Japs-Olson to Host JDF User Group Meeting in March

PITTSBURGH—January 13, 2009—The JDF User Group, an open forum for users and vendors of JDF-enabled systems, will host its next meeting at Japs-Olson Company in St. Louis Park, Minn. on March 25-26, 2009. There will be a tour of the facility followed by a full day of meetings. The meeting topic is the business decisions and choices which are required for CIM and JDF automation. The answers will reflect CIM and JDF automations effects on profitability profitability, enhanced productivity, and brought in new customers.

Founded in 1907 by Barney Japs and G.F. Olson, Japs-Olson Company is a leader in the direct mail production and printing industry. It employs over 700 workers, operating twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in a modern 525,000 square-foot facility. The Japs-Olson Company is a technology innovator at the leading edge of graphic arts production. The tour of the facility will provide great insight into the implementation of automation and JDF.

Multiple case studies on the use of automation will be presented by printers including Japs-Olson Company, IWCO Direct, and Democrat Printing and Litho Co. The meeting will also look at methods to integrate legacy equipment into automated workflows to increase productivity. Also, with respect to layout for different printing processes, different techniques for automating the job planning stages will be dicussed.

The JDF User Group meetings are the premier forum for the exchange of ideas and solutions relating to JDF workflow. "This group provides printers with a practical guide to JDF implementation based on best practices and experiences in the industry," says Dr. Mark Bohan, Printing Industries of America Vice President, Technology and Research.

Other upcoming meeting dates in 2009 include July 22-23 at Democrat Printing and Litho Co. in Little Rock, Ark., and November 12, immediately following Printing Industries of America's Converge Conference in Orlando, Fla. The group welcomes a wide range of users of JDF-enabled systems as well as the suppliers of those systems. All interested parties are welcome to become members. More information can be found at www.jdfusergroup.org, contacting 412-259-1706 or jdfusergroup@printing.org.

About Printing Industries of America:
Printing Industries of America is the world's largest graphic arts trade association, representing an industry with more than one million employees. It serves the interests of more than 10,000 member companies. Together with its nationwide affiliate network, Printing Industries delivers products and services that enhance the growth, efficiency, and profitability of its members and the graphic communications industry through advocacy, education, research, and technical information.

About CIP4:
CIP4 brings together vendors, consultants, and end-users in the print communications, graphic arts industry, and associated sectors, covering a variety of equipment, software, peripherals, and processes. Members participate in focused working groups to define the Job Definition Format (JDF), PrintTalk, and other standards relevant to process automation; to study user requirements; to test product interoperability; and to develop a range of JDF software development tools. Information on CIP4, including membership details, is available from the organization's website: www.cip4.org. "CIP4" and "JDF" are registered trademarks of the CIP4 Organization.

About JDF:
The Job Definition Format (JDF) is the industry specification designed to facilitate process automation and the integration of different applications and systems in and around the graphic arts industry. JDF also enables the integration of business management and job planning applications into the production workflow. JDF is based on the W3C's Extensible Markup Language (XML), ensuring maximum interoperability between different platforms and ready interaction with Internet systems. More information is available at http://www.cip4.org.