Interpreting the PDF specification

This page applies to Harlequin v13.1r0 and later; and to Harlequin Core but not Harlequin MultiRIP.

Where an error or an ambiguity arises, the RIP throws an error and ceases processing.

The view within GGS is that most end users will want to know about errors within PDF files presented to the RIP rather than, for instance, running a job to plate or even to press before realizing that a logo is missing from one corner. However, some errors arise from the fact that Acrobat Distiller and other products generating PDF under some circumstances can write PDF which does not comply with the specification in [PDF1.2] or [PDF1.3].

The purpose of the /Strict key in the PDF execution parameters is to allow for a similar behavior to Acrobat, less rigorously enforcing the requirements of the specification. The general principle is to allow errors which do not introduce any uncertainty in how the output should appear.

An example is the state machine in Section 8.1 of [PDF1.3], and [PDF1.2]. This describes which operations are allowed in each PDF state a restriction that Acrobat appears not to enforce. For instance, only path-related operators are allowed inside a PDF path object, but many PDF files exist in which this rule is broken. With the Strict flag set to false , the state machine transitions are not enforced.

Similarly, when Strict is false , the RIP tolerates other minor deviations from [PDF1.3].