Years ago, callas had the idea to bring together PDF geeks (a title worn as a badge of honour by the people coming to this event!) for two days, so they can provide real-world examples of the challenges they encounter with PDF. During these two days, possible solutions are imagined. Sometimes the conclusion is that there is no real solution (yet), but often people go home with working prototypes.

The 10th edition of pdfCamp, as it has become known, was organized just last week in Berlin. As usual, it was sold out without much advertising (this is an event that really has a limited number of spots, as too many people would make the interaction too difficult). Almost 40 people gathered close to the callas offices in Berlin. Very windy outside this time, but cozy and exciting inside! Well, if PDF technicalities are what interest and excite you, of course!

The event is impossible to summarize - and of course we also don't really even want to try: you should simply join the next one if you're curious - but here are a few of the topics that caught our attention…

Preflight

The preflight engine in pdfToolbox has become amazingly flexible over the years. Preflight Profiles, Process Plans, Checks, Fixups, Actions, Quick Checks and Fixes… there's a lot to digest. One of the recurring topics at pdfCamps is about the intricacies of this engine. This year, there were quite a few color-related questions, from how to generate undercolor white based on ink amount, to how to separate technical colors from design in a flexible way.

Bleed

Bleed is always a hot topic for our customers since nearly every print product requires it. We tackled open questions, demonstrated different approaches, discussed potential new methods, and introduced the new "Derive offset from page" feature from pdfToolbox 15. Oh, and there might have been some "improvements" that our developers were able to spot …

JavaScript

No pdfCamp would be complete without a bit of JavaScript. While it didn't take center stage this year as it has in past pdfCamps (much to the disappointment of our developers and JavaScript enthusiasts), it is often the key to solving complex tasks and improving performance. As it is also part of the imposition engine, a little knowledge of JavaScript can seriously help you while using pdfToolbox.

Of particular importance this year perhaps, was something like the following:

Yes: a Process Plan with a genuine loop in it! We discussed not only how this works, but also looked at the performance repercussions and possible alternatives (such as using Place Content templates, or the Arbitrary JavaScript based Fixups).

Feedback

For us at callas, what we love most about pdfCamp is seeing firsthand how our software is used in real-world scenarios by our customers and partners. We get a better insight into the challenges they face in their daily workflows, which in turn gives us direct feedback and ideas for future feature requests. You would be surprised to learn how many of pdfToolbox's great features had their origins at a pdfCamp event.

Our attendees luckily share our passion for the events! Andreas Müller, from "Wir machen Druck" described his experience as followed: "Like the last two pdfCamps, this one was a celebration for me as an enthusiastic pdfToolbox user. In a relaxed atmosphere, I learned more in two days with the callas team than I could have learned in two months of trying on my own. The perspectives on other users' requirements and the different solutions are extremely fascinating - there are many ways to get there."

Next up

A big thank you to all of the attendees who made the 10th edition of pdfCamp a great success! We truly appreciate your participation, collaboration, and feedback. If you missed pdfCamp this time or would like to join us again, stay tuned for the spring edition of pdfCamp 2025 in Berlin!

It's not absolutely set in stone yet, but you might want to keep April 10 and 11, 2025 free in your calendar... 🗓

We look forward to seeing you there!