A JDF-enabled Workflow Simulation Tool

Job Definition Format (JDF) is a relatively young industry standard that specifies a workflow model and a data format for describing print jobs and exchanging production information. Although most vendors today offer JDF-enabled products, little research has been conducted aiming at measuring the benefits of using JDF in production. One reason for this is likely the lack of suitable tools.

This paper presents a JDF-compliant tool that can be used to simulate the interaction of arbitrary devices in a print production workflow. This tool has many usage scenarios, one of them being the possibility to simulate devices in "live" production in order to measure JDF performance and detect production bottlenecks.