The Ghent Workgroup (GWG) announced today that it has welcomed the German Fogra Institute as a new liaison member. Founded in 1951 as a research institute for the graphic arts industry, Fogra was established to enable companies to achieve scientific and technical progress through collaboration – even among competitors. The mission aligns closely with that of the GWG, which brings together all key parties in the printing industry to develop and promote best practices.
“The concept of liaison memberships allows GWG to work closely together with other industry organizations that work around technical and scientific progress,” comments 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 honored to be able to work closer together in the future. The mission statements of both organizations are wonderfully aligned, and our respective focus on PDF and color is nicely complementary. We could not be happier to be able to support each other going forward.”
Dr Andreas Kraushaar, Head of the Prepress Department at Fogra, puts it this way: “We are pleased to join the GWG as a liaison member. 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 in the service of print quality and standardization.”
One example of how cooperation can benefit both sides is a joint technical meeting. The GWG intends to organize one of its technical meetings at the Fogra headquarters in Munich-Aschheim, Germany, in early 2027. This will give experts from both organizations the opportunity to meet and work closely together. This will bring together a wealth of printing knowledge for the kind of educational events that GWG likes to combine with its technical meetings. More news on this to follow later.
About the Fogra Research Institute for Media Technologies
Fogra conducts application-oriented research in the field of print and media technologies. It has played a key role in developing groundbreaking and internationally recognized standards for process and quality testing.
Its international membership includes companies from across the entire media production spectrum – from producers of printed and electronic media to equipment manufacturers.
Fogra positions itself as a modern service provider, offering industry-specific testing, expert advice on quality assurance and mediation in technical disputes. Its greatest assets are its extensive knowledge base, its in-deep technological expertise and keen understanding of current developments.
