JDF format. Automation of processes in the printing industry

Background


For many years, developers of specialized software for printing houses created software packages one more powerful than the other, and all offered to automate processes using special file formats, software, and equipment. But the catch was that having bought a press with support for the data transfer format from the conditional company X, the printing house was forced to buy other equipment and software from the same company X all its life.

For this reason, the situation on the market was such that most of the created automation systems were not in demand among printing houses.

And here appears .jdf and CIP4


And in 1999 , the CIP4 consortium came to the aid of the printing industry , whose name stands for “ Cooperation for the Integration of PrePress, Press, PostPress and Process ”.

This community has developed a new format for transferring order data, based on the CIP3 format ( cip3 - offset printing machine settings files ) that existed then .
The JDF format they developedis an xml structure that contains specialized tags within itself, the content and attributes of which describe all (well, or at least most) order data. Starting from the internal identifier (order id) to how thick the printed material is and how many paper clips of which modification should be on the product.

Cutting from a .jdf file



It is important for understanding that the jdf file contains information about the order not only for users, but also transfers the settings directly to printing software systems and production equipment.

What became possible with the introduction of jdf


Since the release of the jdf format, more or less automated printing equipment has begun to support this generally accepted format, not to mention software. You can create a jdf file both in the workflow of any manufacturer, and in a self-written system (more about this at the end of the article).

PrePress Prepress


After the order and its jdf file are created, it is transferred to the prepress department of the printing house, where the descent programs (folding product pages onto a printed sheet) offer the opportunity to import jdf, taking all the data necessary for yourself and sending it to the next step in 2 clicks .

After the prepress department, a file containing links to pdf layouts of launches ready for printing goes to the RIP (raster processor), which in turn takes the rasterization settings specified during jdf creation and creates rasterized and separated tiff-b files, the contents of which appears on printing plates in the CtP (Computer to Plate) section

Press Print


When the output plates are delivered to the press, a jdf is already loaded in the computer controlling it, which sets the print settings depending on the layout.

PostPress Post-processing


The circulation is printed by the formats of the printing press. After the sheets are dried, the time comes for cutting into finished formats and other finishing operations. Some post-processing equipment (for example, guillotine cutting machines) are also able to perceive the order parameters and adjust their parameters to the values ​​laid down in the order.

Process


An important part of the information inside jdf is information on the status of production operations and the order as a whole. That is, one file replaces the virtual (or printed on a piece of paper) order form (passport) and carries information not only about the parameters of the product, but also reflects information about the current state of the order.

A little bit about creating jdf files


The format specification tells what data can be displayed in the jdf file . On 1268 pages, all possible tags, attributes and their purpose are detailed.

There is also a wonderful person Tom Cabanski and his vintage blog . There is not much information there and some of the links are no longer working, but there is an opportunity to download its Fluen JDF library and simplify the creation and editing of jdf files many times with its help.

Generating a jdf file using this library can be reduced to using a template file containing the maximum data set and using Fluent JDF methods to edit parts of the file, adjusting its contents to fit your needs.

C # Code Example


public static Ticket JDFGenerate(ProductPart task)
        {
            InitializeFluentJdf();
            Infrastructure.Core.Configuration.Settings.UseCastleWindsor().LogWithNLog().Configure();
            FluentJdfLibrary.Settings.ResetToDefaults();
            string finishFormat = task.Format.Replace("*", " ");
          …….
          /*Заказчик*/
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.CustomerInfo)
            .SetAttributeValue("CustomerName", task.CustomerName);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.CustomerInfo)
                 .AddInput(Element.Contact);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Contact)
                .AddInput(Element.Company);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Contact)
                .SetAttributeValue("OrganizationName", task.CustomerName);
            /*Формат изделия*/
            string dimentionsStrip = task.Format.Replace("*", " ");
            string finalFormat = ConvertDimentions(dimentionsStrip);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.StripCellParams)
                .SetAttributeValue("TrimSize", finalFormat);
…..
                ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Device)
                .SetAttributeValue("DeviceID", jdfMachine);
            /*Бумага*/
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Media)
                .SetAttributeValue("Brand", task.Material.MaterialName);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Media)
                .SetAttributeValue("Weight", task.Material.MaterialWeight);
            ticket.SelectJDFDescendant(Element.Media)
                .SetAttributeValue("Thickness", task.Material.MaterialThickness);

But alas


This format, which brought automation in the printing industry to a new level, is used very occasionally in the territory of the Russian Federation. Even if the printing house implements jdf in its workflow, it most likely does it only at one of all stages (as a rule, it is transferring print settings from the prepress department to a printing press).

This is probably due to the need for large investments in hardware and software and the almost complete absence of domestic developments in this direction. But still I want to believe that jdf has a future in our country.

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