1 JDF in the Broader Workflow Context Thad McIlroy Arcadia House San Francisco & Toronto Presentation to

2 My Background 32 years on the dusty road of publishing 5 years directing Seybold Seminars 7 years studying the impact of the Internet on graphic communications 3 years studying XML, CMS, workflow and production automation

3 The “Workflow” Challenge Authoring and design take place remotely from prepress and printing Data flows downstream with insufficient data to inform the process “Our clients want us to do the heavy lifting.” Islands of automation are not unified into a single process

4 Islands of Automation Limited manufacturing (workflow) efficiencies Doesn’t support cross-media publishing authoring & editing illustration & photography rights production & preflight distribution

5 The Problem Authoring, editing, design, photography and illustration are not properly (fully) addressed These functions are as important to a successful workflow as any production or output steps

6 The Solution Find effective methods to encompass the entire workflow within service offerings Find ways to profitably assist customers in improving their workflows Push vendors to support the ENTIRE workflow (including JDF)

7 The Workflow Ghetto “Workflow” is a term used all too frequently in the graphic arts, used casually, loosely and inaccurately Everybody’s got a “workflow” product What exactly is the commonality of these products? Nearly all address only the problem of moving PDF files to plate (and press)

8 How Do Vendors See Workflow?

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10 Better Names for Workflow than Workflow Workflow is a noun, it describes a state, not an activity Process improvement Publishing automation

11 Why Full Automation Now? The Web challenges print with an automated cost-effective publishing method The graphic arts have been creeping slowly from a craft to an automated industry (with much resistance) The printing press is now in the loop XML provides offers an automation opportunity for document originators too

12 XML is the Answer A New-Breed of Data Standard, a Single Standard Able to Represent: 1. All manner of content 2. The structure of content 3. The “meaning” of content (through smart tag names and metadata) 4. Production/workflow requirements 5. Rights data 6. Repurposing requirements (cross-media)

13 Metadata Enters the Process Data that describes other data

14 The Bean Analogy FROM: A Manager’s Introduction to Adobe eXtensible Metadata Platform

15 Bean Metadata

16 More Bean Metadata

17 “Workflow” Issues The 80/20 canon has become too-well enshrined in our corporate culture If 99% of the steps of a workflow are optimized, and 1% not, the overall efficiency of the workflow is more likely to resemble the 1% than it is the 99% At the same time, there will always be steps in a creative process that defy automation

18 How Do We Link the Islands? XML standards throughout for composition for semantic tagging for job tickets and production control We NEED a continuous 2-way data flow based on XML encodings

19 New Workflow Dynamic

20 What Are Some of the Tasks to Be Addressed as Part of a Robust Digital Workflow?

21 Authoring Microsoft Word controls the text authoring market – tools to improve productivity are available Adobe controls the creative market, and embraces workflow improvement (Adobe has joined the WfMC – The Workflow Management Coalition) Quark addresses workflow with job ticket (JDF) support in QuarkXPress 7.0

22 Digital Workflow Management JDF and its brethren Typéfi sample approach

23 Structured Tagging by Authors? Typéfi sample approach

24 XML Tagging Semantic tagging requires human judgment

25 Templated Designs How much of XML-tagged content can be composed automatically? Typéfi sample approach

26 Digital Asset Management XML’s role in metadata and taxonomies

27 The Human Factor New Internal Roles, Skills & Positions The production skill set changes substantially Much of the existing knowledge base changes or obsoletes The move from design & composition & production management to content & product architecting and engineering There is an enormous training challenge ahead And a need for certification

28 For more information : Thad McIlroy Arcadia House