Digital Solutions has been over for a couple of days and I am beginning to get an overall take on it. There could have been more people there and this may be because the expectations and promotion mismatched on what was there. The Digital Camera Show was not promoted as such. Maybe more management types attend a workflow show if they think there won't be too many anoraks looking for cheap cameras. I'm not too sure about this as actually quite a range of people look at what is on offer. So the camera stands were still there and getting interest. Fuji was the main brand represented with their own stand.

However the conventional litho mainstream was probably not there in large numbers. The workflow presentations from Agfa and Creo should have had massive audiences based on the content. Networked Graphic Production (NGP) is a concept that is under development. The Apogee X as described will probably not change much before Print City at drupa. So the workflow theatre was a chance to look at how JDF can work. Reports of rivalry between an NGP camp and Print City seem to be exaggerated. Actually most JDF systems can work with each other as well as any XML standard works with Microsoft.

The scope of Digital Print World is limited to digital print but issues may come up such as workflow for litho and moving content to the web.

Maybe there is a question for all print exhibiitons, though this is hard to assess. drupa is fully booked. Even if IIR develop an annual digital show over the next three years there could still be many people in the British printing industry who will concentrate on the mechanical engineering available at IPEX.

Brief news from Digital Solutions

Jaws PDF Courier can create and deliver reliable PDF with job ticketing. Positive Focus are distributing this and offering a web serice - ready4print. There is currently a server based in the Netherlandsand one expected soon in the UK.

There will be a presentation about this on the 22nd in the Workflow Theatre at 3.40

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Although there is not officially a Digital Camerta Show this year, there are several stands with digital cameras. For example A.J. Purdie have stocks of Nikon, Canon and Sony.

Another test, seems to be working ok.

Long gaps in this blog are because I update the sites for www.atford and the Acrobat User Forum. I do get confused as to which opinions to put in which spot but this seems to be ok so far.

I am going to project a year forward on the Acrobat User Forum site so the content for this year's Digital Solutions meetings makes more sense. So far the emphasis on structure and server software has not really got much attention from the graphics professionals or at least the media who think they understand this audience. The response of the people at the workflow theatre will be interesting. By next October the JDF aspects of workflow should be better understood. PDF forms online will be used more widely so some priont companies will be included. Graphic designers will need to understand how to use material both for print and online.

The www.atford site is to imagine this sort of future. I have started to include news stories such as one on Global Graphics and JDF. My impression is that Adobe have lost some focus on hard copy. There is not much detail in the UK on how they relate to JDF. Transit seems to have disappeared without any explanation. In time there will be something coming through Digital Print World so this can be updated later.

I have started a discussion topic at Planet PDF

Please add in any comments there

More follows during next week