Randy McDonnell and Shanti Chadha of Kwality Labels.

Automating Artwork Prep: How Kwality Labels relies on an automated workflow to prepare artwork for print

by Mike Agness, Courtesy of PRINTACTION

As with the variety of specifications faced on a daily basis for packaging, the preparation of artwork for labels and packaging differs from job to job.

Historically, prepress departments, either manually or with the help of automated workflow systems, have resolved several challenges. They include tasks such as:

• Preflighting: Assuring artwork file is ready to be printed.
• Colour management: Matching colour appearances as closely as possible from input to output and between devices, assuring colours will be printed as specified.
• Trapping: With traditional presses, assuring there are no gaps between type or images of different colours. Additionally, in flexo printing, consideration is given to keep aways or hold backs where required.
• Step and repeat: Determining the most efficient way to print jobs on press.

As these differ from converter to converter, the best way to illustrate how to consider file preparation would be to start from the beginning.

A PDF editor and cloud-based dashboard have automated many of the company’s prepress tasks.

Ground zero

Kwality Labels, owned by Shanti Chadha and based in Richmond Hill, Ont., began more than 40 years ago as a narrow web commercial flexo label printer. They have since expanded capabilities to include custom digital label printing for both long and short print runs. These include pressure sensitive, cut and stack, and double- sided labels, along with products like spirals. They offer a full range of products and services for their clients from industries like health, cosmetics, juice, and snack foods. Kwality Labels complies with several industry standards and has certifications such as G7, FTA FIRST, and IFS PACsecure, allowing them to achieve premium quality for everyone.

When Randy McDonnell joined Kwality Labels in 2019, they outsourced all prepress. After client approval, plates showed up and they ran the job. McDonnell, along with plant manager Joe Miller, were tasked with building a prepress department from scratch using a PDF editor.

“I always heard the rationale for using a PDF editor, but never understood it. Since I worked previously with Adobe Illustrator, I never had real workflow experience. In the very early days here at Kwality Labels, I did the work first in Illustrator, then moved the files into the PDF editor,” remembers McDonnell. “Now that I know how to use the workflow, I realized that I could process a file better and faster entirely with the PDF editor. If I’m spending eight hours on one file or on a series of SKUs in the editor, I’m going to spend much longer in Illustrator to accomplish the same.”

McDonnell gets artwork files from both ends of the spectrum. Once someone has edited a file, particularly for flexo, the struggle is getting both print runs to look the same.

“Consider a job that requires five designs—one new, but four repeated from last year. It’s easy to use last year’s file and tweak the text. But if there’s a new flavour or SKU this year, I’ll get a new design file,” says McDonnell. “How do I ensure the design file matches the ones I’ve already printed—and maybe not even by me, but someone else? That would be a challenge without a good workflow.”

The other issue is flexo vs. digital. Kwality Labels has digital HD and flexo presses. “We’re not going to run 5,000 or fewer labels on a flexo press. But I need to mimic its print quality on the digital press. Conversely, customers may order a print job of 5,000 labels today that we will print on a digital press—and may order 100,000 tomorrow, which we will print on a flexo press. The challenge, of course, is to match colour between presses.”

There are different ink and colour settings to be considered. This is where colour management comes into play. McDonnell relies on the CXF value of the Pantone colour, which includes the LAB value and the spectral data (essentially lighting conditions, as a package on the shelf looks different from a package under freezer lighting).

At times, McDonnell extends the print gamut by utilizing orange, green and violet.

“One of the tests of a better workflow, particularly when you want to colour manage it to expanded gamut, is the ability to convert everything: CMYK images, RGB images and others. Some just convert the Pantone or vector components. The more sophisticated systems apply it to all images,” explains McDonnell.

Step and repeat

The way Kwality Labels automatically steps and repeats jobs is innovative.

“We’re pulling the information from an updated database. For example, with nutraceuticals, there are about 40 different sized bottles and labels that we typically print. We input those sizes into an automated dashboard,” mentions McDonnell. “Once the customer okays the one-up, the system automatically finds that size in the database, and locates the step and repeats. We just say ‘go’, and we’ve got a stepped file sitting at the digital press to print—or RIPped to a 1-bit tiff file for plates.”

“The old way to send files for approval was via a low-res PDF. The problem is, what will you use as a viewer? Many people rely on a browser. Even the free version of Adobe Acrobat presents problems if settings are incorrect. Some customers might say, ‘Why does the type look fat?’ It’s because we put a trap on the type and it’s being looked at with the overprint off,” remarks McDonnell. “Now, if we try to send one of our larger clients a low-res PDF, they won’t even open the email message. It has to be approved via our online portal. The viewer on the automated dashboard forces everyone to view literally the same file, with the same rendering. Customers can leave notes on the file or on certain areas of the image. We just collect the notes and make a new version.”

