Hybrid Software was at China Print in Beijing, educating attendees on the importance of ERP and MIS, and showcasing its product portfolio including LACKZ and CloudFlow.
PACKZ is a PDF editor for labels and packaging that makes designs print-ready for any printing process. PACKZ aims to enrich designs with priming and finishing separation, handles ink sets and object-based screening, applies trapping and generates dynamic marks and panels.
The application also produces unique seasonal packaging and personalised labels with the VDP wizard, produces warp and 3D visualisations, and optimises substrate utilisation using numerous step and repeat solutions.
The latest version 10.5 of PACKZ enables the prepress software to now including several interactive new tools and features to elevate processes and enable seamless automation of the workstation.
In this new dot release, the company has included 98 unique features and enhancements, including colour management such as improved colour profiles embedding spectral data, enhanced barcode functionality, advanced step and repeat capabilities, and some smaller changes to layout and functionalities.
It includes a new Packzimizer option for free nesting for carton and sign and display. In the webinar, King described how to utilise Packzimizer to efficiently handle complex shapes and optimise layouts – ensuring maximum practicality and cost-effectivity.
In addition, more automation is enabled with Content XML syntax and Pactions, such as text box and barcodes controls.
CloudFlow is a modular production workflow suite for file processing, asset management, soft proofing and workflow automation. It is a web-based application platform specifically tailored for the packaging graphics with support for PDF, colour separation, trapping, screening, and proofing.
It utilises Hybrid Software’s Workspace technology which indexes file repositories while respecting the existing directory structure, automatically extracts relevant metadata and creates accurate thumbnails. It stores all its information in a database to make it available and searchable and allowing for centralised configuration and backup.
CloudFlow is also completely built on open standards, enables modularity and scalability with business growth and has the capability to run completely in the Cloud.
Hybrid Software recently partnered with automated proofreading and quality control software company GlobalVision to simplify and speed up prepress quality workflows with the announcement of a new turnkey solution inside CloudFlow.
GlobalVision’s VerifyAPI in Hybrid Software’s workflow software, CloudFlow, embeds quality checks directly within a prepress workflow, automating tedious tasks like artwork verification, barcode and QR code checks, spell check, and braille inspection, providing print-ready files at any scale.
Hybrid Software labels and packaging vice-president and general manager Bert Van der Perre said, “In Europe, we see a lot of automation happening, and that automation is always linked to an ERP or MIS system. It’s good to see that this is also a trend coming into China.
“It allows users to drive the whole process more automatically than before. The value of having this MIS/ERP connectivity is that it’s about redirectional communication – ERP gives us data to drive automation, but we also can give information back to the ERP to drive different statuses and to continue the whole process.
“We are still a relatively young company in China, but we are expanding our footprint in the country and adding on more staff. We are looking forward to growing our base here, in China.”
Hybrid Software also educated attendees of China Print on some of its other business units, including Xitron, its Navigator RIP and Workflow for screen printers, Meteor, which specialises in the technology that controls high-tech inkjet printers, and Global Graphics, a compact, modern, and modular system for running automated graphics production workflows on a private or public computing cloud.
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