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 In today's fast-paced publishing environment, print buyers, project teams, creatives, customers,
and production partners are confronted with communications chaos. The industry faces
a rapid growth in short-run jobs, highly automated workflows and a continuous revolution in
the world of electronic communications. Print professionals and creatives have to collaborate
like never before, to speed last-minute changes and efficiently control digital assets. Amidst all
the change, one thing remains constant: the challenge to reduce costs and streamline the
entire publishing process while maintaining the highest standards of quality. |
Ten years ago, the entire print job was usually processed by one person in the sales administration
department; today, customers often communicate directly with the prepress departments.
As a result, it has become more difficult for sales administrators to keep an eye on the
job status. Thanks to the JDF network connecting the commercial and the technical workflow,
all information is now once again available to sales administrators.
JDF can build a bridge between the technical prepress workflow and the commercial workflow of the MIS
software. What used to be two independent processes becomes a synergized system capable of being
fully automated.
At Graph Expo Agfa and HIFLEX will show how JDF technology can help to organize, automate, integrate
and communicate the printing business from a customer’s product idea to final product delivery. In order to
integrate the entire production process, Agfa products :ApogeeX and :Delano are communicating bi-directionally,
in real-time with HIFLEX MIS using JDF/JMF data.
When the CSR creates a new print order in the HIFLEX management information system, a job is automatically
created in :Delano— Agfa's new web-based project management system. If the customer does not already exist in
the :Delano system, the complete customer record will be created automatically. Additionally, HIFLEX can
create a Delano account for the customer contact person related to the print job. The job not only contains
order number and job description, but also the complete job structure, including imposition. HIFLEX sends :Delano
the name of the product, name of the product parts (e.g. cover, content), number of pages, formats and even
signatures (e.g. 2x16 pages, 1x8 pages for content), imposition schemes and folding catalogs. The communication is
very tight, creating a "best in class" degree of integration between the systems.
Track, preview, review, proof (remote or on-site) and approve all project-related information in real-time. Incoming
files are automatically preflight checked and processed, creating a certified PDF. :Delano also provides
Remote Proofing capabilities assuring delivery of high quality proofs from printer to the customer. At
this stage of production, :Delano seamlessly communicates with the :ApogeeX prepress workflow solution,
which takes care of the plate imaging.
:Delano uses JDF as a universal interface and delivers up-to-the-minute production information back to the
HIFLEX MIS. The HIFLEX MIS gathers prepress statistics, such as information on uploaded files, approvals
conducted and material consumption data. This increases real-time visibility into production data and
costs, and keeps the job-costing report accurate. Prepress data can also be displayed in the planning
board, as the information on imaged plates (for example) is important for the start of production on the presses.
The CSR and the production manager use :Delano to monitor production status and deadlines. For this purpose
HIFLEX passes JMF production information from the presses and postpress devices to the :Delano system. HIFLEX
provides JDF connectivity to all major press manufacturers and has already installed JDF/JMF interfaces to
manufacturers such as MAN Roland, KBA and Komori - all working in live production at various customer sites.
The data exchange between HIFLEX and the pressroom is bi-directional. During the production run, the press status
is reported to HIFLEX in real-time via a JDF/JMF interface. The status, speed and number of good sheets are displayed
in the HIFLEX system and passed through to :Delano. HIFLEX is also capable of providing :Delano with JMF data
from postpress equipment. HIFLEX installed the world's first live postpress JDF/JMF integration with a Muller
Martini Amrys saddle-stitcher in October 2003. The production status forwarded by HIFLEX is displayed as a percentage
bar in the :Delano system. |
HIFLEX manufactures the Management Information System (MIS) HIFLEX Print which manages all the business
processes of printing and media companies. HIFLEX is the global technology leader in the area of JDF connectivity
and has already implemented a large number of JDF installations with prepress and press manufacturers. Its software
is in use all over the world and is available in 15 languages.
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:Delano is a whole solution for customer focused web-based project management and consists of several building
blocks that can be configured into different configurations. It is a standards-compliant, open platform for process
integration and ongoing enhancements of operations. While :Delano can interface with any professional production
environment, it does offer enhanced project management capabilities when tied to the :Apogee work-flow solution. |
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