DDAP Delivers Comprehensive Conference

MARBLEHEAD, MA—The DDAP Association, an industry group charged with promoting the "Universal Exchange of Digital Advertising through Open Process Integration and Accredited Standards," held its annual conference in New Orleans recently. The DDAP conference focused on fine-tuning digital ad workflows through the use of standard accredited file formats, the SWOP specification, new color management strategies and other future initiatives.

The conference brought together representatives from more than 130 ad agencies, publishers, prepress providers, printers and software developers to learn new digital strategies.

Each day of the conference was dedicated to a different aspect of digital workflows. Day one focused on PDF/X and TIFF/IT. Day two offered a comprehensive program on color management built around the new 10th Edition SWOP Specification. Day three focused on digital supply chain management with presentations on Adobe's XMP and CIP4's JDF.

The PUB Group from the Rochester Institute of Technology provided an in-depth look at the role of XML in cross-media publishing and Alan Darling, DDAP chairman, led a discussion in exploring the new frontiers in print production automation and files that manage themselves.

The 2003 Joseph A. Pedone Award recipients were also announced at the conference. This annual award, named for the original founders of the DDAP Association, recognizes outstanding contributions to the advancement of "Open Process Integration and Accredited Standards."

Honored this year were Joel Rubin, past chairman of SWOP, and Scott Tully, PDF workflow evangelist at Vertis.

DDAP Executive Director Barbara Hanapole called the conference a success. "Attendees, sponsors and presenters alike were energized by the focus on new technologies and enthusiastic about the efficiencies promised by new technology such as PDF/X, XMP and JDF."