What is Workflow?

By Andrew Tribute, visiting professor at University of the Arts London. This article was first published at www.whattheythink.com  in the US.

One of the most over used terms within this industry today is workflow. Almost every week we hear announcements of yet another workflow product or enhancements to existing workflow products. We have workflow products from the digital prepress market for systems to drive CtP devices and subsequently offset press set up. We have workflow from the digital printing suppliers to allow these devices to be driven to the optimum potential. The latest trend is unified or hybrid workflows where the same workflow is used to drive both offset and digital presses without having to change the data. We are also finding most of these workflows are now linking up to the Internet to allow for better communication with customers. This can be for submission and approval of work and for ordering of work. In the latter case we are then linking the MIS systems world into the production world. Within all of this the new wonder word, JDF, is frequently sprinkled like stardust to ensure everything interacts smoothly to allow for systems from a range of suppliers to all seamlessly work together.

Well that's what the suppliers and the industry gurus tell us is happening, and that JDF easily allows for the seamless communication and interaction between systems. In certain cases it is true, but in the majority it is not and we have islands of automation where communication between them is limited in electronic form and predominantly in paper or verbal form.

JDF is a great tool in creating a standard that all suppliers support that allows different applications to communicate with each other. This is through passing of data and by having a communications capability that will allow two-way messaging between these systems. It is not however "plug and play." With JDF there are so many variations in terms of data that can be passed between systems that there is no such defined standard of elements fully supported by all suppliers. Each supplier implements those parts of the JDF specification that applies to their applications. If two systems with different requirements are connecting it needs systems specialists to create the connection that fits the needs of those systems and the needs of the customers. Hopefully that is what the suppliers will do but it is very likely a printer will have to arrange for this specific customization.

I have always believed if it is possible that it is best to buy as many workflow components as possible from a single supplier as then everything will work together. In this case I have to admit to always being a great fan of Heidelberg's approach to workflow with its Prinect systems. It is the most total and comprehensive solution available from job specification within an MIS system to final delivery from the finishing system with links back into the MIS system. Heidelberg recently invited a number of analysts and press to Switzerland and Liechtenstein to visit two of their most progressive customers using Printect workflows. These were Fotorotar near Zurich and BVD Druck in Liechtenstein. Heidelberg was keen to describe their two latest Prinect modules, as well as seeing Prinect Integration System in action. These new applications are the Prinect Postpress Manager and Prinect Scheduler, Prinect Scheduler is being beta tested at Fotorotar before being released at drupa 2008.

Without going into any detail the Scheduler looks an ideal tool for managing a busy print shop and ensuring effective use of equipment. It does not go into plant optimization in the same way as EFI's Printflow, but provides all the tools a planner needs to effectively schedule all the work in the plant. One of the reasons this is possible is because of the Prinect Integration System pulling together all data for the running of equipment in the print plant so the very latest information is available for decision-making.

At BVD Druck this bringing together of information was particularly apparent and was being used all the time to optimize the profitable running of the plant. I have seen many printers of this size (under 50 employees) and I have to say this is perhaps the most efficient printing plant of this size I have ever seen. Peter Göppel the CEO knows almost to the minute which jobs are running profitably against their quoted prices and can change plans rapidly where any problem is found. This is all because information from prepress, press and finishing is collected by Prinect Integration Manager and is accessible by the Prinance MIS system.

It may be that specific elements of Prinect are not as good as certain other supplier's workflow elements, but I believe that to get the best workflow one needs the sum of all the parts. The systems I saw in Switzerland and Liechtenstein showed this to be the case with all elements communicating with a central resource. I am advised that within Prinect JDF is the enabler to permit this to happen, but it is Heidelberg's implementation that defines how each Prinect module seamlessly communications with the others.

The latest implementations of Printect confirm my belief that workflow is much more than just the prepress systems communicating with the MIS and press management systems. It is the total operation of the print plant and its interaction with the customers. For the future it should also be the link into the worlds of other media for electronic information delivery.