Future plans

Kwality Labels’ future plan is to tie its MIS into their plate-ordering jobs. They can already automate the digital press front end (DFE). If a job is approved in digital form, it just goes to DFE and RIPs automatically at the correct settings. Preparing jobs automatically for flexo printing will take more work.

“If you’re still preparing your print production files with Adobe apps, you’re like the film stripper in 1990s, when desktop publishing was taking hold. Yes, you could do everything with film stripping. But at a certain point, it didn’t matter how good you were. Technology has changed,” concludes McDonnell. “There’s also a big change in PDF editing technology, and those who rely on other tools could be left behind.”

MIKE AGNESS, Hybrid Software executive vice president, Americas, joined the company in 2011 after a long career at Pitman Company and Agfa. He can be reached at mikea@hybridsoftware.com.

Customer Advisor Jens Fechtel and PACKZ Operator Sven Siegert

VN Reproduktion & Kommunikation GmbH is an owner-operated prepress house offering final artwork and repro service for brand owners and offset and flexo printers. The German based company delivers their customers creative packaging design, adaptation design and reproduction specifically implemented for the respective printing process. VN Repro has been creating artwork for folding cartons and cardboard boxes, outer cartons, displays, flexible packaging as well as labels for 30 years.

The Reason to Change Software Systems

As artwork for folding carton and displays becomes increasingly more complex, processing such orders without the right software becomes directly as difficult. Importing data manually is time-consuming and not to mention error prone. With their previous tool, VN Repro was not being supplied an evolving tool that was up to date with the printing requirements for print data preparation.

VN Repro needed a tool that was adept to support their daily processes and create print-ready exports from their proprietary system. It became clear that with ever-increasing demands on quality and timing, the need for productive software was the key to success in the future.

VN Repro needed a modern tool for data processing; a software that would support the modernization of their prepress department. They found this in the PDF editor, PACKZ, the establishment of a PDF workflow, and later, with reliable processes and customer collaboration in CLOUDFLOW.

“With HYBRID Software, we can meet the constantly growing requirements in terms of quality and deadlines.”

Ensuring a New Software Becomes Accepted

It is not always easy to change systems, it requires invested time and the team’s acceptance. VN Repro had the correct approach: by implementing HYBRID Software gradually, the prepress team was given time to get used to new processes and become convinced themselves of the potential efficiencies to be gained. After feedback was gathered, the optimal PACKZ workflow was introduced. VN Repro customers were also taken along on the journey from the beginning to minimize concern of errors from their side.

The PACKZ Advantage

Finally, the software was up to the mark: stable performance, complex PDF handling, including trapping and automation of instant color space and image resolution checks upon opening the PDF. Artwork from InDesign, for example, could suddenly be processed directly from within PDF, which significantly increased productivity in the repro phase.

“With PACKZ, we have found a powerful PDF editor that allows us to optimally prepare complex artwork for offset or flexo printing.”

Significant Improvement in Repro Productivity Through

• High performance software
• Innovative automation tools in PACKZ PDF editor
• Simple, efficient preparation of Adobe artwork for repro
• Strong quality control with PDF comparison and Analyze and Correct
• Historic transfer of previous jobs to PDF was easily achievable

However, the desire for further automations was now sparked, especially since they were dealing with shorter and shorter time to market deadlines.

VN Repro was interested in CLOUDFLOW for improved data exchange and communication with customers. A download portal was created for less manual data provision and necessary data to be generated from a complete document, including HighRes/LowRes PDF, Proof PDF, finishing, and more. Automations were added for barcode creation, the optimization of PDFs, and in the output process. Print data customization became a breeze with automatic retrieval and inclusion of customer’s unique number of licenses and logos filling in automatically.

Potentials Unleashed Through CLOUDFLOW Include

• Innovative automation tools in CLOUDFLOW such as Live Objects and Pactions
• Increased productivity and process reliability
• Many manual data transfers have been automated so that operators have more time for their actual tasks
• New employees can be trained much faster due to high automation.

“With PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW, we were able to automate many recurring activities and improve our workflows. This increases our process reliability and creates freed up time that we can use for tasks that rely on our prepress expertise.”

Plans for the future?

Future goals include the extension of Proofscope for digital approval processes and quality management. This will provide the prepress team further quality improvements through PDF comparison in CLOUDFLOW’s browser-based app.

