---
title: Requirements for PDF imports
slug: editorial/requirements-for-pdf-imports
description: If you are delivering your e-paper content as a PDF for import via SFTP Upload (Purple Importer) or sending it to X-Cago, it is important to follow the requirements in this article so that the content can be consumed by the Purple Platform.
docTags: 
createdAt: 2023-10-06T13:37:26.344Z
---

Purple Importer

***

## Summary

If you are delivering your e-paper content as a PDF for import via sFTP Upload (Purple Importer) or sending it to X-CAGO, it is important to follow the requirements in this article so that the content can be consumed by the Purple Platform.

## PDF Requirements

To achieve a perfect result, the PDF files should meet the following specifications:

- Colour system: RGB
- PDF version > 1.6
- JPEG image compression
- dpi > 150 - 300 (only has an influence on the display quality), from 300 dpi onwards you should scale down to avoid errors caused by too large file sizes.
- No transparent background in the PDF
- No Layers. Please always deliver a flat PDF

:::hint{type="info"}
Note: Please do not use print PDFs, i.e. no CMYK images and no crop marks.

:::

### PDFs in read mode

The PDF files supplied to be used in read mode in the app with our external supplier X-CAGO, must comply with separate specifications in order to exclude processing errors: If your issues will processed from X-CAGO, they have to be delivered as a ZIP file (PDF in ZIP). Learn more in [XML (EPUB) Specification](docId:5L3hBu0OpQFIEkWZHI9Os).

### PDF document structure

- No read-only PDFs may be used.
- All pages must be single pages (no double pages).
- All pages should be arranged in the order in which they will be displayed in the final result.
- Trim boxes should always be set correctly, i.e. contain only the relevant page information without bleed and should not overlap with the opposite side of the double page.

### PDF text

- All text and fonts must be fully embedded in the PDF.
- The text must not be rasterised or have paths.
- All text is extracted as it appears in the PDF. If glyphs or special fonts are used that change the appearance of a character, only the character will be extracted.

### PDF images

- Images should not be reduced to background so that they can be extracted as separate objects.
- Down-sampling should be avoided if possible. Some down-sampling is preferable for file size reasons.
- Aim to ensure sharpness in large images with a maximum width or height of 2400 px.
- Images larger than 300 dpi are preferred as long as the output size does not exceed \~300MB. If the output is larger than 300MB, please reduce the resolution to \~150 dpi and/or use better compression.
- RGB colour space