18 mrt. 2025
Berlin, March 19, 2025 – callas software, the market leader for automated PDF quality control and archival solutions, today releases a significant update to its flagship pdfToolbox product line. The update makes pdfToolbox better at manually fixing problematic files, adds an impressive amount of new core functionality for automated usage, and streamlines the creation, testing, and documenting of those automated processes. The update is available immediately.
“The focus of the pdfToolbox product line is automation,” says Dietrich von Seggern, CEO at callas software: “This new release is a prime example of that, with lots of new functionality that extends the flexibility of automated workflows. It also focuses on making processing so robust that it can be used in automation without concerns.” David van Driessche, callas’ Chief Evangelist, continues: “Interestingly enough, that means pdfToolbox Desktop – the manual version of pdfToolbox – also received many updates in version 16. The Desktop version is used to prepare the profiles and process plans used in automated workflows and to fix problematic PDF files singled out by the automated process.”
While originally invented to allow users to control the order of fixups run on a PDF document, process plans have grown into an incredibly powerful way to modify documents exactly as needed. In pdfToolbox 16, this trend continues.
First, integrated support for process plans that need to loop over the pages in a PDF document has been made much more convenient. Additional options to the “Add files” process plan step allow replacing the currently processed PDF file with a completely new file. Lastly, the process plan editor now supports annotations, so you can better document what it does.
Fixups and actions allow modifications to PDF documents; either to fix problems, or to make those documents production-ready. pdfToolbox 16 adds a host of additional functionality. Some examples: the “Place barcode” fixup allows using all advanced barcode parameters without the need to create an HTML template, which vastly improves its usability. On top of that, there is now a “Replace barcode” fixup, which lets you search for barcodes, and replace them with a “better” version.
A new “Create file” action makes it possible to output text-based files directly from a process plan. A prime example would be using the pdfToolbox preflight engine to detect information in a PDF file and then writing that information into a custom JSON or XML file for further automated processing outside of pdfToolbox.
As a last example, the new “Place file on path” fixup takes a PDF file (or another file format that can be converted to PDF by pdfToolbox) and adds it along a vector path in the PDF file. This can, for example, be used to place grommets a certain distance away from the cut contour of a banner.
Instead of implementing limited image optimization options directly, pdfToolbox 16 makes it possible to export all images in a PDF file. The export creates a folder with those images and a descriptive JSON file that identifies where the images come from. The images can then be optimized or modified using either local tools or cloud-based solutions, and pdfToolbox can then replace the original images with the modified versions in the PDF document.
This new functionality allows building automated workflows that use image optimization tools (using AI or not) to optimize images in a PDF document.
The pdfToolbox imposition engine is used in traditional imposition cases, but its flexibility allows it to be used for other purposes (such as creating proof pages or tiling…). In pdfToolbox 16, the imposition functionality received many upgrades to make it even more powerful and easier to use.
The biggest functional change is undoubtedly the integration of place content functionality into JavaScript imposition configurations, allowing these configurations to place text, lines, rectangles, circles, and barcodes on an imposed sheet.
To make creating imposition configurations less daunting for users, pdfToolbox 16 introduces a completely rewritten chapter in the documentation, including an example library. The product also integrates the ability to insert JavaScript imposition snippets that showcase the most essential utility functions and objects. Add to that support for the JavaScript console and an immediate view of the generated imposition object as you create a JavaScript configuration!
pdfToolbox 16 includes enhancements when PDF files require manual inspection or correction. Two of the most significant additions are the space usage dialog and the page box editor window.
The space usage dialog provides an overview of the types of objects in a PDF document and the space they take up (in bytes and percentage of file size). This enables inspecting PDF documents to determine whether fonts, images, page descriptions, or something else use the most space. Some of these object types can even immediately be removed to reduce file size.
The page box editor enables quick adjustments to the trim box for PDF documents and ensures adequate bleed and gutter (the space between the bleed box and the crop or media box). Although pdfToolbox can manage this task automatically, there are instances when files require visual inspection to apply the correct boxes.
Of course, these are not the only new features in pdfToolbox 16. A limited list of additional new features is:
callas pdfToolbox 16 is available today from the callas software website.
For customers without an active maintenance agreement or with further inquiries regarding availability, price, options, or return on investment, contact your distribution partner or reseller.
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