Zurich, Switzerland (February 24, 2004) – American Printer magazine, The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4) Organization, and the National Association for Printing Leadership announced that they will be collaborating to produce a multi-media management seminars series entitled, “Process Automation for Commercial Printers.” The R&E Council of NAPL’s Digital Smart Factory Conference and the advent of CIP4’s Job Definition Format (JDF) have led to an increasing demand from managers and owners of printing companies for more information on print process automation. The three-part “Process Automation for Commercial Printing” series will provide managers and owners with insight into the motivators, prospective benefits, technology, and implementation path for process automation. The series will include special reports in the March, April, and May editions of American Printer magazine along with a parallel series of “webinars” scheduled for each month. The three webinars are: - WHY JDF NOW? (Thursday, March 18, 2004) This session, presented by Bob Herriot, president of Global Workflow Solutions, will cover the basics of process automation and JDF, as well as the benefits and motivations for printers. The session will also feature a presentation by NAPL Vice President & Chief Economist Andrew Paparozzi on the economic drivers behind process automation trends. - PROCESS AUTOMATION STRATEGIES (Thursday, April 15, 2004) This session, presented by Gareth O’Brien, vice president of Objective Advantage, will cover how printers can create a process automation implementation team, choose a starting point for their process automation programs, document current environment, and evaluate the results of their process automation implementations. - PROCESS AUTOMATION IN THE REAL WORLD (Thursday, May 27, 2004) This session, presented by David Zwang, president of Zwang & Company, will look at what pioneering printers are doing with process automation. Process automation examples will feature a representative sampling of different sized printers. “Developing a fully automated and integrated workflow must be a top priority of all printing companies seeking to move their companies forward,” said Joseph P. Truncale, NAPL president and chief executive officer. “In addition to increasing efficiencies, a seamless workflow can provide printers with ready access to critical customer, financial, and production information. The resources available through this newly formed Coalition can help all graphic communications companies progress further along the path toward full automation.” If you are not already an American Printer subscriber, you can apply for a free subscription at http://americanprinter.com/subscribe. For more information about the webinar sessions, or to register, visit http://processautomation.americanprinter.com/.