It won’t be shipping until Oct. 30, but MetaCommunications’ Virtual Ticket 6.0, which was first announced on Tuesday, now features a new Job Definition Format (JDF) Solutions Framework, the company announced on Friday. The framework enables users to build a graphical front-end user interface by creating customizable job tickets in the Virtual Ticket system, which helps managers automate workflows, track jobs and manage digital assets.
JDF is an XML-based file format for end-to-end job ticket specifications. It allows heterogeneous applications from different companies to be integrated into a single workflow, with each JDF file carrying metadata that describes the entire lifecycle of a print job. The JDF Solutions Framework can use Virtual Ticket’s asset management ability to automatically reference and catalog the specific files required for a job. Virtual Ticket constructs and deconstructs JDF files through a JDF object model that is accessible through JavaScript.
MetaCommunications will display JDF Solutions Framework and Virtual Ticket at its booth during Graph Expo 2004, which will be held Oct. 10 to 13 in Chicago. As MacCentral reported on Tuesday, the company’s Web site has not been updated with information about Virtual Ticket 6.0, but it did disclose prices that were listed in the previous article.