David Zwang, chairman of the GWG, which is responsible for establishing process specifications for best practice in graphic arts workflows and usually meets in the US, described the event as "a rare opportunity" for UK printers and pre-media professionals.

"This is an opportunity for people who work in production to hear directly from, and then talk to, the GWG's PDF industry insiders who are intentionally the same people who write PDF-related code at their day jobs as senior engineers, product developers and pre-media experts," he added.

"It's a rare opportunity that we encourage printers and premedia professionals, in the London area, to take advantage of."

The event will be held in the LCC Podium Lecture Theatre at the University of the Arts London from 11:00am to 4:30pm on 23 January with an attendee lunch, sponsored by the GWG, available from 1:00-1:30pm. Adobe, Callas, Enfocus and Specle will also hold an information session on their products and services from 4:30-5:30pm.

The packaging seminar will include a presentation from industry leaders and suppliers on the latest GWG PDF for Packaging specifications and how they can be used to streamline and ensure consistency in packaging design and production workflows across the supply chain.

The session will focus on the future of PDF files in packaging and how "smart layers" will be used to enhance and drive the way the packaging industry uses PDF files in future.

Meanwhile, the PDF specifications seminar will see Zwang and a team of experts present the new GWG2012 specifications for creation and preflight of PDF/X-4 files that ensure successful production.

Attendance at either or both seminars is free and on a first-come, first-served basis, by emailing info@gwg.org.

The GWG was formed in 2002 as an international assembly of industry associations and suppliers from across Europe and the US. Since its inception it has produced numerous process specifications for PDF dissemination as well as developing tools for automating processes and establishing consistent PDFs for print and publishing.