CIP4 and the Stuttgart Media University hosted the 12th Workflow Symposium in Stuttgart, Germany, on Sept. 15, 2022.

2022-09-15 09:00

Insights into current topics in media production. The focus was on JDF automation solutions in the printing industry and Print 4.0.

The conference offered approximately 100 participants deep insights into current topics in media production. The focus was on JDF automation solutions in the printing industry and new technologies related to the buzzword "Print 4.0”.

The event organizers invited users, manufacturers and students. As every year, the event was free of charge for the participants and lasted the whole day.
The first item on the agenda, as with every Workflow Symposium, was a welcome address by representatives of the university and CIP4’s CEO, Henny van Esch. Afterwards, Dr. Rainer Prosi, chief technical officer at CIP4, gave a presentation. He explained in a very understandable way the reasons that led to the re-design of the Job Definition Format (JDF) and what the features of the new format (XJDF) are compared to its predecessor format. Unlike JDF, which contains the entire description of the production requirements of a print product, XJDF is essentially just a protocol between a workflow controller and the production devices. This makes XJDF -based solutions much easier to implement than original JDF. Dr. Prosi also emphasized that JDF will not be discontinued, but rather will be further developed in parallel with XJDF.
The symposium continued with presentations from users and providers of automation solutions. Bertin Sorgenfrey (Dalim Software GmbH) spoke about “Micro Services” in the Printing Industry, Martin Klein (ctrl-s GmbH) and Florian Meier (Kalfany Süße Werbung GmbH & Co KG) shared their JDF-based experience with a Customized Candy Smart Factory. These presentations were followed by Erik Gasse (Koenig & Bauer AG) discussing “Planning 4. 0 - Intelligent Planning through Interaction of Modern MIS and MES Applications”, Jochen Günther (Jochen Günther Training & Consulting) on “JDF in Digital Printing - How to Increase Your Productivity”, Axel Lüdecke (Aster Europe GmbH - Meccanotecnicagroup) on “Finishing Digital Printing to for Books - What Works with Workflow Automation”, and Lode Vlayen (Dataline) on MIS and JDF: “Current Applications with MultiPress.”

In addition, an interesting panel discussion took place on printing industry applications in the cloud, which included lively discussions about “What exactly IS the Cloud anyway?” etc.

The next Workflow Symposium is scheduled for September 2023.

All presentations were in German.