Hybrid Software Group Strategic report Governance Financial statements Other information Printing software continued... Printing software Before graphic designs can be printed or displayed on a monitor, they must be broken down into vector data (mathematical drawing algorithms), raster data (image pixels), and/or screened data (calibrated areas of ink or pigment representing image data). Our Global Graphics Software brand is one of the world’s foremost developers of the graphic processing engines, known as Raster Image Processors or RIPs, that are used for these tasks. Colour management is also required for high-quality output, a task which is especially difficult for digital printing where the inks supported by the printer may not be capable of exactly matching brand-specific spot colours used for packaging and corporate branding. Our ColorLogic brand provides a full set of products for these demanding applications, as well as a Software Development Kit (SDK) which allows OEMs to produce their own customised colour management tools. We develop software components and workflow solutions for the high-speed digital printing of photo books, labels, packaging, interior décor, textiles and ceramics. The company’s combination of software and first-rate engineering skills enables it to help press manufacturers to respond to technical challenges with innovation, meeting their speed and quality requirements, and getting them to market quickly. Hybrid Software Group PLC Annual Report 2022 20 21 Hybrid Software Group PLC Annual Report 2022 Business segments continued... Customers Customers include Group companies HYBRID Software, Meteor Inkjet, and Xitron plus OEMs such as Hewlett Packard, Mimaki, Mutoh, Canon, Durst, Roland, Agfa, Kodak, Kirk-Rudy, Postmark, Ryobi, Mitsubishi, Memjet, Presstek, Printware and Neopost, as well as many others who embed our printing software solutions into their own branded Digital Front Ends (DFEs). Licensing Solutions are typically licensed under technology agreements and reseller agreements. We are noted for our flexible approach to licensing technology and pride ourselves on being a trusted commercial and development partner. This is facilitated by a Technical Services team who work to accelerate each customer’s time to market, and also by an experienced product support team. Key Products The product range includes: • Harlequin Core: A Raster Image Processor (RIP), specialised software that converts text and image data from many file formats including PDF, TIFF™ or JPEG into a format that a printing device can understand and output. It produces unmatched quality without sacrificing speed, which means that printing devices which incorporate Harlequin can be kept running at full rated speed, even on the most complex jobs, without incurring high costs for computing hardware; • ScreenPro: Software that converts continuous tone image data into ready-to-print halftones (dots of varying size and spacing) in real-time with no compromise on quality; • Colour management software: colour accurate matching of brand colours for digital production using four or up to seven process colours. Products include CoPrA, ColorAnt, ZePrA, as well as a full SDK for OEM licensing; • Mako SDK: Software that creates, rasterises, converts, analyses and optimises many different page description languages, allowing print software developers full control over colour, fonts, text, images, vector content and metadata with precision and performance; • Harlequin Direct™: Software that drives print data directly to the printer electronics instead of buffering them on mass storage devices, allowing the development of faster, wider and higher resolution printing devices; • SmartDFE™: A turnkey Digital Front End (DFE) based on Harlequin Direct, CLOUDFLOW, and Meteor for digital printing of labels and packaging within Industry 4.0 automated manufacturing environments; • Navigator Harlequin RIP and workflow: Software that provides prepress environments with fast, predictable, and reliable interpretation of PostScript, PDF, and EPS format files; • Navigator DFE: Software that helps prepare jobs, manage colour, and control digital output devices built with Memjet or any standard inkjet printhead; • Output device interfaces: hardware and software solutions to connect RIPs to Computer-to-Plate devices, imagesetters, proofers, digital presses, high-speed copiers, and inkjet printers, extending the life of legacy equipment. Xitron was selected as Memjet’s exclusive Digital Front End developer for new print engine systems. Global Graphics Software launched SmartMediaTM at Labelexpo Americas. It’s a major upgrade to the SmartDFE digital front end for label and packaging presses and removes complexity from the process of colour profiling to ensure the best quality and colour output. At Labelexpo Americas Xitron launched its new Navigator Flexo Suite for end-users, designed as a powerful workflow for flexo label printers who have outgrown basic RIPs and need more automation. Xitron completed the installation of the Navigator DFE at IGT’s principal instant ticket printing facility. IGT boasts the newest and largest presses in the instant ticket printing industry. Global Graphics Software partnered with APS Engineering to create an OPC UA-enabled ink delivery system to communicate with any aspect of an industrial inkjet ecosystem. OPC UA is the standard for the secure and reliable exchange of data in industrial automation. ColorLogic’s Product Manager, Dietmar Fuchs, moderated a session “Multicolor Packaging Implementations” at the FOGRA Colour Management Symposium, the world’s international day event for color management. ColorLogic released upgrades to CoPrA, ZePrA and ColorAnt 9 bringing enhanced automation, new workflow features and additional efficiency to customers. Industry standards Hybrid Software Group plays an active role in the development of new industry standards. PDF, for example is the most commonly used file format for printing in all our strategic markets. On behalf of the Company, Global Graphics’ Distinguished Technologist (Consultant), Martin Bailey, is the primary UK expert to the ISO committees working on standards for PDF, PDF/X and PDF/VT. He is co-chair of the PDF Association’s PDF Technical Working Group (TWG), the international organisation promoting awareness and adoption of standards using PDF, and the PDF/VT TWG. The Company is also active in the Ghent Workgroup and the PDF Association.
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