VN Repro is currently in the testing phase in their CTP department for digital printing plate production. By utilizing HYBRID Software for their existing plate production workflows, their goal is to harmonize internal production processes and increase flexibility as well for this division.

VN Repro Bio

• Print shop in Werther, NRW, Germany with 30 employees
• HYBRID customer since 2018
• Conversion from Esko to HYBRID Software in their repro division
• To come: HYBRID Software in their CTP division
• Several PACKZ licenses, CLOUDFLOW and PACKZFLOW
• Products, Printing Techniques and Services – Final artwork and repro service for brand owners, offset and flexo printers
  • CTP for packaging printers
  • Digital proofing and color management
  • Digital printing
  • Sample making, dummies

Discover more at www.vn-reproduktion.de.

HYBRID Software Announces Intelligent Flexo Implementation at Victory Graphics, UK Flexo Platemaker

HYBRID Software announces the first UK installation of its cutting-edge CLOUDFLOW module for high quality flexo print, Intelligent Flexo at Victory Graphics, a leading name in the UK’s flexo plate industry. Intelligent Flexo is an agnostic surface screening solution which eliminates common flexo problems such as trailing-edge void, dot gain, ink spread, and poor ink laydown.

Victory Graphics, with their team of skilled professionals, has a long-standing reputation for delivering high-quality flexo corrugated printing and varnish plates. Equipped with the implementation of Intelligent Flexo, along with their own bespoke exposure equipment, they are poised to take their services to new heights.

Intelligent Flexo is a revolutionary toolkit that allows Victory Graphics to customize traditional flexo screening by adding object-based intelligence. This innovative technology is designed to enhance the flexo printing process, addressing the inherent shortcomings of the Flexo printed corrugated world.

Automating the production of high-quality flexo plates
The implementation of Intelligent Flexo at Victory Graphics began with an in-depth and evaluation period to recognize the significant value it brings to their products and, most importantly, to their valued customers. Intelligent Flexo seamlessly integrates with Victory Graphics’ existing CLOUDFLOW configuration, further automating the production of high-quality flexo plates.

Karl Pampus, owner and Managing Director of Victory Graphics, expressed his enthusiasm for this transformative technology, saying, “The Intelligent Flexo technology is truly remarkable, enabling us to distinguish ourselves in the market and surpassing not only our own but also our customers’ expectations. The versatility of the software ideally complements our plate developments.”

With this pioneering installation, Victory Graphics reinforces its commitment to innovation and customer satisfaction. The company is now better equipped than ever to provide top-tier flexo, label, corrugated and varnish plates to its clients.

More information on Intelligent Flexo can be found here.

About Victory Graphics.

Laura Grondey, who is Managing Director of Siemer Verpackung GmbH together with her sister Maren Grondey, takes us behind the scenes of our work together:

“Since taking over the business in its fourth generation in 2011, we have developed a clear vision for the further development of Siemer Verpackung as a medium-sized, owner-managed company. The realignment of our internal prepress plays a central role in this, in order to increase efficiency, security and capacities there and to establish a stable digital process.

A thorough analysis of the prepress processes clearly showed that there was a need for action. After creating new competencies through personnel expansion, we researched innovative, technical solutions for the digital prepress process.

Our first contact with HYBRID Software at PRO.PACKAGING 2022 immediately piqued our interest. Their focus on efficiency and value creation in digital prepress made HYBRID the perfect partner for us in the technical renovation of our prepress. In addition to the innovative technologies, HYBRID’s many years of expertise quickly convinced us.

A logical, first measure to realize our goals was the introduction of PACKZ as a “Swiss army knife” for prepress. This software solution proved to be a key factor in significantly improving automation and efficiency in our prepress operations and laying the foundations for the following steps. Thanks to PACKZ’s intuitive features and flexibility, we were able to successfully renovate our established but aging ways of working and adapt them to the current demands of the market.

We have recognized that a successful future also requires comprehensive digitalization. Therefore, further measures in the area of our digitalization are already being planned. We want to optimize our processes so that we can respond more flexibly, quickly and effectively to the needs of our customers.”

Our German/Austria/Switzerland team has toured 6 cities in the region during the last few weeks to gather impulses from packaging professionals directly and share new innovations in our software. Thank you to all our guests for the countless inspiring conversations.

Enjoy below impressions from the event, and a customer testimonial from PRO.PACKAGING attendee Idriss Brockmann-Serbis, who is CEO & Sustainable Digital Transformation Consultant at NightlyCode.

