JDF - Recipe for Soup ... and a Sandwich

The great enabler

In the broadest terms, therefore, if PDF can be understood as the "what," JDF is the "how." The use of JDF streamlines production by enabling RIPs, imagesetters, presses, finishing, and other equipment and software to speak a common language. In essence, Esko-Graphics' Hole explains, "JDF extends the functionality of a PDF workflow by using a global MIS structure to provide operators access to use the metadata from a file, providing everyone the history of a job as it progresses through the supply chain. JDF thus becomes the 'mechanism' for monitoring and distributing the job at each stage of the process."