September 5, 2006 -- The 6th Digital Proof Forum, which was scheduled to take place on September 21 and 22 in Wuppertal, was cancelled on 28 August by the event organizers - bvdm and ECI. They stated that the reason for this was that a majority of the proof system manufacturers were not able to participate at the Digital Proof Forum on the basis of the agreed test specifications. The manufacturers concerned regret that the Digital Proof Forum has been cancelled. This news took them completely by surprise as they only found out about it through a bvdm press release. They are particularly sorry that the event will not take place as they still consider that the event is very valuable and in the course of discussions with the event organizer they had made constructive suggestions for improvements. It must be remembered that progress in the standardization and quality of digital proofing has been achieved and documented thanks to the active participation by the system manufacturers. However, some comment is needed concerning the reason for the cancellation by the event organizers. It is the view of the manufacturers affected that, at the time the event was cancelled, a decision had not been made on the arrangements and test specifications: indeed, discussions were still ongoing. The trigger for the changes discussed was that, even at the last event, the focus of the results for the comparative tests concentrated increasingly on the figures after the decimal point in respect of the Delta E values. This is why the manufacturers recommended that the focus should be on other criteria that are of equal importance for the quality of the proof system. For this reason various alternatives were discussed at the preparatory meetings. The user tests (tests in the companies of users, who have the appropriate test systems) introduced by the event organizers were not mentioned until discussions were at an advanced stage. Valid reasons exist why these tests should not be used. A host of additional variables would influence the results and make them unusable. It is regrettable that a call by the manufacturers to take account of this in the event concept, which would create sensible prerequisites for participation, was answered in the form of a public statement canceling the event at short notice. The manufacturers affected by the cancellation regret that the event organizers were not able to accommodate the points they raised. At the same time, the manufacturers believe that the space created by the cancellation of the event this year - an event which has essentially shown itself to be a tried and tested platform - will give all those involved time for the reflection, which is obviously required. This space will provide time to consider modification of the concept and the necessary organization of the Digital Proof Forum so that, apart from being an aid to decision-making, the event will provide users with effective benefits for dealing with new proofing challenges. The manufacturers will be pleased to maintain a constructive dialog with bvdm and ECI to achieve this goal.