With the publication of PDF 2.0 in 2017 (first revision in 2020), new parts of the standard were introduced. These concern the formats PDF/A, PDF/VT, PDF/R and PDF/X. They were improved and adapted. Since 2020, PDF/X-6 has been recommended as the successor to PDF/X-4 for professional printing. PDF/X-5 was based on PDF 1.6 and additionally allowed multi-channel ICC profiles, but this version has not seen broad adoption.
From the very beginning, PDF technology has evolved through continuous development and adaptation, affecting media designers, creatives, and the printing industry alike. This is a factor that should not be underestimated, especially today. One example is the use of transparencies:
In our article on the new PDF Standards 2020, we already mentioned four new standard parts that will play an increasingly important role in the future. We also mentioned PDF/R-1 as a standard for the optimal storage and data exchange of multi-page raster image documents, i.e. above all scanned documents and photos.