 | | | | |
|
Denna sida finns ej tillgänlig på 'Svenska'. Därför visas den engelska versionen.:
 Results of the JDF beta test at Neidhart+Schön in Switzerland are encouraging. - JDF and its messaging format, JMF, work fine. But there is far more to JDF implementation than getting two
systems to exchange messages. In fact, some of the most time-consuming aspects of implementation are
organizational, not technical. |
In some respects, today’s discussions of JDF
remind us of a man poking around in the fog: hypotheses, opinions, abstractions, but nothing
concrete. We constantly hear that the JDF "product" promises to encompass the entire
graphic arts industry and to become the universal interface for all technical, commercial and data-transfer
processes. Yet, there is a simple assessment that any product must measure up to: a practical test in the
field. Thus, to learn a bit about both the practical performance of JDF and its claims, we took a detailed
look at one of the most interesting of the dozen or so JDF beta installations in the world. We thought
this would provide a good indication of how far along the practical implementation of JDF is, a few months
before Drupa.
With this in mind, we visited a JDF beta site at Neidhart+Schön AG (N+S). N+S is one of the best-known
printers in Switzerland, located in the western part of Zurich. N+S has about 70 employees and runs a total
of 17 units of MAN Roland and Komori presses. N+S is known for producing the very highest quality commercial
work, highly valued by its clients in banking, insurance and financial circles. N+S is part of the
Neidhart+Schön Group, which also includes AAA Ag (for digital printing) and Via One Multi Media.
The decision to launch this JDF beta test was the result of two factors. The first happened just a year
ago, when the decision was made to invest in a platesetter and a modern output-workflow system. N+S
was very open to the suggestion, made by this author in his role as prepress consultant, to add JDF networking
to the list of requirements. The owner and the head technologist had been thinking about integration
and networking of the production department for years and had—to the extent possible—already implemented
their ideas. They had had many conversations with various suppliers in the past, and they didn’t
always feel their ideas had been taken seriously. This included major printing equipment and prepress vendors,
whose reactions to the question of whether they could integrate with N+S’s printing-management package
could be summarized as: "HIFLEX who?"
Negotiations concerning prepress modernization at N+S concentrated on two vendors, and both
showed a willingness to fulfill the JDF-related requirements. But only one firm can get the order, and in this
case Creo was selected to provide a CTP device and the Prinergy workflow. The Creo order was directly conditioned
on a contract for a JDF beta installation.
This brings us to the second factor that led to this early test of JDF. As we see it, the German firm HIFLEX
was the source. A total of 21 seats of HIFLEX’s printmanagement software had been installed at N+S in
Zurich for more than ten years. HIFLEX and N+S were (and still are) involved in a long-term development
partnership. The production network that was already in place at N+S was established when the HIFLEX shopfloor
terminals were installed. HIFLEX, based in Aachen, had already been focused on the concept of JDF and
the opportunities for implementing it for several years.
Given this background, it is understandable that the JDF test at N+S was not designed to be just any
beta test. It was expected to show concrete progress in job-information networking as well as a direct, bidirectional
interface between Prinergy and the HIFLEX print-management package. Anything short of that
wouldn’t have been worth much to the Swiss company, but the firm would still have had to put man-weeks
of effort into the beta. |
The beta test was set in motion between July and September
of 2003. HIFLEX installed its HIFLEX Link and performed local tests on it. Creo installed Synapse Link
on the primary server of the Prinergy system. Synapse Link, from Creo’s Synapse product family, is the JDF
interface between the Prinergy workflow and business software systems.
The installations and tests stretched out over many days. Discussions between the vendors and their customer
took far more time than anticipated (for reasons that will be explained shortly).
For purposes of the beta installation, Creo reviewed the Prinergy 'process plans' that N+S would
use. This was done in order to document in detail how the required information out of Prinergy and into JDF.
The test phase was also used to check whether the socalled that (for example) a plate for a Roland 707 imaged via
Prinergy showed up as such in HIFLEX.
Following the initial installation on-site, almost all subsequent work was done remotely, by transmitting
modified and improved software modules. This work was accompanied by weekly conference calls during
which problems were discussed. Beyond the beta, this is to be continued via an exchange of experiences with
other suppliers and beta testers. |
To assess the results, you have to distinguish clearly between two types of data exchange: those going from
"HIFLEX into Prinergy", and those coming back from "Prinergy into HIFLEX". The first type is more easily
described, because so far it really only handles the most basic information. It is started by the job dataentry
operator. When he or she initiates a new job in HIFLEX, there is a function called Create Prepress Job
that can be triggered. Normally, it is activated automatically, but it can be deactivated for special cases.
