JDF and Supply Chain - Examples of Commercial Printing Vendor Applications

Since the creation of CIP3 in 1995, process automation and computer integrated manufacturing (CIM) have been getting closer and closer. However, it seems that there is still a certain distance in applying them to actual production. Although some new printers and prepress equipment have now started to support print format (PPF) ink key presets, they still cannot integrate all the existing equipment of all manufacturers. Therefore, some experts and scholars believe that Extending supply chain capabilities is not practical.
At the previous Drupa show, the application of the JDF format solution came to the fore, and at this Drupa we have been able to fully appreciate the significant progress in the application of the JDF (Job Definition Format) solution. As vendors pay more attention to JDF's simplification of workflow effects, optional JDF solutions and products are growing at a geometric progression.
Apply JDF from today
Some people who are still skeptical about JDF believe that in order to get the benefits of JDF, it is necessary to first make major adjustments to all the hardware and software of the printing plant. But in fact, it is not like this at all. You only need to spend less energy to achieve JDF production. Now, not only do some of the newly introduced products support the JDF format, but also there are many upgrades and connectivity tools available on the market to support the printing plant's existing production structure system. Many existing software already have JDF support.
Here are some practical examples of printers using JDF to see how they are using JDF to automate their production processes. Not only are they now enjoying the benefits of JDF, they are also planning how to further gain the benefits of JDF in the future.
The first to apply on the printing press is Century Publishing, which prints more than 300 journals and magazines each month to provide more than two million readings for readers in 35 countries in the United States.
Century Publishing Company initially tried to implement CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) on ​​a printing press. In 1997, the company purchased Quad Tech's RGS registration and registration system to automatically detect registration registration during the printing process. Afterwards, Century Publishing chose Microsystems' Microcolor II digital computer ink key control system to control the amount of ink. It is said that Microcolor can store an unlimited number of ink-key data and can quickly call up the original data when printing repeated jobs. Make the press complete with the correct color settings. The company also embedded new controllable fountain solutions on the press, and later chose GMI's ColorQuick closed-loop color control system.
Initially, system data was transferred from a Tobias plate scanner, but in the spring of 2000, the company introduced Creo's Brisque prepress workflow, allowing data to flow freely from prepress to printing.
According to Mr. Rick Danskey, the printing shop manager, Century Publishing originally estimated that the investment cost would be recovered within 13.5 months, but in fact the company only spent 10 months. The company has now begun planning its next production automation goal, namely the introduction of a Heidelberg M110 web press with automatic ink key pre-setting and positioning register adjustment.
System Upgrading and Linkage Tool Action Printing is a printing company that prints names, directories, brochures, catalogues, publications and books. It is a growing company. Action Printing Corporation saw the benefits of the automation process from a presentation at Graph Expo 2002, so it installed Creo's UpFront job engine and groupware in early 2003 (Creo acquired ScenicSoft's UpFront and Preps imposition. software). The company trained its customer service representatives on UpFront, allowing them to select the appropriate imposition template for each job from a database, and then pass all job information directly to the prepress department.
Action Printing Corporation later conducted a series of research and purchased many computer connection tools and equipment that support the JDF format to match the company's original product equipment. In March 2003, the company began to automate ink key settings for Komori presses from its Rampage prepress workflow. Subsequently, Action Printing also upgraded its existing Polar paper cutter with the CompuCut option that supports the JDF format, which allows the cutter to obtain the automatically generated job parameters directly from the prepress department for printing. Post-processing. Finally, Action Printing also purchased a Muller Martini Prima AMRYS saddle stitching device. Operators can incorporate data parameters into the AMRYS saddle stitching device, as well as from the prepress department or from the CIP3 print production format (PPF). The management information system directly downloads data parameters. Job commands are sent to a network workstation with more than 50 servo motors to ensure that each process completes the required settings. At the end of the job, all settings will be stored on a PC for recall.
The entire project including investment and training costs about 50,000 US dollars. For Action Printing, the increased automation capabilities have brought them a lot of changes: With automatic ink key settings, the average job preparation time has dropped from the original 24 minutes to the current 12 minutes. The waste caused by setup and errors has dropped from 3.5% to 1%. Production management has further played its role.
The automatic ink key setting in the printing process brings a lot of benefits to Action Printing, and the company will plan to introduce a folding machine supporting JDF format in the next step.
Workflow Connectivity K&D Graphics is a small company with $8.2 million in assets and 45 employees, but has always adopted the latest technology to ensure high-quality, efficient production. Mr. Gus Chew, vice president of the company, said, “We are a relatively small company, but the sales of each of our employees are very high. In order to better adapt to this situation, we have been focusing on the automation of the production process. For better efficiency."
A few years ago, this commercial and packaging printing plant switched from using traditional film processes to using Heidelberg's Delta Prepress system to match another supplier's platemaking equipment. About three years ago, K&D introduced the Heidelberg 40-inch Speedmaster CD 102 press with dual on-line optical devices. Two years ago, it introduced a second-hand CD102 device. Last year, the company invested in the installation of the Prinect Printready Systems L102 digital prepress workflow system from Heidelberg, which is used in conjunction with the Heidelberg Topsetter PF102 thermal platesetter and HP's Designjet 5500 large format proofing device. The entire investment cost about 500,000 U.S. dollars.
Mr. Chew said that K&D's businesses are high-quality and high-demand operations, and delivery time is controlled within 24 hours. According to reports, Heidelberg's Prinect Flexible Variable Module allows all prepress, print and postpress systems to be linked together and saves specific data to the internal MIS (Information Management System) for automatic recall in the future. Chew said: "Initially, we adopted the Prinect Printready system just to handle our prepress production needs. We need a highly automated prepress management system to help us handle the large number of jobs that will be printed. This can be automated data in the future. The ability to call is really an unexpected gain.
Recently, for jobs that are likely to be duplicated, K&D uses a hand-written job ticket form and manually notes the key details of the prepress section to the Printready system so that only future job numbers need to be recalled in the event of repeated orders in the future. To present the original data. Company salespeople typically write customer files directly to their disks and then convert them into PDF workflows for production.
Companies generally output proofs on Kodak Approval or Designjet. Once the customer accepts the proof, the job goes directly to the Prinect Signa Station imposition tool and outputs the plate on the Topsetter. At the same time, the Prinect Printready system produces a tape with an ink profile. Once the job is put into print, the operator will download the ink key settings to the CP2000 press console via the resulting data tape. K&D will recently upgrade its existing workflow so that ink key setting data can be passed directly to the press without the need for data tapes.
However, K&D does not currently have the capability to connect post-press processing equipment. Mr. Chew said that other components of Prinect in Heidelberg may be able to compensate for this shortcoming. "In fact, this is a connection problem with a workflow," he said. "We will soon consider introducing this feature."
The examples of these companies show that JDF and its benefits may only be realized in the future, and the automation of production processes can be obtained from now on. These printers not only gained more business benefits, but also improved their equipment: Here, no company is introducing a full set of new JDF equipment. Instead, they just use their existing equipment. Upgraded or compatible with connection tools. Just this way, these printers can easily achieve the best production automation they have ever produced.