Muller Martini And Ultimate Offer JDF Connectivity For Finishing Equipment
MONTREAL—May 23rd, 2008—Ultimate Technographics, www.imposition.com, drupa hall 9/stand A61, together with Muller Martini, hall 14/stand B38, completed the certification of JDF connectivity from Impostrip to Muller Martini booklet makers www.mullermartiniusa.com
JDF Automation form Imposition to Finishing
Ultimate has developed a very high level of imposition automation and optimization for both the offset and the digital print market. The Impostrip engine connects to several types of web2print systems. Ultimate is now extending the same type of connectivity to finishing helping to connect various types of workflows to increase the profitability of the printing process. Ultimate is engaged in the development of a simple user interface for customers to set their finishing preferences for the specific equipment they use as part of the imposition workflow.
Imposition impact on finishing
“We create Impositions just like a mold that is used to pour pages in based on the exact look and feel that we want to create as the final product for the consumer, for this reason imposition impacts on finishing, in many ways,” says Joanne David, Executive VP at Ultimate. “Moving forward with the certification of our JDF with Muller Martini’s saddle stitchers will definitely offer our customers new advantages for a greater level of automation.”
“Many printers have been prevented from creating a CIP4 standardized workflow to their bindery due to the fact that their have been few solutions that are capable of generating a Job Definition Format (JDF) file that includes bindery specifications,” explains Peter Doyle,
Corporate Integration and Work Flow Manager at Muller Martini. “The good news for printers desiring to automate their post press workflow is that Ultimate Technographics has created a solution that allows printers to overcome this obstacle. Their imposition software can now be used to write JDF files that include bindery specifications for cutting, folding, and saddle stitching. There is no extra data entry to create these files. The specifications entered in their software during the pre-press pagination process—trim size, lap, head trim, bleeds, etc. are easily exported in the CIP4 standardized Job Definition Format, creating a JDF file that can be used on our Muller Martini saddle stitchers.
“Our saddle stitchers can be set-up in less then half time when a JDF file is used. In addition, the use of the JDF file insures that the machine is set-up to the precise dimensions that were used to paginate, proof, print and fold the signatures. Redundancy in data entry is eliminated, steps in the make-ready process are reduced and mistakes are eliminated. This is exactly the solution that many printers dreamed of when the Job Definition Format was first proposed. The Ultimate Technographics solution follows the CIP4 standards and allows users to create an open, multi-vendor automated production process. At Muller Martini we applaud their accomplishment.’’
JDF Finishing Instructions enhance Workflows
JDF finishing instructions produced by Ultimate’s products can be exported with JDF imposition instructions to a JDF workflow system so that it can pass those instructions to the finishing equipment. Ultimate can also pass JDF instructions to workflows based on other types of XML encoding. For example web2print systems that interface with the Ultimate XML Director for automated production can be configured to pass along the JDF instructions to the finishing equipment used, in-line or near-line. This creates true automation from web submission to finished product.
About Ultimate
Headquartered in Montreal, Canada, Ultimate invented digital imposition 20 years ago with the first release of Impostrip, and has continued to play a leading role in the market ever since in providing the most innovative and progressive imposition products. The company is continually evolving Impostrip to be the first to take advantage of new operating systems or DTP applications and over 150 other applications supported in PostScript and PDF. Over 30,000 imposition engines have been sold to date to OEMs, prepress professionals and digital printers around the world, and the company has a rich history of providing imposition technology into hardware and software workflow solutions for print industry leaders. www.imposition.com
About Muller Martini
Muller Martini is the world’s largest producer of print finishing solutions for commercial and book printers, trade binderies and newspapers as well as short-run and digital book manufacturers. Muller Martini is also the world market-leading manufacturer of variable size web offset presses. The company is the foremost provider of innovative workflow solutions that can empower printers and binding specialists to enhance processing efficiencies, increase profitability and build new revenue streams. Muller Martini Corp., with U.S. headquarters in Hauppauge (Long Island), New York, serves as the leading source for bindery and printing expertise in the United States, providing nationwide sales and service support and customer-specific training and responsive service to printers and binderies coast-to-coast. The company operates a state-of-the-art manufacturing center in Newport News, Virginia along with Muller Martini Mailroom Systems, Inc., a comprehensive sales and manufacturing facility in Allentown, Pennsylvania. www.mullermartiniusa.com