This is what happens when the control is active. As soon as the job is initiated in HIFLEX, information about
it is transferred to Prinergy. Technically speaking, a JMF (Job Messaging Format) message is produced and
sent to the HTTP address of Synapse Link. Prinergy’s internal processing of this information results in the
creation of a Prinergy job in the New Jobs queue. As an indication that the job came directly from HIFLEX, its
status in the workflow is set to Generated. It is now possible for the prepress operator to see that the job
has been initiated—no more and no less.
The assignment of Prinergy job names can be influenced by settings in HIFLEX and Synapse Link. (When
we visited, the operator was not satisfied with the result and preferred to edit the names manually.It was not clear whether this was a configuration issue, a limitation of one of the systems or even a limitation of
JDF itself.) All other job information comes via the "classic" route—it is copied from the physical job
jacket. The steps required by Prinergy (specifying folder structure, attaching a process plan) are, as of now,
still manual. It is clear that there is a lot of opportunity for improving JDF automation in this area. |
|
|
|
 |
|
By pressing the 'Prepress Auftrag erstellen' button ('create prepress job,' bottom center of the picture), the operator of the HIFLEX business system initiates a JMF message that is sent to Prinergy. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
All jobs generated by HIFLEX go via JDF (JMF) directly into the Prinergy New Jobs
queue. Such jobs are given the status "Erzeugt" (generated). |
|
|
|
At this stage, JDF networking is significantly richer in the return direction, with information flowing from
the Prinergy prepress workflow back into the HIFLEX system.
Employees in the job-management area want to know as soon and as precisely as possible about all
prepress activities, material and person-hours used. In order for this information to be transferred directly
from the workflow system, activities involving that system have to be unambiguously classified. To permit
this, the workflow system must know what distinct categories of activity are possible. After internal discussions,N+S settled on three categories: normal
work, author’s alterations and printer’s corrections. The last category is not billed (since it is assumed that
the source of these errors is internal to the company), but the author’s alterations are in addition to the normal
bill. Normal work is work that falls within the predetermined scope of the job.
In operation, Synapse Link activates a menu in Prinergy called Work Type. The operator uses this to
specify within the start process dialog which of the three categories the activity is to be classified in. This
information (like practically everything in the process plan) can be overridden on an ad hoc basis—it simply
isn’t possible to fully plan for corrections. |
|
|
|
 |
|
At any step of the production process, the Prinergy operator can indicate whether it is a 'normal' activity
or a correction and, if it’s the latter, what type. The categorization by work type can be done by page
as well as by job. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
This information is transferred from Prinergy to HIFLEX via the Synapse Link interface, once again using
JMF. The JMF is created and transmitted in real time; that is, at the moment when the operator initiates a
process (e.g., plate imaging), HIFLEX is notified about it. Creo provides Synapse Link with a standard set of
these Work Types, which can then be tailored to the requirements of the customer. For example, other companies
use other categories such as "1st correction," "2nd correction," etc. |
|
|
|
Since the Prinergy job was created by a HIFLEX job with the corresponding number, work on the process
plan in Prinergy is unambiguously associated with the correct job. Still, there is a certain amount of
variability in the relationship between Prinergy process plans and HIFLEX jobs. This means that prepress
tasks that perhaps were never properly planned and initiated in HIFLEX can still be associated with a job.
Or, prepress tasks can be removed from one job and associated with a different one. This capability can
also be used when prepress work is begun on a job before it has been set up in HIFLEX, or when there are
several language versions of a job.
HIFLEX applies each type of work to the appropriate cost center, according to its classification.
For this to work properly, the relationships between all of Prinergy’s workflow events and the activity
classifications of the cost centers in HIFLEX’s so-called 'JDF interface basic tables' must be set up.
This means that the steps of the Prinergy process plan, sent via Synapse Link as JMF information, must
be properly captured in HIFLEX. For example, a Proofing Event must be associated with a cost center and a
material-usage record in HIFLEX.
