Washington, DC (October 30, 2003) – The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press, and Postpress (CIP4) Organization today announced the charter of a new MIS (Management Information System) working group. This working group will focus on all of the MIS related work within CIP4. The purpose of the MIS working group is to facilitate the implementation and integration of JDF in MIS managed environments. It provides a central forum for MIS companies and prepress, press, finishing, and other software providers to work in a unified environment to determine a minimal set of transaction types that the parties can support to implement JDF integration. The group will define the technical aspects of these integrations, and the members will then be able to deliver working interfaces to an agreed timeline. “This initiative is an important step forward for CIP4’s interoperability programs. The definition of MIS related interfaces and conformance specifications are critical for creating end-to-end workflows,” said CIP4 CEO, Martin Bailey of Global Graphics. The results of the MIS working group will also be used in the recurring CIP4 sponsored cross-vendor interoperability testing events and as the foundation of MIS related JDF certification testing that will be sanctioned by CIP4. Formal certification testing will be performed by third party certification labs on behalf of CIP4. The MIS Working Group is responsible for definition of the following interfaces: - Customer to/from MIS including Product Description and Quoting - MIS to/from Production Planning - MIS to/from Prepress including workflow software and equipment - MIS to/from Pressroom including conventional and digital devices - MIS to/from Postpress including finishing and bindery “Many providers of MIS systems are committing to ensure JDF-enabled integration is effectively demonstrated and readily available to users by Drupa 2004,” said Jim Harvey, Executive Director of CIP4. “With virtually every major supplier in the industry already a CIP4 member, this committee is the ideal forum for supporting the rapid implementation of JDF enabled systems.” To encourage additional MIS vendors to join CIP4 to participate in these new initiatives, CIP4 will fast track all MIS vendor applications that are received before November 30, 2003.