IPEX 2006 implications for MIS Systems

Ipex 2006 was the first trade show where visitors could get direct feedback from the exhibitors about their initial experiences with their JDF/JMF installations. At DRUPA 2004 mainly prototypes were shown.

As usual it is the early adaptors who are installing JDF/JMF enabled equipment. From listening to the exhibitors the general consensus is that if you already are a well-organised and efficient printing company then you will be the ones to benefit most from JDF/JMF. The reason for this is that you already have processes in place to process the large of amounts of data that are being generated by the presses.

For example, if you have spent five million dollars on a new press that has an 8-minute plate change and uses 40 sheets for a makeready then you would really be interested to see if that is the case in your factory. JDF/JMF can provide you this information in real time.

Or you may have a 24/7 operation. You would want to know right away if a job was taking longer than expected, rather than finding out at the end of the shift.

Another big benefit of JDF/JMF is that it gives you a better picture of what happens in your factory during a night shift. Previously this was always a grey area but now with the instant feedback you get you can track employee and job efficiency on this shift as easily as on any other.

What was not clear is whether JDF/JMF is now standard for all new equipment or whether it is an optional extra. The uptake of JDF/JMF in print shops will be similar to the introduction of PDF workflow or CTP technology, except with the increased rate of change it will probably take 5 years instead of 10. It is also interesting to note that while JDF/JMF was originally proposed to be a 'one size fits all', there is a fair degree of manufacturer specific information.

The other piece of technology that impressed at Ipex was the ongoing automation of the prepress area. There was software available that let one person accept files from customers, check them, do the pagination, post proofs to their web site, bring in individual pages that needed correction, get the final proof signed off then send the output to the platemaker - all without leaving the desk. A single person is now handling what the tasks that were previously performed by one or two departments in a print shop.

The one unanswered question at Ipex was who is responsible for controlling the workflow. Is it your MIS system, the workflow software supplied by your prepress vendor or instead what is supplied by your press supplier? These questions are yet to be answered. Watch this space.