With the deepening of social informatization, the means of information dissemination has become more and more abundant. Among them, the format of electronic documents plays an extremely important role in the transmission, recording, copying and processing of graphic information. For this purpose, the United States has set up a technical organization called EDSF, the "Electronic Document Fund" organization, which is specifically responsible for coordinating and managing the research and standardization of electronic document formats.
In the communication of graphic information closely related to the printing industry, the most used formats are JDF, PDF and PPML. This article intends to compare and analyze the characteristics and interrelationships of the above three formats.
1. Features and functions of JDF, PDF and PPML formats
1.JDF
JDF is the abbreviation of Job Definition Format. It is based on the data format of CPP3 PPF and Adobe's PJTF. It is an XML-based open file format, covering all aspects of the printing workflow, including from business management. , Production management, resource management, and the whole process of pre-press, printing, and post-press processing, so that users can effectively control each job in the workflow. JDF can establish a communication bridge between customer requirements and actual production processes by defining two production processes that are not related to production and related to production, and can even integrate the entire industry, including media, design, printing, and e-commerce networks. The respective workflows are combined and executed without having to be limited to a certain fixed flow pattern.
2.PDF
PDF is an abbreviation of Portable Document Format, meaning "portable file format", and is a structured document format. It can encapsulate text, font, format, color, graphic image, hypertext link, sound, dynamic image and other information in a file. PDF has almost the same page description capabilities and similar description methods as PS. But unlike PS, apart from describing complex layouts, PDF also has interactive features (such as hyperlinks, interactive forms, etc.), page random access, and font emulation description. The main feature of PDF is that it has good transferability, can be correctly transmitted in various network environments, supports sound and animation, and supports random access to the content of the page, thereby increasing the speed of various operations of the page. PDF also supports multiple compression encoding methods to make the file structure more compact. The PDF file can bring its own font description information, so as to ensure the correct display of the document even if the user system lacks the required fonts. In addition, PDF files have software and hardware platform independence. This feature is very suitable for information exchange in network transmission, so as to avoid the trouble of garbled characters. Finally, PDF files support various levels of security control. This security control is very important to protect the copyright of electronic publications. We can carry out different levels of security according to the security requirements of various electronic publications Settings. Especially worth mentioning is the stability of PDF in the reproduction and transmission of high-resolution color data, making PDF a reliable standard format accepted by a variety of color drafting equipment.
3.PPML
PPML's full English name is Personalized Print Markup Language, and Chinese means "personalized print markup language". PPML uses XML as a syntactic basis, which makes PPML have a close relationship with many other web applications. The function of this language is to be able to quickly print documents that contain reusable page content. Before the PPML language, although personalized documents can also be printed, generally closed digital printing systems are used to achieve personalized printing. Therefore, PPML is the first industry standard language for personalized printing. PPML is a meta-language, which can describe the structure, documents, and pages of printed jobs. It places the "logo" on the page through PPML <MARK>, and the PPML (MARK) element points to the page data, for example to an EPS file. The essence of PPML language is "personalization". With the increasing popularity of the Internet, the trend of personalized digital printing is intensifying. The color digital printing technology introduced in 1993 made it possible to print high-quality color personalized information. However, digital printing technology has not been in close contact with the huge potential of the personalized printing market. One of the most basic reasons is that there is no industry standard language to print high-quality, reusable color documents with page content. PostScript is the most popular language in the printing field, but it is a page description language. For non-image languages, such as PCL and AFP, there is no way to define images, or effectively reuse high-quality images (variable information), especially color images. Therefore, neither PostScript, nor PCL and AFP can assume the responsibility of personalizing the standard language for digital printing. The important task comes to PPML because it has the essence of personalization.
