I found an interesting article about the history of PDF and the AIIM PDF Standards Wiki then did some further research on the standards that pertain to the PDF format and looked up the Adobe Acrobat Developer site so that people working in this area could have a good resource.
ANSI CGATS/ISO 15930-1-2004 (R2022)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange – Use of PDF – Part 1:
Complete exchange using CMYK data (PDF/X-1 and PDF/X-1a)
This part of CGATS/ISO 15930 specifies the methods for the use of the
Portable Document Format (PDF) for the dissemination of compound CMYK digital data, in a single exchange, that is complete and ready for final print reproduction.
ANSI CGATS/ISO 15930-3-2004 (R2013)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange – Use of PDF – Part 3:
Complete exchange suitable for colormanaged workflows (PPF/X-3)
This part of CGATS/ISO 15930 specifies the use of the Portable Document
Format (PDF) for the dissemination of complete digital data, in a single
exchange, that contains all elements necessary for final print reproduction.
These exchanges will support both colour-managed workflows and traditional CMYK workflows.
ANSI CGATS/ISO 15930-4:2004 (R2021) (Identical to ISO 15930-4:2003)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 4:
Complete exchange of CMYK and spot colour printing data using PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-1a)
Specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF) Version 1.4 for the
dissemination of complete digital data, in a single exchange, that contains all
elements ready for final print reproduction. CMYK and spot-colour data are
supported in any combination.
CGATS/ISO 15930-6:2004 (R2018) (Identical to ISO 15930-6:2003)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 6:
Complete exchange printing data suitable for colour-manage workflows using PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-3)
Specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF) Version 1.4 for the
dissemination of complete digital data, in a single exchange, that contains all
elements ready for final print reproduction. Colour-managed, CMYK, gray, RGB or spot colour data are supported.
ANSI/CGATS/ISO 15930-7:2010 (R2021) (Identical to ISO 15930-7:2010)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 7:
Complete exchange of printing data (PDF/X-4) and partial exchange of printing data with external profile reference (PDF/X-4p) using PDF 1.6
This part of ISO 15930 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format
(PDF) Version 1.6 for the dissemination of digital data intended for print
reproduction. PDF/X-4 files contain all elements necessary for final print
reproduction; PDF/X-4p files provide for unambiguous identification of an
externally supplied ICC profile for the characterized printing condition for
which they are prepared.
ANSI/CGATS/ISO 15930-8:2010 (R2021) (Identical to ISO 15930-8:2010)
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 8:
Partial exchange of printing data using PDF 1.6 (PDF/X-5)
This part of ISO 15930 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format
(PDF) Version 1.6 for the dissemination of digital data intended for print,
where all elements necessary for final print reproduction are either included or
provision is made for unique identification of externally supplied graphical
content or n-colorant ICC profiles.
ISO 15930-1:2001
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange – Use of PDF – Part 1:
Complete exchange using CMYK data (PDF/X-1 and PDF/X-1a)
This part of ISO 15930 specifies the methods for the use of the Portable
Document Format (PDF) for the dissemination of compound CMYK digital data, in a single exchange, that is complete and ready for final print reproduction.
ISO 15930-3:2002
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange – Use of PDF – Part 3:
Complete exchange suitable for colour-managed workflows (PDF/X-3)
ISO 15930-3:2002 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF) for
the dissemination of complete digital data, in a single exchange, that contains
all elements necessary for final print reproduction. These exchanges will
support both colour-managed workflows and traditional CMYK workflows.
ISO 15930-4:2003
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 4:
Complete exchange of CMYK and spot colour printing data using PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-1a)
ISO 15930-4:2003 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF)
Version 1.4 for the dissemination of complete digital data, in a single exchange
that contains all elements ready for final print reproduction. CMYK and spot-colour data are supported in any combination.
ISO 15930-6:2003
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 6:
Complete exchange of printing data suitable for colour-managed workflows using PDF 1.4 (PDF/X-3)
ISO 15930-6:2003 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF)
Version 1.4 for the dissemination of complete digital data, in a single exchange
that contains all elements necessary for final print reproduction. Colour-managed, CMYK, Gray, RGB or spot colour data are supported.
ISO 15930-7:2008
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 7:
Complete exchange of printing data (PDF/X-4) and partial exchange of printing data with external profile reference (PDF/X-4p) using PDF 1.6
ISO 15930-7:2008 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF)
Version 1.6 for the dissemination of digital data intended for print
reproduction. Where all elements necessary for final print reproduction are
contained within the file it is designated as PDF/X-4. If a required ICC profile
is externally supplied and unambiguously identified, it is designated as
PDF/X-4p.
Colour-managed, CMYK, gray, RGB or spot colour data are supported, as are PDF transparency and optional content. Files can be prepared for use with gray, RGB and CMYK printing characterizations.
ISO 15930-8:2008
Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange using PDF – Part 8: Partial
exchange of printing data using PDF 1.6 (PDF/X-5)
ISO 15930-8:2008 specifies the use of the portable document format (PDF)
version 1.6 for the dissemination of digital data intended for print, where all
elements necessary for final print reproduction are either included or provision
is made for unique identification of externally supplied graphical content or
n-colorant ICC profiles.
Colour-managed, CMYK, gray, RGB or spot colour data are supported in any
combination; as are PDF transparency and optional content. Files can be prepared for use with gray, RGB, CMYK and n-colorant printing characterizations.
Corrigendum
Document management – Electronic document file format for long-term preservation – Part 1: Use of PDF 1.4 (PDF/A-1)
ISO 19005-1:2005 specifies how to use the Portable Document Format (PDF) 1.4 for long-term preservation of electronic documents. It is applicable to documents containing combinations of character, raster and vector data.
Document management – Engineering document format using PDF – Part 1: Use of PDF 1.6 (PDF/E-1)
ISO 24517-:2008 specifies the use of the Portable Document Format (PDF) Version 1.6 for the creation of documents used in engineering workflows. ISO 24517-:2008 does not define the following:
- method of electronic distribution;
- method of creation or conversion from paper or electronic documents to the PDF/E format;
- specific technical design, user interface, or implementation;
- required computer hardware and/operating systems; or
- methods for validating the conformance of PDF/E files or readers.
Document management — Portable document format — Part 1: PDF 1.7
ISO 32000-1:2008 specifies a digital form for representing electronic documents to enable users to exchange and view electronic documents independent of the environment in which they were created or the environment in which they are viewed or printed. It is intended for the developer of software that creates PDF files (conforming writers), software that reads existing PDF files and interprets their contents for display and interaction (conforming readers) and PDF products that read and/or write PDF files for a variety of other purposes (conforming products).
ISO 32000-1:2008 does not specify the following: specific processes for
converting paper or electronic documents to the PDF format; specific technical
design, user interface or implementation or operational details of rendering;
specific physical methods of storing these documents such as media and storage conditions; methods for validating the conformance of PDF files or readers; required computer hardware and/or operating system.