Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, November 15, 2007--On behalf of the International Cooperation for the Integration of Process in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization and Kodak, PIA/GATF is pleased to announce that KODAK PANDORA Software has successfully completed JDF certification requirements. This CIP4 designation, given only after extensive testing is completed by PIA/GATF, verifies that PANDORA Software meets all requirements for basic interoperability, thus saving customers time previously spent researching and testing PANDORA Software integration with other JDF-enabled systems.
"As a major vendor in the industry, Kodak is committed to open standards such as JDF. We see certification as the next step in proving that commitment and developing solutions," said Mark Wilton, Director, Partner Initiatives, Enterprise Solutions, Kodak's Graphic Communications Group.
JDF Certification confirms compatibility with other products that conform to the same Interoperability Conformance Specification (ICS). PANDORA Software is certified to comply with the JDF Product Certification Program's Layout Creator to Imposition (LayCrImp) ICS as well as Level 0 of the BASE ICS requiring support for Hot Folders. As a result of certification, file input and layout creation are streamlined and automated because they are controlled using JDF Layout Preparation to produce an imposed content file.
"Testing PANDORA Software was an easy and painless procedure. I was very impressed with the ease PANDORA Software passed LayCrImp Certification testing. The JDF job ticket produced by PANDORA Software was efficient and thorough," said Brandon Iskey, JDF Program Administrator.
The JDF certification program is at the start of an exciting phase, as Kodak has agreed to pursue certification for eight additional products, for a total of ten JDF-certified products.
"This commitment to the certification programs by Kodak is a major statement of intent and shows Kodak as a pioneering company with regard to certification," said Dr Mark Bohan, Vice President, Research and Technology at PIA/GATF. He added, "Not only do they have these JDF-certified products, but they have also committed to further certification to JDF 1.2 and JDF 1.3. In addition, they have committed to multiple ICS documents, including LayCrImp and also MIS to PrePress ICS."
"Kodak's commitment to extensive JDF Product Certification testing is exciting," said CIP4 executive director, James Harvey. "As drupa approaches, certification is one way to ensure that Kodak's products stand out among the crowd, and they may well have the most extensive line up of JDF Certified products by then."
PANDORA Software was issued a "JDF Certified" logo with a serial number unique to PANDORA Software that will now be used on product packaging and promotional materials, conveying to customers the JDF interoperability of PANDORA Software. Product certification also perpetuates the strong relationship between Kodak and PIA/GATF. For many years Kodak has been an avid member and supporter of PIA/GATF.
In addition, KODAK PREPS Software has gone through certification again, and is the first under JDF 1.3 - LayCrImp ICS. Kodak now has three official certifications