These classifications and values require common shop-wide conventions. Time will be required to come
to a consensus—and this will always be required in a JDF implementation, whether it is a beta test or a
subsequent routine installation. You can buy JDF-enabled software, but you’ll still have to deal with the
implementation. |
|
|
|
 |
|
HIFLEX displays the information received from Prinergy, including the relationship between Prinergy and
HIFLEX job IDs, the status of jobs and pages, the work type and the material used. The user can specify
what information will be displayed. |
|
|
|
|
|
As an option, HIFLEX offers the possibility of performing configurable queries on a job. This would allow
all events, materials invested, rework and so on to be used as the basis of searches. This option had not
yet been implemented in the Zurich beta test, but we understand that other customers are already using it.
Information about the duration of tasks in prepress is communicated and displayed in HIFLEX, but it is
not yet being made use of at N+S. As far as we can tell, this is not because of any problem in HIFLEX.
It is more a matter of N+S needing to determine exactly how it wants to handle prepress costs. What cost
centers should be set up? Is it necessary to count PDF creation and trapping separately? Which are the
important times to keep track of? This is all being discussed at present and will be implemented
appropriately once an agreement has been reached.
Other printers that are involved in beta tests have chosen, for example, to implement more refined billing
methods. If trapping takes longer than a specified maximum time, a line is added to the customer’s bill.
The technology permits such things already; it is just a question of when and how you want to implement it.
In principle, information about all completed processes listed in the Prinergy process-plan manager is
available to the job-management software via JDF. But not everyone needs to know in real time that a given
page has been refined, then trapped, then imposed, etc. This 'information overkill' has to be limited by
filtering it, and this can be done on both a company-specific and job-specific basis. |
|
The processes described so far do not exhaust the possibilities for using JMF messages from Prinergy to
HIFLEX. The interface between the production and business systems permits not only tracking of the
operators’ activities, but also tracking of the material used to produce the job. This area also triggered
extensive discussions in Zurich. What types of material ought to be tracked via this mechanism and conveyed
to HIFLEX via JDF? The decision was made to collect data on proofing paper and exposed plates, with other
items to be added later. Today, when Beat Zingg, the platesetter operator at N+S, makes a plate, the
associated Prinergy process plan triggers the release of information about the material used. This
information is converted to JDF and sent via Synapse Link as a JMF message to the HIFLEX software. |
|
|
|
 |
CTP-Operator Beat Zingg is pleased about the ease of work through the JDF interface to HIFLEX at his
Prinergy workstation by Neidhart+Schön in Zurich
©: M.Mittelhaus |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Whichever process plan is used, HIFLEX receives the corresponding information. If an alternative type of
material is used (say, a smaller Komori plate instead of the Roland 700 plate, or just an A2 proof instead
of a full A1 imposition proof), the operator chooses a different process plan that reflects the correct
material. He also has to do this if a proof is made on an alternative paper stock, and one could argue
about whether there might be a more elegant solution. But it is working today, and it has the enormous
advantage that no other manual recording of material usage is required. This has always been a task that
prepress operators hate and, as everyone knows, it is often done sloppily. Now, a precise record of
materials used is guaranteed, and the fact that this data entry (done at the HIFLEX shop-floor terminal)
is no longer needed means that two to three hours of operator time are saved each month. |
|
|
|
 |
|
HIFLEX gets its information about material usage directly from the Prinergy process plan.Currently, the
operator’s name is shown only for laser prints and color proofs, for which the data entry is still manual. |
|
|
|
|
|
This data about material usage can be used in subsequent calculations, just as manually entered data can.
Once the usage information is received, it can be used for inventory management. There are HIFLEX modules
to handle this, but it is up to the company to decide whether to make use of them. If this kind of
information moves from Prinergy into a business package that doesn’t deal with inventory, it is easy to
envision the information being forwarded to some other suitable package via JDF (or pure XML).
One side of the PP Job Status window in the HIFLEX package displays either 'Initiated' or 'Canceled.' These
flags are set by the operator in HIFLEX. In Prinergy, on the other hand, the operator fills in a status
field when he begins his work, and the job is thereby automatically considered to be 'in prepress.' The
operator sets this status as needed and upon completion of the job, sets it to 'Completed.' He can also
select other status values, such as 'Ready for final output' or 'Released for output.' The communication
of this status information from Prinergy to the HIFLEX job-management software appeared, at the time of our
visit, to be susceptible to improvement. But we have the impression that this is to be expected in this
environment of constant development and enhancement, and it will presumably be improved in subsequent
beta tests. The goal is to transmit all status changes in JMF from Prinergy to HIFLEX and have them appear
in HIFLEX’s status window. Status information is either page-related or jobrelated, since Prinergy handles
status both by page and by job. |
|
|
|
 |
|
Status information is available for whole jobs (left) and for pages (right) but, so far, not for
signatures. |
|
|
|
|
|
This data about material usage can be used in subsequent calculations, just as manually entered data
can. Once the usage information is received, it can be used for inventory management. There are HIFLEX
N+S would like to see the status updating automated—that is, they would like Prinergy to transmit its
status information automatically. And the company would also prefer to get more differentiated status
information. That’s being worked on, but this also depends on the distinction (which is not yet being
made) between information about press forms and information about whole jobs.
