When JDF was originally rolled out in 1993 by Heidelberg, it was received much the same way most things are in the print industry – with optimistic caution. It sounds wonderful, it’s a brilliant concept, and it will change how we do business, but when?
True to the status quo of the industry 16 years later, JDF is still not all we were led to believe. I’m not here to bash JDF though. In fact, I am more a believer now then I have ever been in the concept and true functionality of JDF.
Like most things in life, JDF isn’t perfect; it has taken time to grow, mature and improve. Sixteen years is a lot of time, but we have seen monumental improvement. And it seems 2010 will be the decade for JDF. I truly believe that companies that take full advantage of hardware, software and MIS that are JDF compliant will excel in the uncertain printing world of tomorrow.
The one thing that always kills printers is errors. Whether human, mechanical, acts of “you know who,” or otherwise, any instance where parts of a job must be processed multiple times is a waste of resources. The resource can be something as small as five minutes of time, or as expensive as three days on press. These loses always add up, and the more steps taken to ensure they don’t occur, the better.
I will admit that I have made a few mistakes in my printing business lifetime that have ended up costing the company money. Every person, every out-of-date system, every flawed process, every under-cared-for machine is a potential loss waiting to happen. Some of these we can’t control, or can’t change, but we can always try to limit the amount of interaction with these things to keep the potential issues to a minimum. That’s really all JDF is – a minimizer.
The concept of JDF is greater than the tool itself, and if you’re not onboard, you’re going to have a hard time keeping your financial head above water.
The basic concept of JDF is to minimize the amount of physical document handling necessary to produce any given job by increasing the amount of digital information transferred to various components of the entire print shop. When I say “physical handling,” I am not just referring to someone picking up the docket from his/her desk and carrying it to prepress or the bindery; I am also talking about the amount of information that has to be manually transposed by individuals from the docket to their station, or from one resource to another. This functionality of the software not only saves time by minimizing the amount of time needed for physical information transfer, it also reduces the total amount of time needed by each person when handling the job. Without going into too much more detail, it’s plain to see that devices and software that save you time will end up saving you money in the long run.
Alright, for the flip side of the coin: what are the downsides? Well, for starters, you have to integrate the software into your current shop. That means investments in upgrades to existing machines and software to JDF compliant versions, or investing in new software or hardware that is JDF compliant. Then, you’ll need to invest in changing your process to take advantage of the full power of the resource.
I am in sheer awe of places that have invested thousands of dollars on software or hardware and don’t at least try to take advantage of all the wonders that they have to offer.
Finally, because all the data does carry through so well, there is now a huge burden put on entering the information right the first time. Not that there isn’t in a normal workflow, but in a JDF workflow, getting it right the first time is especially important.
With all those cons in mind, I still think the benefits far outweigh the costs, especially when you consider that the costs are often one-time heavy expenditures, but the savings are present from then on.
Many companies that sell JDF related products report that their products can pay for themselves in anywhere from two years to six months. Taking all that into consideration, I’d say that the concept and the notion is nothing less than JDF’ing great!
If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me johnathonanderson@graphicartsmag.com
