JDF BASICS -- It's Just the Ticket

"This is a high-priority task for the working group," Motamed says. "Additionally, we are building a database of products and capabilities that will help inform users about which products are expected to be interoperable."

Given that the JDF specification itself is still evolving, the timetable for its broad adoption remains very much an open question. The current documentation poses a rhetorical question that is central to the issue of the technology's adoption cycle. "Should you add JDF-enabled systems slowly with equipment replacements and upgrades, or aggressively as part of a plant reengineering process?"