In summary, the communication from Prinergy back into HIFLEX provides the following:
|
|
|
|
 |
|
This HIFLEX window provides information about Prinergy processes and their work types. The bottom pane shows
material usage. |
|
|
|
|
They say that eating can increase your appetite, and that might explain why there is now a second JDF beta
test in Zurich: the interface between the business software and the MAN press console. With a few days’
work, MAN Roland was able to install a bidirectional link between HIFLEX and the PECOM console of the
existing MAN 700. This meant that a substantial fraction of the necessary job information could be downloaded
from the HIFLEX system directly into the Job Pilot of the Roland 700’s PECOM console. In addition to
information about job details (as shown in the screen capture), the JDF-JMF transmission includes all the
descriptions of the job process as well as reserved press time, deadlines, etc. Here, too, we see the
positive effect that the information is available to the press operator without copying or rekeying.
This ensures that no errors creep in during copying, and the information is available more quickly.
HIFLEX expects that transfer of information from the PECOM to HIFLEX will become possible in 2004.
For the time being, it is a one-way street. We hope that at some point in the future, perhaps in
connection with other beta tests, we will see the integration of the printing press, an important aspect
of JDF in practice. |
|
|
|
 |
|
On press. This screen shows part of the information that HIFLEX sends via JMF directly to the Job Pilot
software of the PECOM console, avoiding the need for re-entering the data. |
|
|
|
Beta tests are only beta tests, and that means that they are intended only to prove that a solution
is possible, based on the successful implementation of a specific subset. This was successfully done at
N+S, as well as at other beta sites, including Kraft Druck and Druckhaus Berlin-Mitte in Germany.
Now, the next steps have to be decided. We asked N+S what its list of priorities looked like. The
technical director, Daniel Schnyder provided the list, which we reproduce in part below.
|
|
|
|
 |
Daniel Schnyder Technical director, by Neidhart+Schön AG in Zurich, is satisfied with the results of the current
JDF-Beta-Installation, but places high hopes into the Future of JDF.
©: M.Mittelhaus |
|
|
|
|
|
The linkage of process information to the jobscheduling function in HIFLEX is also a topic for the future
and is not yet possible today. The reason is banal but not easy to resolve: So far, the production
information is based on jobs, but job scheduling works on the basis of press forms. To resolve this
contradiction, both Creo and HIFLEX must find a way to identify the forms or signatures belonging to a
given job. Only then can all the tasks and related status information be linked to each flat. According
to both vendors, form-related information is not easily expressed within the parameters of the current
JDF specification.
The ability to forward information to downstream departments, such as the pressroom, needs to be expanded
at N+S. Some information from the prepress process that has never been captured in the HIFLEX job
information is required for the printing and finishing steps.
Our understanding is that much of this, but not all, will be possible with forthcoming versions of the
Synapse Link and HIFLEX software. In part, this will be available at Drupa. |
Going beyond the experience of the beta installation, N+S has some quite different and wide-ranging dreams. It
would be valuable, for example, to be able to capture information about paper types and deliveries. Using
bar codes and JDF, it should be possible to create an e-mail message saying, in effect, 'Attention, the
paper you require for the annual report of Bank XYZ is on the loading dock.' At that moment, the job could
be activated, and that would be of special importance for N+S. Because it uses so much special-order paper, this tonnage has to be
delivered on a just-in-time basis, and the print jobs must be planned, assigned and completed accordingly.
Is the company’s networking and integration now limited to the village street on which it is situated?
Daniel Schnyder thinks not. "We have a vision that, when we work with a specialized bookbinder in a
completely different part of Zurich, we can say to him, ‘Here in this JDF is all the information you need for
your Muller-Martini.’" Schnyder takes it a step farther: "Why can’t I find out, via JDF, what machines are
available to print on, and what gathering machines at which bookbinders are free at the moment?"
