CIP4 Announces Jdf-Enabled Interoperability Testing Results

­The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4) Organization has announced the results of its recent Interoperability Event in Zofingen CH. Thirty one companies participated, testing 42 products. In all, 93 pairs without prior engagement were tested, with 76 successful pairings. During the December 2003 Interoperability Event in Orlando, Florida, USA, 16 companies tested 24 products, resulting in 66 successful pairings among the 80 pairs tested.

CIP4 began quietly testing their products against the JDF specification in May 2003, proving out JDF interoperability in the process. Over the course of four, week-long, face-to-face interoperability events the number of companies participating in these events increased from 9 companies testing 16 products in May 2003 to the 31 companies that participated in the Zofingen event. In many cases, the participating companies had not worked together prior to the event.

Explained James Harvey, CIP4 executive director, 'Most printing or prepress shops have software, systems, and equipment from multiple vendors. The real test of JDF is its ability to support interoperability between systems, software, and equipment of different manufacturers. The results of CIP4's interoperability testing is encouraging given that each product pairing only has a short time to be tested during these events.'