ORLANDO, Fla.- Heidelberg announced today that it has been accepted as a member of PrintTalk, Inc., a consortium of companies providing business management and eSolutions for the graphic arts industry. PrintTalk was formed to create, implement and gain ubiquitous endorsement for an open standard, using XML as the basis for business objects and JDF to define the print job specifications, and to communicate that information directly between e-commerce applications and business management systems for graphic arts. According to Wolfgang Pfizenmaier, President of Heidelberg's Digital Solution Center, "Heidelberg has been a founding member and strong supporter of CIP4, and since we view PrintTalk's goals and those of CIP4 to be complementary, it made good sense for us also to join the PrintTalk consortium." "True interoperability in the graphic arts industry requires the support of common and open standards by all suppliers to the industry," continued Pfizenmaier. "JDF plus PrintTalk definitely address this need. The introduction of products providing this interoperability will deliver a more efficient future for the industry as a whole." Heidelberg intends to implement the PrintTalk Specification in its products that will link printers and print buyers through digital delivery methods such as the Internet.  The company joins other industry leaders such as Fuji Photo Film, IKON Office Solutions, and NexPress Solutions LLC (Heidelberg's joint venture with Eastman Kodak Company), who have recently joined the group and will support the implementation of the PrintTalk specification. "We are clearly excited to have Heidelberg as a member of PrintTalk," said James Mekis, PrintTalk Vice President. "In addition to its 150 year commitment to print media and its co-authorship of JDF, Heidelberg brings extensive digital workflow expertise to the PrintTalk open standard." The following companies along with Heidelberg are current members of PrintTalk: Avanti Computer Systems Cirqit.com Four51, Inc. Fuji Photo Film Graphic Arts IT Httprint IKON Office Solutions NexPress Solutions LLC Noosh, Inc. Pace Systems Parsec Corporation Printable Technologies printChannel.com Printers Software, Inc. PrintOrigin.com Prism-USA Profit Control Systems, Inc. Streamline Solutions TripleArc Limited WAM!NET About the NexPress 2100 The NexPress 2100 expands the ability of printing businesses to provide new services and produce higher-value print media, including full variable-data jobs. Its rugged, press-like design combines with hundreds of technology innovations to set new standards for image quality, system uptime, reliability and consistency. It produces ready-to-finish sets, automatically collated, at the full engine speed of 2100, A3+ (350 x 470 mm) or tabloid-sized (13.8 x 18.5 inches) sheets per hour. The NexPress 2100 is sold exclusively through Heidelberg. About Heidelberg Heidelberg, the world's largest print media solutions provider, is headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany and employs 26,000 around the world. With over 400,000 presses installed at more than 240,000 customer sites around the world, Heidelberg offers the printing industry's largest sales and support network, supporting an installed base of print media technologies in 170 countries. Today, Heidelberg is the only company in the industry that serves as a single source for both digital and offset printing solutions for its customers. The corporation's Digital Print Solution Center in Rochester, N.Y. designs  and manufactures high-performance digital printing systems, workflow software for managing prepress and printing applications, high-quality scanners, and digital finishing systems. NexPress Solutions LLC, a Heidelberg-Kodak joint venture company, markets products manufactured by Heidelberg's Digital Solution Center.