Perhaps the realization of this vision is not so terribly far away. On the one hand, the Swiss finishingequipment
supplier in Zofingen that handles Muller-Martini has already demonstrated a JDF-capable saddle-stitcher
that can be set up from job-scheduling information. It can also send status information back to a HIFLEX
system. Discussions between HIFLEX and Muller-Martini have already occurred, and the first beta test is
in the planning stages. On the other hand, these are exactly the questions that are being debated in the
JDF Working Group on Capabilities. The JDF Capabilities facility will allow each device on the JDF network
to broadcast what its capabilities are, and that information can be used for automatic capacity planning.
A different domain, let it be noted here, is just a white void on the JDF map at the moment. Prepress
jobs really begin not with the prepress workflow, but on the designer’s Macintosh. But how will the Mac
user get the information he or she needs from the jobmanagement system? And how will the designer’s
activities and status information make it back into the business system? If we are not mistaken, there is
still a big gap in the JDF specification and in the activity of the JDF Working Groups in this area.
This is not to criticize the JDF standard—it merely illustrates the current state of development. We must
ask ourselves whether a firm such as Adobe (with its 75-percent share of the application market for Mac
front-end software) is not obliged to address this. It is good that Adobe was among the JDF initiators,
but that was two years ago, and it would be even better if one heard a more specific JDF initiative coming from Adobe, especially
in this application area!
In concrete terms, how about an announcement of JDF plug-ins for Adobe InDesign and Photoshop at
Drupa 2004, so that the Mac front-ends could be readily integrated into the world of JDF networking? |
The beta installation at N+S has demonstrated that it is possible, using JDF, to set up a direct
connection between job planning, job management, prepress and the pressroom. JDF works. JMF works, too,
and together they provide real value to the user. Creo (as prepress vendor) and HIFLEX (with its business
solution) have done their jobs and fulfilled their contractual obligations. This has led to a decision by
N+S to extend the Prinergy workflow by purchasing Synapse Link. HIFLEX’s policy is different: It offers
the JDF interface as a standard part of the software, at no additional cost.
We think this beta test also provides a valuable indication of the possibilities and the difficulties of
JDF today. For instance, it shows that a printing company that wants to use JDF will have to work through
a lot of analysis and clarification. And we haven’t even mentioned the exceptionally high level of skill
that this requires of the job-management staff.
The practical aspects of JDF networking were demonstrated at N+S, as they have been in other beta tests.
It strikes us as particularly significant that this successful test was the work of two completely
different vendors. HIFLEX, although one of the largest job-management software vendors in Europe, is a
medium-sized developer, while Canadian Creo is one of the largest prepress vendors in the world. Before
JDF, what would these two companies ever have had in common?
This issue should not be taken lightly. In order to implement JDF for print production, it is at least as
necessary for diverse vendors to work smoothly together as it is for the various parts of the printing
company to do so. One result is that a HIFLEX system has been installed in Creo’s European demo center in
Waterloo, Belgium, and the HIFLEX office in Aachen has obtained a Prinergy license.
It is no surprise that only a fraction of the potential of JDF was realized in the beta test. The
limitations are a result of the need to come up with a working solution. Based on what we have seen in
this and other beta tests, we don’t think anyone is trying to intentionally dilute or restrict the JDF
standard.
It is very hard to make predictions about the overall timetable for the realization of JDF at N+S. When
the second test phase is completed (which is expected to happen around Drupa at the earliest), it will be
possible to tell how quickly the additional developments may follow. With each successive test, we would
expect the following developments to move just a bit quicker.
On the other hand, we recognize that what we have seen at N+S, though important, is just a link between
HIFLEX and a single prepress workflow, and it appears that quite a bit of individual development may be
needed for each interface with a different workflow system.
We expect that Drupa 2004 will be remembered for demonstrating the first examples of JDF in practice.
But we also expect that truly all-encompassing and complete JDF integration—solutions in which all
production departments are involved and in which the flow of information is really all-inclusive—will take
several years more. Perhaps that’s what Drupa 2008 will be remembered for.
We hope it comes sooner. And we hope to be talking about savings of person-months and person-years, not
just a few person-hours, because that’s the level of production efficiency that the graphic arts industry
will need if it is to stay competitive.
Michael Mittelhaus is a prepress consultant, based in Germany. He can be reached at phone {49} 5467-535, fax {49}
5467-535; or e-mail him at Mittelhaus@t-online.de. His web site is at
www.mittelhaus.com . |
|
| |
