No sign of Adobe. I'm not sure that InDesign is doing so well that the general print market can be expected to pick up on it by default. Quark have sponsored the Workflow presentations and are answering questions with plenty of people on their stand.

Xerox still expect Adobe to ship a plug-in for InDesign and Acrobat that creates a JDF file for each job. At drupa I thought Adobe were a bit vague about this idea but Xerox have a definite interest in hard copy. Maybe when this might be available it will be Xerox where information can be found.

Back in the days of a floppy disc it was thought a bit of a security risk to move files on disc between pcs. Tharsten and Positive Focus however have now started to use a USB keyring to show off JDF. It works fine with a web-based MIS linking in to Creo Upfront. Maybe by IPEX wi-fi will be free everywhere.

According to Alan Dixon from Positive Focus, JDF stands for "Job Done Faster".

The actual title of Gee's talk is


JDF for Dummies

It is remarkably clear as an introduction but also as a statement that JDF is not science fiction, something to think about after the next IPEX, something that might work one day.

DALIM support about 350 sites worldwide where JDF is part of the current workflow.

Links to Guardian talk. Please add something, there could be some explanation needed.

PDF Guardian

What is going on with the 'digital edition'?

http://mediatalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@pdfguardian@.597aa1a3

Oi Printweek Face the Facts

follows Printweek article on Guardian coverage of alleged print decline in London

http://mediatalk.guardian.co.uk/WebX?50@oiprintweek@.77476434

Since some time last year I have been contributing to the Guardian talk board on Press and Publishing as part of Media. During this time the 'digital edition' appears to be live though there is nothing ever about it in the Guardian print version. Just possibly there is a policy about this or else Roy Greenslade is not very interested in the web anyway.

Today Emily Bell writes about 'denial' - her word- as some media folk think about the internet and 'mainstream' media. So far, so welcome.

http://media.guardian.co.uk/mediaguardian/story/0,7558,1335024,00.html

However there is still nothing about the Guardian itself as an example. Like Roy Greenslade she refers to the 'redtop' circulation decline. From the last set of figures the decline for the Guardian seemed to be in the same range as for the Daily Mirror. Anything over 5% a year is interesting.

There was an ABC press release on a decision to publish figures on paid circulation as 'digital editions'. Since then nobody has 'opted in' as far as I can tell. This is only a blog. Obviously Roy Greenslade could find out more if he wanted to.

There is not much point in repeating myself on the Guardian talk board so I will put some content there about XML and publishing. I recently got some feedback from text that was about a year old so the web is not always as immediate a medium as is sometimes supposed.

There is a new phase for this blog, a quote from Gee Ranasinha who I emailed with a quote from Andy Tribute's blog. Next week there will be an update of the http://www.atford.co.uk site. Meanwhile the text of Gee's message is below.

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From Gee Ranasinha,
Director of Marketing
Dalim Software GmbH

Regarding Andy T's quote - I've been describing printers as being "media distributors". I think that this better describes their new role in things.

If you're looking for a JDF-based quote. how about the following:

Make no mistake: not only WILL JDF-driven systems be the industry’s future, JDF–based systems ARE ALREADY becoming the industry’s “present”. There are printers today using JDF as a cornerstone to their production processes, and more companies are moving to JDF-based systems every day.

But put JDF into perspective. JDF is a set of rules for vendors such as us to follow when we design new products. It’s also the way that vendors have agreed upon to allow their products to communicate. Our job, as a equipment vendor, is to build systems that offer feature benefits to you, our customers. How JDF is deployed within that system is, to a large extent, irrelevant to the user.

Finally, a word of advice. Many vendors are talking the JDF talk, but there are only a handful of vendors today that can really boast true JDF systems interconnectivity. Vendors such as Dalim Software invest thousands in ensuring cross vendor connectivity by actively participating in all areas of the CIP4 organisation. So take the time to separate the companies who say “JDF Will be” from the companies who say “JDF is”.

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Comment from Will
This is obviously from a vendor point of view but the general interest is in the clear statement that JDF has happened.

Gee will be speaking in the Quark Workflow Theatre on Tuesday and Wednesday (15.20) next week at Olympia. the show is called Digital Printing World but some of the issues relate to printing in general.