ISO 15930
The ISO 15930 family of standards define PDF/X, which support the graphic arts and professional printing sectors. PDF/X was the first standardized PDF subset and thus is also now the largest family of the ISO PDF subsets. The ISO 15930 family of PDF/X standards includes several documents which have been withdrawn or have published errata (see here for a list of all PDF/X ISO publications) and, as a result, a year is sometimes required to create an unambiguous PDF/X conformance level. Many later parts also include multiple conformance levels, designated by additional letter combinations append after the PDF/X version designator.
All versions of PDF/X use XMP metadata to declare their conformance.
PDF/VT further extends and refines to PDF/X to support variable data printing. Additional print workflow and metadata standards can also be used to specify print product processing and job ticketing details.
Application Notes for PDF/X-4 and PDF/X-6 supplement the ISO 15930 family of standards by providing additional information and guidance.
Current PDF/X conformance levels are listed below:
| Conformance level | ISO standard | Complete exchange? | Colour-managed data permitted? | Print characterization colour spaces supported | PDF Version |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PDF/X-1:2001 | ISO 15930-1:2001 | Yes | No | CMYK | 1.3 |
| PDF/X-1a:2001 | ISO 15930-1:2001 | Yes | No | CMYK | 1.3 |
| PDF/X-1a:2003 | ISO 15930-4:2003 | Yes | No | CMYK | 1.4 (no transparency) |
| PDF/X-3:2002 | ISO 15930-3:2002 | Yes | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.3 |
| PDF/X-3:2003 | ISO 15930-6:2003 | Yes | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.4 (no transparency) |
| PDF/X-4 | ISO 15930-7:2010 | Yes | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.6 |
| PDF/X-4p | ISO 15930-7:2010 | No | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.6 |
| PDF/X-5g | ISO 15930-8:2010 | No | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.6 |
| PDF/X-5n | ISO 15930-8:2010 | No | Yes | n-colourant ICC profile | 1.6 |
| PDF/X-5pg | ISO 15930-8:2010 | No | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 1.6 |
| PDF/X-6 | ISO 15930-9:2020 | Yes | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 2.0 |
| PDF/X-6p | ISO 15930-9:2020 | No | Yes | Gray, RGB, CMYK | 2.0 |
| PDF/X-6n | ISO 15930-9:2020 | No | Yes | n-colourant ICC profile | 2.0 |
The “X” in PDF/X represents “eXchange”, referring to the exchange of digital print data as PDF between a print buyer and a print producer.
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The ISO 15930 family of standards define PDF/X, which support the graphic arts and professional printing sectors.
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ISO Group Responsible: ISO TC130 WG2
ISO Status: status of all PDF-related ISO work
Errata: PDF/X-6 (ISO 15930-9)
Publications: PDF/X in a Nutshell