Dataline joins the Ghent Workgroup (GWG) to enhance PDF capabilities
4 March 2025
Dirk Deroo (l) with GWG Chairman David Zwang (m) and Dataline Product Director Christoph Krohn (r)
Membership will boost further PDF developments in MultiPress and fuel MIS/ERP-related PDF services for customers.
GHENT, BELGIUM – March 4, 2025— Dataline, the developer of the leading MIS/ERP solution MultiPress, is proud to announce its membership in the Ghent Workgroup (GWG). As a vendor member, Dataline will actively contribute to the development and adoption of industry standards, ensuring greater efficiency and accuracy in print production workflows. With more than 1000 print media companies across Europe relying on MultiPress for workflow automation and process optimisation, Dataline is committed to helping the industry standardise quality control. Their emphasis on automation, process optimisation and standardization, makes them an ideal partner for the GWG. MultiPress already includes a GWG-compliant Check & Repair functionality for PDF files. By joining the Ghent Workgroup, Dataline aims to enhance PDF capabilities in MultiPress and strengthen MIS/ERP-related PDF services for customers.
Dirk Deroo, CEO and founder of Dataline, explains: "MultiPress, our MIS/ERP solution, has supported PDF quality control for years. Our Check & Repair functionality ensures that PDF files meet the necessary specifications, allowing users to enrich orders with essential technical details. By joining the GWG, we can help shape the future of quality control, particularly in the areas of Intent Preflight and Processing Steps. This will enable us to check an even wider range of production specifications, improving accuracy across the board. This not only saves time but also increases reliability and consistency in print production workflows."
Intent Preflight plays a crucial role in ensuring that submitted PDFs match the technical requirements of an order, considering factors such as page count, colours, and dimensions. While GWG has historically focused on technical preflight, the specification subcommittee is now working to standardise intent preflight to prevent production issues before they occur.
“Having the active support of vendors while we discuss existing specifications and how we can expand those into additional areas of the workflow is crucial,” comments David Zwang, Chair of the GWG. “The adoption of standards is even more important than their creation. Dataline’s joining the GWG provides us with active input from a major MIS/ERP vendor, which is essential to ensure that quality control can be performed as early in the process as possible, taking all metadata from the order into account.”
“Gaining time and establishing higher efficiency in managing print orders has always been key to our MIS,” continues Dirk Deroo. “For our customers, this membership means an even higher level of automation in the handover between administration and production. As MultiPress manages all the information about orders and the products involved, conducting quality control well before entering prepress or production is ideal. By integrating standardised quality control earlier in the process, MultiPress will further reduce manual interventions, minimise errors, and ensure a smoother transition from order intake to production. Detecting potential problems early saves time and, therefore, money. Our membership in the GWG allows us to enhance this vision and its practical implementation in MultiPress.”
Leading Dataline’s GWG initiative is Peter Claes. He will oversee the development of MIS-related PDF services for Dataline customers, ensuring they benefit from the latest advancements in standardisation and quality control.
About Dataline
Dataline understands what print media companies need to streamline their processes, automate workflows, and increase profitability. Their high-quality MIS/ERP software, MultiPress, is specifically designed to meet the needs of modern print media companies of all sizes and production techniques.
Founded in 1997 by CEO Dirk Deroo, Dataline’s mission has always been clear: modernising print production companies through automation, digitalisation, and process improvement. The administrative workflow in a print media company involves various complex steps unique to the graphic arts industry. General software, not specifically tailored to this sector, cannot meet these needs. To address this, Dataline developed MultiPress MIS/ERP software.
Now, with over 100 employees, a network of certified partners, and five offices across Europe, this industry leader has gained the trust of more than 1000 print media companies. Dataline’s team is dedicated to delivering exceptional service and remains committed to being the go-to reference in the industry.
About MultiPress
MultiPress is the #1 MIS/ERP software for the European graphic arts industry, developed by leading innovator Dataline. This powerful software integrates all the functionalities needed to streamline the administration and workflow of print and sign companies, overcome obstacles, and maximise added value.
This modular management software supports you from start to finish. From client management, quote calculation, time tracking, production and order management, and logistics to cost control, dashboards, and invoicing—MultiPress offers numerous features that save time, resources, and money for print media businesses.
Dataline has earned the trust of more than 14 000 daily users across 1000 locations. MultiPress software is not only celebrated by its users but has also won a European Digital Press Award five years in a row.
About Ghent Workgroup
The Ghent Workgroup, formed in June 2002, is an international assembly of industry associations, suppliers, educators, and industry members from around the globe. The Ghent Workgroup aims to establish and disseminate process specifications for best practices in graphic arts workflows.
Since its inception almost 20 years ago, the organization has consistently produced numerous process specifications for PDF exchange, developing practical tools for automating processes and testing and establishing consistent PDFs for print, publishing, and packaging production – all free at www.gwg.org.
Members are comprised of graphic arts associations, including CIP4 (Switzerland), KVGO (the Netherlands), Febelgra (Belgium), Fespa (UK), Medibel+ (Belgium), PDFX-ready (Switzerland), Printing United Alliance (USA), and VIGC (Belgium). Vendor members include Agfa, callas software, Canon, DALIM Software, Dataline, EFI, Enfocus, Esko, Global Graphics, Heidelberg, HYBRID Software, Kodak, Ricoh, Tech Research (TagG) and Ultimate Technographics. Industry members are agileStreams, Igepa Sagamgraphic, JP/Politikens Hus, Litografia Rosés, Prinovis, RRD, and ybam. Educational members are CEC LATAM, Future Schoolz India, Media University Stuttgart, Ryerson University, the University of Ljubljana, the University of Novi Sad, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and the University of Wuppertal.
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