Düsseldorf, Germany (January 31, 2007) – The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4) and Messe Düsseldorf today announced the JDF experience parc at drupa 2008.

At drupa 2004 approximately 50 exhibitors demonstrated JDF-enabled systems and software, most for the very first time. For many, drupa 2004 was the “JDF drupa”, heralding the introduction of JDF-enabled process automation for the printing industry. Since 2004, JDF has moved past the initial hype and speculation to become a core technology for competitive printers around the world. At drupa 2008, JDF programs will be incorporated into the very popular and expanding drupa innovation parc. “drupa has a long history of being an event where key changes in the printing industry are first seen,” commented Manuel Mataré, drupa 2008 Project Director at Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. “with drupa 2008 we expect to see the market for JDF-enabled products to fully bloom. Many new JDF-enabled products are anticipated as well as JDF features and options on new versions of well-known systems and equipment.”

The innovation parc at drupa 2008, dedicated to the showing of new and innovative technologies, will take up almost all of Hall 7 at the Düsseldorf fairgrounds. A primary feature of the drupa innovation parc will be the “JDF experience parc”; an area dedicated to companies that will demonstrate JDF systems and software, as well as interoperability with other exhibitors in the JDF experience parc. Already 20 companies indicated that they plan to participate in the JDF experience parc and 30 or more companies are expected to exhibit JDF-enabled products in the JDF experience parc. “While there are always surprises to be found at the drupa innovation parc, digital printing systems and JDF-enabled systems are the two areas where we are seeing the most new and innovative developments, and often they overlap,” explained Bernd Zipper of ZIPCON Consulting and drupa Special Events Coordinator. “The JDF experience parc should have many surprises of its own and many printers will find themselves spending an entire day just at the drupa innovation parc and the JDF experience parc.”

The drupa innovation parc will also feature a JDF experience theater. JDF is no longer a speculative technology and printers want to learn more about how JDF works and what others are doing with the technology. The JDF experience theater at the drupa innovation parc will be used to conduct short seminars on JDF-related topics such as automating digital printing, optimizing customer communications with JDF-enabled creative tools, automating commercial printing operations and more. The JDF experience theater will also be used to present user case studies. “Between the seminars and the user case studies presented at the JDF experience theater,” said Mark Wilton of Kodak and CIP4’s Education and Marketing Officer, “drupa attendees shopping for ways to improve efficiency and throughput will be able to get answers to their questions and get some ideas for how to best put new and old equipment to work.”

drupa 2008 will be held from May 29 to June 11, 2008 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany. For further information on visiting or exhibiting at drupa 2008, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, 150 North Michigan Avenue, Suite 2920, Chicago, IL 60601. Telephone: (312) 781-5180; Fax: (312) 781-5188; E-mail: info@mdna.com. Or visit the web site http://www.mdna.com or http://www.drupa.com.

Supporting Information

About drupa

 drupa is to the printing and paper industries what the Olympic Games are to athletes. Every four years, hundreds of thousands of experts come to Düsseldorf for drupa. It's an opportunity for seeing all the latest technologies in media production and processing live in action. drupa 2004 attracted over 393,000 trade attendees from all over the world, the majority of which (55%) came from outside of Germany, to see exhibits from 1,862 exhibitors in over 161,000 square meters of exhibit space. No other trade fair has such a vast, fundamental economic and technological impact as drupa. drupa Düsseldorf is a constant reflection of the printing and paper sectors. For more information visit www.drupa.com.

About CIP4

CIP4 brings together vendors, consultants, and end-users in the print communications, graphic arts industry, and associated sectors, covering a variety of equipment, software, peripherals, and processes. Members participate in focused working groups to define the Job Definition Format (JDF), PrintTalk, and other standards relevant to process automation; to study user requirements; to test product interoperability; and to develop a range of JDF software development tools. Information on CIP4, including membership details, is available from the organization’s website: www.cip4.org. Or contact: Stefan Daun, Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics, +49 6151 155 575, secretariat@cip4.org. All content and ideas submitted to the CIP4 user groups and intellectual property rights subsisting therein shall become the exclusive property of CIP4.

About JDF

 The Job Definition Format (JDF) is the industry specification designed to facilitate process automation and the integration of different applications and systems in and around the graphic arts industry. JDF also enables the integration of business management and job planning applications into the production workflow. JDF is based on the W3C’s Extensible Markup Language (XML), ensuring maximum interoperability between different platforms and ready interaction with Internet systems. More information is available at www.cip4.org.

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