Software - Web-to-print

In May 1998, William Davis, then new chairman and CEO of RR Donnelley—one of the largest printing companies in the world—said, "In this game, manufacturing discipline will win. The craftsman who has to leave his thumbprint on every page will lose." He continued: "We are a decade behind in manufacturing best practices." His comments reflect the modern challenge of the graphic arts. Traditionally the manufacture of print has been craft-oriented, from design through to print. Designers made their reputations by creating unusual print pieces, with beautiful typography, tough-to-match colors, and unusual trim and bind requirements. Printers made their reputations by dealing under deadline with these

Last spring, I got a call from Mark Michelson, editor-in-chief of this magazine. I probably shattered has eardrum with my reaction. "What! You want me to write a 4,000 word article explaining JDF? Mark, I know what JDF is, but I am not an expert. How about six words and a few exclamation points?" Mark, in his usual unflappable manner, simply replied, "Become an expert." I moved to a higher octave as he explained to me that even though Printing Impressions was hiring me to write the article, it was a piece sponsored by Adobe and Heidelberg. All I could imagine was that I

Adobe Introduces New Application Platform SAN JOSE, CA—Adobe Systems recently unveiled its new Adobe Creative Suite. The Premium Edition combines upgrades of Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign and GoLive to "CS" versions, incorporates Acrobat 6.0 Professional and introduces the Version Cue file version manager. A Standard Edition includes everything but GoLive CS and Acrobat 6.0 Professional. In a related move, the company is eliminating the print publishing, digital video and Web software "collections" it previously offered. Each medium is still represented in the feature upgrades, with a fair number being print related. Adobe Photoshop CS is said to increase user control with a redesigned

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The vendors are loath to admit it, but on the surface there is a growing degree of parity in the capabilities of today's prepress workflow solutions. Their core systems are typically client-server based, database driven and handle tasks such as preflighting, PDF conversion/normalization, trapping, imposition and rendering. At the same time, advances in technology have led to workflow being widely viewed as a digital continuum—from file creation to final output. This shared vision dovetails with the industry's move toward computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) and implementation of the JDF (Job Definition Format) specification. Internet portals for online proofing and job

By Marie Alonso Business Development Consultant AdsML is a major step forward in the 15-year quest of media to complete the process of business-to-business communication of advertising documents. Essentially an XML "envelope"—the AdsML Framework—this new standard will not replace existing standards targeting electronic relays of print publication advertising transactions. What it will do, however, is help these existing standards communicate more effectively, resulting in a new potential for today's publishing community. Today, advertising data can be re-keyed as often as 15 times per ad, according to a recent European study. Not only is this massively inefficient, but each time the data is re-entered, the

BY MARK SMITH The only constant may be change, but things have gotten pretty quiet on most fronts of the digital revolution in printing. Even computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM), arguably, is more about a workflow evolution than revolution. One area that remains unsettled is proofing. Decades after the first digital systems were introduced, the industry is still debating what's the "right" solution. It's probably not reasonable to think one solution could meet the needs of every print shop and application. Nonetheless, the proliferation of systems is leading print execs to ask, "Why do I have so many proofers in my shop?" A related question is

BY MARK SMITH Two truisms seem to come up in most discussions of computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) in the printing industry. One, print is a custom manufacturing process. Two, it may be the only manufacturing environment in which the customer provides—or at least controls—so much of the raw materials. Striving to build a Smart Factory and implementing CIM-based production are worthwhile goals, but the full benefits only come when the definition of workflow is extended beyond the walls of a printing plant. Connecting to customers' upstream processes is required to achieve true integration. That's a tall order. The range of print customers and applications

BY MARK SMITH Computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM) may still be a new concept in print production, but it's a long established practice in other business sectors. The term itself actually is starting to get a little dated. The notion of a computer, per se, being at the heart of it all seems limiting. What's really being integrated is the information generated and acted upon by various systems involved in the print production process. Embedded controllers, touchscreen displays and Web browsers are as likely to produce and consume job data as is a traditional computer. The beginning point—as well as middle and end points—for all this

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

By Erik Cagle We're looking for ways to cut costs out of our business," states Jack Gustafson, COO for Niles, IL-based JohnsByrne Co., "because we can't afford to take any more profit out of our business." It is the 21st century rally cry of the commercial printer. With most hardware options throughout the printing workflow already exhausting comprehensive automation avenues, offering the most competitive prices to print buyers has become the business-to-business equivalent of shaving time off the best 100-meter dash standard. But JohnsByrne—a $20 million per year printer that produces brochures, annual reports, direct mail pieces, catalogs, POP materials and specialty printing—had