Is JDF dead?

[_socket]

I've seen many glowing flow charts of how JDF will make the print shop sing in harmony but I haven't seen much real world JDF implementation. I feels like the standard popped and dropped in the mid 2k. Adobe pulled JDF support in Acrobat XI. I'm not aware of any finishing vendors that officially support it. I love the idea of JDF, but I feel like it's not been supported seriously by most vendors even though they claim JDF support. Can anyone give some real world work flow where JDF has brought about meaningful production automation.

 

[Marko]

JDF is used in some of the integrations between Automation Engine and third party MIS systems. As I see it, it's a technology more for the software vendors than the end users. It's mostly under the hood stuff that allow multiple systems to easily talk to one another.

In the Automation Engine to MIS example-JDF (and JMF) allows jobs to automatically be created, parameters sent, standard layout information to be shared, status exchanged, products made, etc... While all these examples are possibles in other ways (such as straight XML, SQL, JSON, etc...), but the standard JDF implementation makes for a consistent integration. I know what the parameters will be, I know jobs will be created and certain status sent back.

Esko also uses JDF in some of the communication between our own systems such as sending information from Automation engine to the Imaging Engine.

Hope that helps.

 

[_socket]

Isn't the point and usefulness of all technology dependent on the benefits it offers the end users? The benefit of a common language is realized only if vendors universally make use of it.

As you mentioned a vendor can use any one of many data models to communicate, but the purpose of the JDF markup "language" in the first place was to provide standard definitions for common operations in print job production. Most equipment vendors already come with a proprietary management software that can be manually configured to operate to the job's definition. I'm trying to find real world scenario where JDF has removed error prone manual programming in favor of a end to end JDF flow across multiple vendors.

The JDF standard reminds me a little of Apple VS PC (IBM clones). Apple went with SCSI but then relented and switched to IDE eventually. Apple went with Motorola PPC architecture but then eventually switched to X86. Apple went with firewire but then eventually relented and went with USB.