Gent (Belgium), 17 March 2008 - EskoArtwork, the global market leader in innovative design, pre-production, collaboration and finishing solutions for the packaging, commercial printing and sign and display industry, will present the first fully integrated end-to-end JDF workflow solution for packaging production at drupa 2008. The company cooperates with Dr. Lauterbach & Partner (SAP Business Partner), MAN Roland and Bobst S.A. as well as Limmatdruck Zeiler AG and Migros to implement an innovative solution for process automation and control. The new solution incorporates all steps in folding carton production, from idea through to delivery.

The JDF workflow and its fully digital data transfer enable streamlined and efficient communication of production-critical data across the supply chain. Previously manual processes and data transfers are now made redundant through the integration of all systems and machines required for the manufacturing process. Packaging developers, graphic designers, prepress departments, engraving plants, print shops, converters and brand owners involved in the packaging workflow save time, cost and materials. Important additional benefits arise from the transparency and traceability of the entire process. The innovative workflow also reduces errors such as duplicate data entry, cuts paper wastage and simplifies pre and postcalculation of packaging jobs.

Stefan Schirmer, Solution Manager for Carton and Corrugated Packaging at EskoArtwork comments on behalf of all partners involved in the JDF workflow: “With our partners Dr. Lauterbach & Partner, MAN Roland and Bobst, manufacturing now has full, centralized control over the development and production of a packaging item through the MIS system.” Limmatdruck Zeiler AG based in Spreitenbach near Zurich and Swiss-branded company Migros were among the first companies to use a perfectly harmonized end-to-end JDF workflow solution, clearly expressing the future path of the packaging industry.

The future lies in process control

LP. Packaging, the SAP based solution developed by Dr. Lauterbach & Partner for the packaging industry, lies at the heart of the JDF workflow. This application covers all the key logistical and financial processes of the packaging workflow, such as product development and specification, costing, processing of quotes and sales orders, copy preparation, tool and printing form management, scheduling and availability checks, materials management and procurement, production planning and control. Additional applications include management of delivery schedules and consignment stocks (Vendor Managed Inventory) with customers and suppliers, production and feedback processes, warehouse management and material flow control, quality management, transport planning, industry-specific costs and calculations, administrative accounting as well as further analytical evaluations.

Software tools from the Esko Software Suite are used in packaging development, graphic design and prepress, including structural graphic design, print preparation with data control, imposition, trapping and ripping print files as well as plate exposure. The JDF-based SAP interface of the LP.Packaging system provides product and job data to prepress and production departments, thus avoiding unproductive and error-prone multiple data entries. Project milestones and process data are continuously fed back into the LP.Packaging system during and upon completion of the individual job, allowing the production planning and control staff to check the job progress at any time. Schedule variations and operational faults are detected at a very early stage and, if necessary corrective actions can be undertaken immediately.

Electronic control of the printing presses using printnet PressManager perfect is another important new component of the JDF-integrated workflow. To this purpose, MAN Roland has developed a JDF-compliant application that uses the product and job data to automatically set up the printing press, optimize the ink fountains and adjust the printing units. Production data is fed back into the SAP system upon completion of each job.

For the converting processes, BOBST S.A. has also integrated its folder/gluers into this workflow via the HIGHWAY interface program. With bidirectional data flow, HIGHWAY can receive the list of jobs to be produced from SAP. The production and productivity data is then sent to SAP for optimum production monitoring, report generation and offer optimization. HIGHWAY’s very user-friendly interface is the same for all machine types and triggers automatic adjustment of the machine for every job data entry. The extra option of entering values manually can considerably reduce machine make-ready times. Requiring no operator intervention, the ALPINA folding box gluing machine comes equipped with automatic adjustment based on the JDF data.

EskoArtwork and its partners will demonstrate at drupa 2008 a complete JDF packaging workflow through all the individual units.