He reflects: “Thanks to the team of HYBRID Software for the very successful PRO.PACKAGING 2023. The program, but also the exchange with other users of HYBRID solutions was particularly valuable. In no web conference can so many experiences be exchanged so intensively and in such a short time.

Once again HYBRID Software proved that they understand the requirements and challenges of the printing and packaging industry correctly. In my view, HYBRID’s solutions are and will remain the absolute reference in terms of facilitation and automation for prepress. Performant and absolutely practical. The functions and innovations presented at PRO.PACKAGING 2023 have confirmed this once again.

The fact that HYBRID is now expanding its offering with MyCLOUDFLOW to include a SaaS model was, in my opinion, a logical step and absolutely overdue: Now the story is simply complete. This means that companies can finally focus on the essentials and make progress in the production process instead of racking their brains over IT issues.

For me, it has been confirmed that HYBRID is the right partner for professional software solutions in the printing and packaging industry. And they understand how important it is to gather the right people. I am already looking forward to the next collaboration!”

Watch the interview with our valued customer Geostick

Geostick is a printing company based near Amsterdam and is a supplier of self-adhesive labels, card products, flexible packaging, shrink sleeves, TTR ribbons, label printers and labeling machines. An independent and leading family business since 1924.

Thank you very much Geostick, it was a pleasure filming with you. We look forward to our future projects!

Geostick operates our PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW software product in their daily operations of label printing with their HP and Bobst presses. PACKZ is an innovative PDF editor which equips prepress operators with dedicated tools and automated action lists for seasonal or variable labels and packaging.

CLOUDFLOW’s seamless workflow integrates with MIS systems, in the case of Geostick, with CERM, and supports multi-layer label production at ease. CLOUDFLOW is a modular production workflow suite for file processing and approvals, asset management, soft proofing and workflow automation.

We will be interviewing father and son, Cees and Tom Schouten from Geostick, an independent and leading family printing company from the Netherlands since 1924. Geostick decided early on to work closely with us at HYBRID Software for implementation with their Bobst and HP presses. Curious about their growth mindset and the steps Geostick will take for another generation of success?

Register below to have the video sent to your inbox and stay tuned…

Meet PMG Flexo

PMG Flexo is a proud customer of ours from Brazil, who is committed to meeting the highest technical level of market demand for all segments including the packaging industries, label and tag converters, pre-press companies and individual professionals. Acting also as a services company, PMG Flexo takes care of pre-print jobs, color management and color management consulting. The Brazilian company has operations in three separate cities: Goiânia, Blumenau, and Vinhedo, and since working with HYBRID Software has experienced so much comfort for their employees to work, “with an assertiveness which HYBRID tools provide in their daily lives.”

Vlademir Cassiano da Silva, HYBRID Software Sales Manager in Latin America shares, “PMG Flexo is our customer for a few years and I am very happy to be attending to them. Due to their constant search for process improvements, working together is extremely rewarding. It’s something that sets the company apart from others in the market.”

Key takeaways

• Benefit from PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW
• Rework rate for prepress artwork was reduced to only 0.5%
• They have experienced 70% higher performance in their prepress team
• Utilize CLOUDFLOW automation tools for file approvals
• “I have yet to experience a software with so much capacity as HYBRID’s system, CLOUDFLOW”, shares Diego Mendonça, Director of Operations at PMG Flexo

“At my old company, my productivity was higher than the majority of my colleagues, but here I do my work the same way, but I can produce almost twice as much as I did there because of the ease and practicality that HYBRID Software provides. At PMG Flexo, we have everything inside the system – so everything is available at our fingertips!”

Watch the Testimonial Video

We invite you to watch the interview we had with Diego Mendonça, Director of Operations at PMG Flexo, and Vlademir Cassiano da Silva, Sales Manager at HYBRID Software. Vlademir has 22 years in the flexographic market, and speaks on the outcome across their three facilities, in regard to employee satisfaction and improvements of work output.

Contact us today to learn how you can align innovation, technology and productivity in their daily operations.

FlexoPlatte reflects on acquiring CLOUDFLOW during Expográfica 2022

FlexoPlatte, headed by Ferel Garay in Guadalajara, Mexico, has become a recognized company in the prepress, flexography and packaging segment, thanks to its continuous commitment to technology and high quality. During Expográfica 2022 earlier this year, they acquired CLOUDFLOW, our modular production workflow package for file processing, asset management, soft proofing, and workflow automation. The web-based platform is a dedicated packaging application with support for PDF, separations, trapping, screening, color proofing, and more.

