The vast majority of print jobs are cooperative efforts involving several companies. Designers create the artwork, prepress companies often finalize the artwork technically, publishers collate input from several sources into one publication, printers let their presses hum producing the end product. Transferring the documents in a way that is both simple and technically reliable is a key challenge for the graphic arts industry.

Initially, film was the medium of transmission. As the artwork was hard coded into molecules there was no risk of misinterpretation. But as the prepress process became increasingly digital and time-sensitive, film lost its appeal as a workable medium. So the quest for a workable digital file format started.