The Electronic Job Docket - Another DAM Project?

Graphic arts companies manage every last detail that goes into each job. Every order is a custom order. Communicating the information required to get that job through the production process error free, without having to explain each step, is the goal of every production manager.  Add to this the fact that we need to save all the production related information as the job progresses through the plant, and then at the end archive that information along with the job’s assets for re-use and to share with our customer.

This should be a piece of cake with all the technology at our disposal.  Almost everything is now digital: files, images, communication and file transfer. Even the colour managed proof is signed off electronically. So why do we still have that paper docket floating around the shop floor?

The docket is, like the mousetrap, quite simple in purpose and highly effective. And like building a better mousetrap, creating a better job docket has been an enigma.  Many have tried and many have failed. The digital docket, though, is a necessity in a fully digital workflow. So how can we build a better mousetrap?

The Digital Docket

Most systems create their electronic job docket from the perspective of an ERP system. They record all the necessary production details, but fail to take into consideration the graphical nature of our business: holding the files, images and proofs, and communicating in a way that is meaningful to a production department.

Accessing the files from a docket for re-orders, repurposing content for alternate delivery processes, whether the Web , demand printing, or other formats, along with the paper trail of proofs, signoffs and communication—all that  needs to be captured and retrieved electronically in a timely way.

Quite a challenge for an ERP system, but more efficiently handled by a digital asset management system. The advantage is in tying into the workflow.  JDF (job definition format) technologies pave the way for automated graphic arts workflows to support these functions, and capturing workstation and user data in the process.

Adding a job ticket or job docket to a content management, or digital asset management system has proven to be a successful approach for many graphic arts companies.

Ian Broomhead, President of the DIA (who in his spare time runs CP Printing in Vaughn), has successfully implemented this technology. Ian recently showed me the system he has developed, using an off the shelf system that he modified extensively to get it to work they way he wanted.

Hence the need for systems integration. This is a term not heard in many printing plants. The open standards of new technologies built on databases with industry standards such as ODBC, JDF, PDF and XML make it easier to communicate between disparate systems.

A systems integrator’s role is to take diverse technologies and combine them, providing one seamless solution customized to your needs—a tailored package of services and systems that meets current needs and provides for growth.

But most integrators come from a document management perspective; they understand storing files, not creating and managing print production.

Be sure to find an integrator who has worked with graphic arts organization. Here are some factors you should take into consideration.

Challenges

Change management: Ensure that all stakeholders buy into changes in process, workflow, and job responsibilities. A production management system needs initiative and support from senior management, and a desire to implement from all participants.

Data migration integrity: Ensure the integrity of data from source documents when migrating  information into a new system.

Timing: Time the implementation to avoid disrupting ongoing work.

Future enhancements: Ensure that all elements will be able to scale up for growth.

Digital Docket Components

In a digital docket management system, look for:

• Project planning and scheduling: JDF-based project management, task management and process automation
• Digital Asset Management (DAM): managing and repurposing files
• Dynamic and batch conversion of file formats
• Connectivity with the information management system on a static, scheduled basis
• Workflow automation: deconstructing document pages, importing them to the content management system, page layout, automatic updating of content and pricing, PDF generation
• Preflight
• Soft proofing
• Collaborative review mechanism that aggregates requests for modifications and logs changes and activity
• Communication: email notifications of collaboration and proofing requests.
• enhanced image management and print management system
• business analytic modules for event planning
• a product information management system
• Web content automation tools that provide content and administrative tools to Web sites
• storage and archival modules
• Web-to-print modules.

Finding integration resources in the Printing Industry

The DIA has several member organizations who provide systems integration services, such as the Intuitive Solution Group in Markham, and manufacturers who provide end to end production systems which include digital dockets, such as Heidelberg, AGFA, ManRoland and Xerox.

Marg Macleod is the Association Manager of Digital Imaging Association.
T: 416-696-0151