Twenty years after its first release, Enfocus has announced an update to its PitStop PDF preflight and correction software and new support arrangements.

New PDF 'geomapper' technology allows new ways in which objects to be selected or ignored so, for example, checks could be configured for only those objects needed to render or print a PDF file, ignoring others and reducing complexity of files.

Initial implementations of this were shown at DRUPA last year, with checks restricted to within an irregular shape such as a cutline or structural design information. Now decisions can be based not just on a single object, but also by taking into account other objects, underlying or overlapping the original.

Senior product manager Andrew Bailes-Collins says the technology opens up exciting new possibilities: "For example, a text segment can be preflighted based on its legibility, by checking the colour of any objects underneath it."

PitStop Pro and PitStop Server includes the addition of 40 Devicelink profiles based on standard ICC profiles, to help users with CMYK-CMYK colour conversions, useful for managing ink coverage and the conversion of PDF files from one printing condition to another - such as Fogra to GRACoL or SWOP and vice versa - with support from sister company X-Rite.

New are an Inspector interface for analysing and editing page and transparency groups directly within the PDF file, Action Lists for customer requested functionality, and a PDF Report function for validating the presence and configuration of layers within a PDF file.

A name change to PitStop 2017 for the April release signals a move to an annual cycle and introduces changes to the upgrade, pricing and support policies, with wider use of annual maintenance contracts and limitations for others.