PARAMUS, N.J., MARCH 27, 2006 — The Research & Engineering Council of NAPL will host a Digital Smart Factory (DSF) / Job Definition Format (JDF) Forum on Thursday, April 6, 2006, during the IPEX 2006 conference in Birmingham, United Kingdom. The interactive event will give attendees a valuable opportunity to hear real-world experiences from printers in various stages of Job Definition Format (JDF) implementation and get answers to questions on workflow connectivity issues within their own organizations. "Successful companies understand that JDF is enabling streamlined workflows and providing the path to computer integrated manufacturing – CIM," said Ronald Mihills, R&E Council of NAPL managing director, who hosts the informative, interactive event with Ray Hartman, senior vice president, Equipment, Technology & Engineering of R. R. Donnelley & Sons and chairman of the R&E Council of NAPL Forum. "For the past seven years, the R&E Council of NAPL has used its Digital Smart Factory Forum to educate printers on the importance of embracing open standards, establishing an integrated, digital workflow, and generating and analyzing meaningful data to modernize and streamline their manufacturing processes. This forum builds on that tradition by going beyond theory to provide practical—and actionable—strategies printers can use to move toward true workflow automation and integration." Forum Chairman Hartman will moderate a panel of printers, including John Charnock, director of Technical Services, London-based graphic communications company St. Ives, who will share real-world experiences in implementing JDF within their companies. Also on the program are JDF experts, including James E. Harvey, CIP4 executive director, who will report on the latest progress in achieving industry-wide open standards to support workflow integration. The presentations will be followed by a dialogue among the JDF experts of leading manufacturing companies and attendees, who are encouraged to pose questions about any issues/challenges they are encountering in achieving connectivity within their companies. Among the manufacturers scheduled to participate are Agfa, EFI, Goss International, Heidelberg, Kodak, Komori, MAN Roland, Mueller Martini, and others. The R&E Council of NAPL Forum at IPEX will be held on April 6 in NEC, Birmingham, England, Atrium Suite 34 (adjacent to Hall 20) at 3:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (15:00 – 17:30). Tickets may be obtained from the Process Automation and JDF pavilion stand #20-C60. For more information, contact the R & E Council of NAPL at 800.642.6275, ext. 1397.