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One of the most over-used terms within the industry today is workflow.

Almost every week, we hear announcements of yet another workflow product or enhancements to existing products. We have workflows from the digital pre-press market to drive platesetters and subsequently offset press set up. We have workflows from digital printing suppliers to allow their devices to be driven to the optimum potential. The latest trend is unified or hybrid workflows where the same workflow is used to drive both offset and digital presses without having to change the data. We are also finding most of these workflows are now linking up to the internet to allow for better communication with customers. This can be for submission and approval and for the ordering of work. In the latter case, we are then linking the management information systems world into the real-time production world.

Within all of this, the wonder word JDF is frequently sprinkled like stardust to allow systems from a range of suppliers to all work seamlessly together. At least, that’s what the suppliers and the industry gurus tell us is happening with JDF, and in certain cases it is true. But, in the majority, it is not and we still have islands of automation where communication between kit and departments is limited electronically and predominantly in paper or verbal form.

JDF is a great tool for creating a standard that allows different applications to communicate with each other. This is through passing of data and by having a communications capability that will allow two-way messaging between these systems. It is not, however, ‘plug and play’. With JDF, there are so many variations in data that there is no such defined standard of elements fully supported by all suppliers. Each supplier implements those parts of the JDF specification that applies to their applications. If two systems with different requirements are connecting, it needs specialists to create the link that fits the needs of those systems and the needs of the customers.

I have to admit to being a great fan of Heidelberg’s approach to workflow with its Prinect systems. Heidelberg recently invited a number of analysts and press to Switzerland and Liechtenstein to visit two of its most progressive customers using Prinect workflows. These were Fotorotar near Zurich and BVD Druck in Liechtenstein. The German giant was keen to describe its two latest Prinect modules, as well as demonstrating the Prinect Integration System in action. These new applications are the Prinect Postpress Manager and Prinect Scheduler , and the latter is being beta tested at Fotorotar before being released at Drupa 2008.

Without going into any detail, the Scheduler looks an ideal tool for managing a busy print shop and ensuring effective use of equipment. It does not go into plant optimization in the same way as EFI’s Printflow, but provides all the tools a planner needs to effectively schedule all the work in the plant. One of the reasons this is possible is because of the Prinect Integration System pulling together all data for the running of equipment in the print plant so the very latest information is available for decision-making.

At BVD Druck, this was particularly apparent. Chief executive Peter Göppel knows almost to the minute which jobs are running profitably against their quoted prices and can change plans rapidly where any problem is found. This is all because information from pre-press to finishing is collected by Prinect Integration Manager and is accessible by the Prinance MIS.
The latest implementations of Prinect confirm my belief that workflow is much more than just the pre-press systems communicating with the MIS and press management systems. It is the total operation of the print plant and its interaction with the customers. For the future, it should also be the link into the worlds of other media for electronic information delivery.

Andrew Tribute is a journalist and consultant in digital and pre-media technology. Visit: www.attributes.co.uk