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(Abstract from CIP4 Press Release dated on September 8, 2006)
The International Cooperation for the Integration of the Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization announced the first and second place winners in all three categories for the annual The Jürgen Schönhut Memorial CIP4 International Print Production Innovation (CIPPI) Awards.

The CIPPI awards are given annual to the applicant with the most compelling case study in one of three categories, which are:


○Most innovative use of process automation technology in an implementation,
○Best cost/benefit realization as a result of process automation implementation, and
○Biggest improvement in efficiency and customer responsiveness as a result of process automation.



In the category of “best cost/benefit realization”, second place went to Tanghe Printing N.V. ( Komori customer) of Komen, Belgium.

“This year’s winning case studies marked some important changes in the industry compared to last year’s applications,” said James Harvey, CIP4’s Executive Director. “Last year we saw case studies that focused on the interoperability between two or three systems. This year’s applications showed more comprehensive implementations and the all important extension to the customer’s operations. These winning case studies are not from printers just trying out JDF, but printers that are really putting it to work as a part of the backbone of their operations. And I find it interesting that, once again, the winners are medium and even small printers; examples that most printers can take to heart, not just the industry’s giants.”


For more details, please seehttp://www.cip4.org/cippi/index.html“Booklet with Case-Studies of the Winning Applications in 2006” can be downloaded at above site as a big PDF file. The case of Tanghe Printing is included in the booklet.


(Abstract from Booklet with Case-Studies of the Winning Applications in 2006)
Company profile
Tanghe Printing was established in 1974. Now it is a modern sheet-fed offset operation with a workforce of around 35 people. The range of services—alongside offset printing activities (business reports, magazines, books, promos and calendars)—includes prepress.
We do a lot of small production runs which requires a lot of job changes. Our market comprises Belgium (40%), France (45%), Netherlands (10%) and Switzerland (5%).


Systems for JDF workflow are as follows,

○MIS
Hiflex MIS
○Prepress
Agfa’s PDF workflow :Apogee Series 3
CTP : Galileo CtP system
○Printing press
Komori K-Station for JDF interface
Komori Lithrone 40 (4 color B1 41½”)
Komori Lithrone S40S (5 color with coater B1 41½”)
○Archive management
NSS Production



Testimonial of Mr. Patrick Tanghe.


“Networked production means having a consistent platform on which everybody involved into order management or production processes has access to all important information at any time - whether he works in the office or in the field. He must be able to profit from maximum transparency so that he can optimally handle his job and at the same time to creatively work on the future and the progress of the company. In short – real networked production is of benefit for the whole business process. ”


Steps to implement JDF workflow


1982-1998
Belgian software and stand alone solution: DOS application with simple estimate and historic costing application as well as a small statistics generator. The individual modules were not interconnected, and the system only had limited output capabilities. It could not be adapted to the needs of our expanding company.


1999-2003
New software implemented.
Improvements: Windows environment, networking of administration with production.
Problems: Product not extensive enough. No JDF-compatibility


2003-2006
We opted for Hiflex MIS because we found that this system was the only really comprehensive, single vendor, software package, supported the languages we needed (to serve our international market) and had already been networked with production using JDF/JMF.
For the integration of prepress into a JDF networked production environment we updated to :ApogeeX v2.5 and at the beginning of 2006 to v.3.0.
In order to network our Komori presses with JDF, K-Station software was purchased.

Result after the implementation
Production meetings were reduced by 45 minutes per day.
The Return Of Investment (ROI) of the JDF implementation was 822.8 % within five years (which means that the investment is paid back 9.22 times). The Net Present Value (NPV) is EUR 886,570,-- or US$ 1,132,678,-- which equals an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 435%.
Increase of sold productivity on the presses: 15% (Lithrone 440) and 13% (Lithrone S 540)
Savings add up to EUR 114,400,-- per year: (1 person x 8 hours x 220 days x EUR 50,--) + (0.5 person x 8 hours x 220 days x EUR 30,--). This includes all direct and indirect costs.




CIPPI Award in “Support of the winning application of Tanghe Printing N.V.” was given to Komori International (Europe) B.V. and partners. Dr. Harry Adams and Komori’s Japanese engineers worked with Tanghe Printing and finally got this prize.



Now many Komori customers are working with JDF workflow in Europe, United States and Japan. We would like to inform you updated news about such customers frequently in near future.




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 http://www.cip4.org/.