GENT, BELGIUM -- In an open letter to the user community, Ucamco today announced standard Gerber as "technologically obsolete." 

"Standard Gerber no longer complies with the Gerber specification, and has been fully superseded by the current Extended Gerber format," wrote Karel Tavernier, managing director of Ucamco, in announcing the company's push for users to switch formats.

"Despite its name, Standard Gerber is not a defined standard for PCB data transfer. Units and aperture definitions, rather than being governed by a recognizable standard, are transmitted in informal documents which are open to interpretation," he wrote.
"As a result, Standard Gerber files cannot be machine-read in a standardized, reliable way. Standard Gerber requires aperture painting and copper pours, both of which create manual work in CAM, adding cost, delay and risk to the PCB manufacturing process. Standard Gerber does not support attributes."
Tavernier took the opportunity to pitch the company's newer Extended Gerber format, noting its files are machine readable, do not require painting, and support attributes. "Virtually all software can read Extended Gerber files, while few of the new implementations can read the older Standard Gerber format," he added.

"There is not a single good reason left to use Standard Gerber. If you are still using it, you are exposing your business and that of your clients and partners to needless competitive disadvantage and risk, and you are fully responsible for any issues that might arise as a result of its use."