MetaCommunications Announces New JDF Solutions Framework™ for Virtual Ticket™ 6.0
New JDF Solutions Framework support enables industry vendors to use Virtual Ticket as graphical front-end for creating JDF job tickets and initiating JDF workflows.
IOWA CITY, IA—October 8th, 2004. Today MetaCommunications, Inc. announced a new JDF Solutions Framework for Virtual Ticket 6.0. Developed specifically for printing, packaging, and graphic arts vendors and suppliers, the JDF Solutions Framework positions Virtual Ticket as the first graphical user interface-based solution for building a front-end to JDF by creating customizable job tickets without requiring extensive programming skills or long development cycles to implement. The JDF Solutions Framework enables Virtual Ticket to initiate JDF workflows and capture JDF generated output from JDF-enabled solutions, effectively driving the entire workflow process.
“Virtual Ticket’s core functionality enables users to create their own customizable electronic job tickets to meet their specific creative and production needs,” says Robert Long, Executive Vice President of MetaCommunications. “The new JDF Solutions Framework brings these features to CTP, prepress, press, and post-press vendors, giving them an easy-to-use graphical front-end to creating JDF job tickets for use with their specific solutions.”
Download a JDF Solutions Framework brochure. (PDF)
Creating JDF Job Tickets
Using Virtual Ticket, vendors may create, export, and distribute standard electronic job tickets or job tickets tailored specifically to their own JDF-enabled hardware and software devices. For example, CTP manufacturers may create prepress tickets that write JDF to drive their own CTP process; press manufacturers may create press tickets that write JDF to drive a printing process; etc. all with the ability to define their own extensions to JDF and a custom user interface to ensure that the appropriate JDF specifications are included for their solutions.
The JDF Solutions Framework also allows vendors to leverage Virtual Ticket’s built-in digital asset management capabilities to specify and reference which files to use, further enhancing the JDF workflow process. Virtual Ticket presents a unique approach to digital asset management by enabling digital assets to be treated as additional job-related data through automatic cataloging and associating of those digital assets with job tickets. When generating JDF job tickets, the JDF Solutions Framework ensures that references are written and relationships are maintained between the JDF and the targeted digital assets that will be processed.
Driving the JDF Workflow
The JDF Solutions Framework includes a JDF object model that is accessible in JavaScript, allowing Virtual Ticket to easily construct and deconstruct JDF. As a result, users can produce a JDF file that may be routed to the appropriate process in the JDF workflow. Results generated by the vendor’s JDF system may also be retrieved and documented in Virtual Ticket through its built-in InterSync™ background services.
“InterSync greatly simplifies the process of watching for changes to JDF files over the course of production,” says Robert Long. “JDF files are linked to production information within Virtual Ticket, which allows InterSync to track the JDF files through production and capture the resulting changes.”
About Virtual Ticket
Virtual Ticket 6.0 is a powerful integrated solution that enables organizations to centralize information, eliminate paper job tickets, manage production files, traffic and schedule jobs, notify and alert users to changes in production information, manage digital assets and automatically archive files. Used as a stand-alone system or seamlessly integrated with other management and enterprise software, Virtual Ticket is the only product available today to combine electronic job ticketing, workflow, digital asset management, and archiving in one scalable and customizable production platform.
Graph Expo 2004 Unveiling
The JDF Solutions Framework for Virtual Ticket will be on display at the Graph Expo 2004 show in Chicago, IL (October 10-13, 2004) in MetaCommunications Booth #5417. Demonstrations will be conducted showing Virtual Ticket’s JDF Solutions Framework as a front-end to Esko-Graphics’ new version 2.0 of its BackStage production workflow management software.
Availability
The JDF Solutions Framework for Virtual Ticket is available immediately. The JDF Solutions Framework is available to Virtual Ticket OEM Partners only. Pricing is on a contract basis.
About MetaCommunications
MetaCommunications is a leading software developer of workgroup and enterprise business management and workflow solutions for the graphic arts industry. MetaCommunications flagship products include Virtual Ticket 6.0 and Job Manager 3.5. These cross-platform products are customizable and scalable from five-user workgroups to hundreds of users in an enterprise environment. MetaCommunications has more than 750 installations of its software worldwide, helping some of the world’s top creative agencies, corporate marketing groups, printing and prepress firms, and publishers work more efficiently and profitably. MetaCommunications was founded in 1991 and is headquartered in Iowa City, Iowa. For more information, please visit http://www.meta-comm.com.
For more information, contact:
Robert T. Long
MetaCommunications
1210 S. Gilbert Street
Iowa City, IA 52240 USA
319-337-8599 x180
blong@meta-comm.com
© 2007 MetaCommunications, Inc. All rights reserved. MetaCommunications, the MetaCommunications logo, Approval Manager, Virtual Ticket, JDF Solutions Framework, Digital Storage Manager, and Job Manager are trademarks of MetaCommunications, Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of the individual companies and are respectfully acknowledged.