2. JDF + PDF + PPML = personalized on-demand printing
In the future, the printing industry will increasingly use digital printing technology (instead of or in parallel with traditional offset printing). On the other hand, many digital printing equipment suppliers cannot achieve the expected sales volume, so they are looking for a "killer application" that can help digital printing enter mainstream applications. Compared with traditional offset printing, one of the main advantages of digital printing equipment is that it does not require a printing plate or preparation time, and each page can contain different content, that is, variable data printing (VDP). Unfortunately, the VDP workflow is generally considered difficult to complete. Because including the data preparation before printing, and the printing process itself requires a lot of manpower, and all personnel need to have a certain level of expertise in the corresponding field, so the cost is quite high. Another reason for increasing the difficulty of VDP is that every digital printing supplier is using a dedicated data format to implement VDP, and users are often constrained by dedicated software tools and workflows. A few years ago, major manufacturers in the industry formed an organization called the "Print on Demand Initiative Alliance" (PODi) and developed a personalized markup language (PPML) standard aimed at improving interoperability among various vendors' devices. The standard specifies the standard way of defining VDP operations. Many PODi members (as well as other manufacturers) have shifted their products from proprietary formats to adopt PPML format. There are also "open" front-ends that allow users to build PPML jobs on the market, thus breaking the dependence on the workflow of a single supplier.
In actual production, we can use the three document formats JDF, PDF, and PPML together to give full play to their respective advantages. First, the JDF and PDF formats are used as the core of the digital workflow to achieve real-time tracking and control of the entire print job. Then, the variable data printing operation is implemented in the PPML format to meet the needs of more and more customers who want to have personalized on-demand printing in the future.
The on-demand printing workflow generally includes several stages: concept, development, approval, merger, printing, and completion. Concept stage (Concept): VDP applications usually start from the marketing department to carry out the idea of ​​one-to-one marketing activities. In order to stimulate customers' willingness to buy, the marketing department proposes ideas and provides original materials, including images and text content, and databases. At this stage, it is necessary to analyze customer data and determine the form and appearance of the final printed material.
Development stage: to transform concepts into executable solutions and designs. This process includes art editing, text editing, and database collation by designers. Approval: Approval: The marketing department evaluates the above plan and adjusts and revises it according to the marketing objectives. Also need to use the database to test the entire application, check the text content, picture size, etc. Merging stage (Merging): Use the graphic and database materials formed in the previous stage to generate variable data printing jobs in PPML / VDX format. The PPML / VDX layout is a special form of PDF file. This PDF file includes some data structures that describe the organization of variable data job elements. In addition to these data structures, PPML / VDX layout files may also contain part or all of the text and image codes required to complete this variable data printing job. It should be pointed out that although the PPML / VDX layout file is a PDF file, it cannot be browsed with PDF reading software (such as Adobe Acrobat Reader). This is because the structure of PPML / VDX layout files is different from the structure of ordinary PDF files. PPML / VDX layout files are mainly "containers" or "packages" as data structures (and text and images), which are not "files" in the usual sense.
The receiver in the PPML / VDX workflow is responsible for reading and interpreting the data structure in the PPML / VDX layout file and using the information in it to assemble different text and image elements into the actual document. In more complex operations, a PPML / VDX instance consists of a PPML / VDX layout file and other multiple PDF files. The PPML / VDX layout file contains only the necessary data structures and links to other PDF files, and the actual codes of text and images are in other PDF files. In this type of PPML / VDX example, the data structure in the PPML / VDX layout file refers to other PDF files instead of pointing to the mark location in the PPML / VDX layout file. Among the hardware that supports PPML / VDX, NexPress 2100 from NexPress Solutions, a subsidiary of Heidelberg, is excellent. NexPress 2100 supports PPML / VDX, combined with the above software solutions, can form a powerful and very flexible variable data printing solution. Printing: Printing with a digital press that supports PPML / VDX. Fulfillment: Post-press processing and service work, such as binding, cutting, mailing, etc.
3. Conclusion
The three document formats of JDF, PDF, and PPML have different characteristics but are intrinsically linked. They are unified into the on-demand printing work. We can fully utilize the advantages of these three document formats and integrate them. Applications to achieve personalized on-demand printing, so that the future of on-demand printing will go wider and wider.
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