The Missing Link

Shape of things to come

Based on findings like these, the Ryerson study concludes that widespread implementation of the JDF standard in packaging environments is still several years away because it will take that long for the JDF specification to evolve to meet the needs of the industry. At present, for example, the data stored in JDF files describe the parameters of a given job, but not the visual elements of that job. As a result, “the human element of visual inspection is still required to ensure that all information contained in the JDF file is correct,” and third-party extensions are used to supplement existing JDF specifications, according to the study. At the same time, the CIP4 Packaging and Label Workgroup is laying the foundation for future iterations of the standard that will be more compatible with real-world packaging environments.