles from our download area and integrate them using the import function. This ensures that your own, separately created corrections are retained.

You can download the correction profiles with the new features here.

Users who have never created their own correction profiles in pdfCorrect can delete the ‘Settings’ folder. Note: This folder is used for storing both standard correction profiles and profiles that users create themselves.

When you restart pdfCorrect, the folder is reconstructed and the new features appear in the Profiles view. To prevent you from accidentally deleting correction profiles you created yourselves, we refrained from programming the installation package for the new pdfCorrect version to automatically delete the content in the ‘Settings’ folder.

This folder is located at C:\Documents and Settings\<user_name>\UserData\callas software\Adobe Acrobat\pdfCorrect\Settings on Windows and at /User/<user_name>/Library/Preferences/callas software/Acrobat/pdfCorrect/Settings on Mac OSX.


Question: What does the ‘Ask’ function in pdfCorrect do?

Answer: The ‘Ask’ function enables values to be defined by means of a prompt and a user response.

For example, this function is useful for PDF/X conversion, as it allows the user to decide whether to generate PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 when actually applying the function to a file.

When pages are scaled, you just create a profile and only enter the required format when prompted to do so. This means that you do not have to create a new profile for each format.


Question: I always create PDF/X-3 files. However, whenever I execute my correction profile, I am asked which PDF/X version I want to use. Can I switch off the prompt?

Answer: Yes. To do so, open the correction profile in editing mode. You have previously selected the ‘Ask’ function for one or more correction functions. Set the relevant correction functions to the required values (for example, PDF/X-3 for PDF/X) and deselect the checkbox for the ‘Ask’ function. The correction profile will now be executed with the required settings each time you call it.


Question: Unfortunately, I overwrote two of the original pdfCorrect correction profiles. How can I restore them?

Answer: To restore the profiles delivered with pdfCorrect to their original state, you have to delete your user settings.

Delete the folder ‘C:\Document and Settings\<user-Name>\UserData\callas software\Adobe Acrobat\pdfCorrect’ on Windows or ‘/Users/<user_name>/Library/Preferences/callas software/Acrobat/pdfCorrect’ on Macintosh.

The user folder is automatically restored the next time you start pdfCorrect. This also restores the delivery state of the profiles.


Question: Can I use my pdfCorrect correction profiles in the command-line version?

Answer: Yes. You can export correction profiles from the dropdown menu of the pdfCorrect plug-in and use them directly with pdfCorrect CLI.


Question: Can I integrate pdfCorrect metadata in PDF files in order to help me later on when I’m searching archives?

Answer: Yes. pdfCorrect allows you to place document information such as the title, author, keywords, and language into PDF documents. You can also store user-defined properties in a PDF file.


Question: Can pdfCorrect help me to prepare PDF documents for the Internet?

Answer: Yes, it has many functions that help you with this. pdfCorrect can remove objects that are not required when displaying the PDF on the Internet in a targeted manner. This might include objects that are outside of the visible area, such as private data from generating programs, multiple internal objects, embedded files, embedded PostScript code, JobTickets, and output intents. The ‘View’ feature area also allows you to define how the PDF is to be displayed later on in Acrobat Reader (and therefore, in your browser window). For example, you can define the zoom option to be used when the file is opened and decide whether or not to display thumbnails.

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Question: In which ISO format is print data best archived?

Answer: As PDF/A is rather emphatic and distinctive about assuring long-term reproducibility or reutilization of PDFs, the print data that is sent to the printers as PDF/X must best be created as PDF/A too, so that archiving is possible immediately without additional processing.

Question: I already have printable PDF/X files. Will I face problems when converting to PDF/A?

Answer: No, conversion takes place mostly without problem – basically, every PDF/X-1a or PDF/X-3 file must also be saved simultaneously as PDF/A-1b.

Question: What are the differences between PDF/A and PDF/X?

Answer: The two standards PDF/X and PDF/A were developed by ISO to be largely compatible with each other – i.e. a PDF file can be simultaneously compliant with PDF/A and PDF/X.

Detailed technical information on the differences between PDF/A and PDF/X is given here...

Question: Can a PDF/A file be simultaneously compliant with PDF/X and vice-versa?

Answer: Yes, both PDF/X and PDF/A have been intentionally developed by ISO in such a way that a PDF document can conform to both standards at the same time. Thus, although typographical aspects – e.g. information on trappings – are not explicitly demanded by the PDF/A standard, they are not forbidden either. PDF/A also doesn’t forbid creation of PDFs so that they will be considered as production-compatible in the graphics industry. In detail, divergences between PDF/A and PDF/X have indeed resulted from the development chronology of standards. In practice, these minor differences seldom pose a problem and conversions ought to be smooth.

Question: How do you generate a simultaneous PDF/A & PDF/X compliant file?

Answer: With the Preflight functions developed by callas software, like in Adobe Acrobat 8 Professional, a simultaneous PDF/X and PDF/A compliant document can be created from a PDF in a single step – simply set up a Preflight profile where both standards can be activated in the “Convert to PDF/X or PDF/A” menu. You can try out the whole thing using Acrobat Professional 8 – the Preflight functions available there offer various options, e.g. save a PDF/A as PDF/X; or save a PDF as PDF/A and as PDF/X in one go. With the correction options available in Preflight you can also sort out some problems through appropriate correction.

On the contrary, Adobe Acrobat Professional 7 offers PDF/A support only to some extent, as the PDF/A standard was not yet fully ready during the development of Acrobat 7.

If automatable solutions are demanded, the pdfInspektor CLI and pdfaPilot CLI from callas software can help: Both command-line modules are based exactly on the same source code as the Preflight function in Acrobat, however run unmanned in Server mode, alternately on Windows, Mac OS X, Linux or Sun. They can be integrated in Helios or Switch environments without any problem.

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