Ferel Garay, Operations Manager from FlexoPlatte shares, “As a trade shop, integration is key. HYBRID Software solutions have allowed us to communicate with our customers efficiently and securely, helping us to be more effective and reliable; we have found them to be powerful tools with an excellent cost-benefit ratio.”

Working together with Gráfica GX

Carlos Arizpe, Sales Director LATAM at HYBRID Software remembers, “When we started this project with FlexoPlatte, together with our channel Grafica GX, we knew the level of demand of the client, their extensive knowledge, and the care for their processes. They presented us with the challenge which they wanted to solve. We worked closely with them during the implementation of our solution in their workflow. What they have achieved in such a short time is the result of the work that FlexoPlatte, the channel, and we put together to solve the challenge. We are very satisfied with the outcome of added efficiencies and improved processes.”

Gráfica GX is focused on offering solutions for the packaging industry, specifically focusing on flexo solutions. General Manager Ricardo Xoconoxtle remarks, “We found HYBRID Software’s technology convincing immediately. Today, we can offer our customers and prospects solutions ranging from state-of-the-art prepress software, imaging equipment, processing equipment, and consumables. By working together with our engineering team and HYBRID Software, we have been able to demonstrate to our customers the benefits of prepress tools. Our customers feel the impact of being able to achieve greater efficiency and that is very positive. In the end, we all grow, as Gráfica GX has since generated new business as well as consolidating existing ones.”

From left to right: Digi-Paq Director Stefaan Parrein, Operations Manager Frederik Parrein and Bert Van der Perre, HYBRID Associate Director of Sales.

Digi-Paq, a commercial printer based in Kortemark, Belgium, has been using HYBRID Software’s PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW solutions for a year now. Digi-Paq’s managing director Stefaan Parrein says: “The number of manual interventions in the upstream process – taking orders, approving them and preparing them for the print queue – has dropped so much that we are doing twice as much work as before, and with the same team.

Digi-Paq began in 2017 by offering rolls of self-adhesive labels printed exclusively digitally, which makes this very young company quite unique. Its machine fleet consists of three Screen Truepress Jet UV inkjet presses with inline finishing systems. The gap in the market was real, as evidenced by its growth figures and the number of employees, which has since increased to over 20. Digi-Paq serves a customer base that ranges from local SMEs to top international companies. The company is also BRC-certified and serves customers from the chemical industry to the food sector.

Growing pains
However, rapid growth often leads to a few teething problems. Digi-Paq has not escaped this either, admits Stefaan Parrein: “Digital printing technology has made us very responsive. We deliver within a week, or even within a day if we really need to. The upstream process was still manageable in the beginning, but with the demand, we eventually reached our limits. Too much time was being wasted checking files, making changes if necessary, and waiting for the customer to give the green light. After a thorough study, we decided to trust HYBRID as the best solution.”

Connection with CERM
Digi-Paq chose a full HYBRID configuration, with PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW. From there, a connection was established with CERM’s MIS for Labels & Packaging software, which has been in use in the company since its inception. Frederik Parrein, son of Stefaan and Operations Manager at Digi-Paq, remarks: “The previously manual checks of all incoming files have been fully automated. CLOUDFLOW makes sure that each file is directed to the right folder without any human intervention. We don’t have to worry about that anymore either. Thanks to the intelligent connection with CERM, we have a complete overview of the production process at all times and from anywhere.”

Simplified changes and approvals
Fixing incoming files has also been greatly optimized. Frederik: “Corrections are now done directly in the PDF with PACKZ, which also makes a world of difference. Source files are no longer necessary and every change to the product is fully trackable in the customer history. Once the file is ready, the customer receives a notification and can view one or more files at a time, which he can validate in a web portal. Before, everything was done by e-mail, a time that is fortunately over. The serenity that prevails today in prepress – you have no idea!”

Automation of repetitive tasks
Once the file has been validated, it is automatically prepared for printing. Stefaan explains: “There’s no need to pull your hair out. The file data, such as the inks to be used and the barcode, as well as the data from CERM, are automatically generated in a dashboard, which provides the operators with a perfect overview of all job-related information at all times. The repetition and addition of print marks required for printing and finishing is also fully automated.” Stefaan concludes: “Looking back on the past year, I can only congratulate us for making the right decision in choosing HYBRID as our partner. The difference compared to a year ago is drastic; this solution meets all our hopes and expectations. Everything went perfectly, both in terms of consultation with HYBRID and its customized interventions to meet our needs. HYBRID’s open structure and reactivity have also pleasantly surprised us.”

Visit Digi-Paq at their website here.

Vineyard Concha y Toro transforms their creative process with our iC3D visualization technology.

“By being able to visualize products with greater detail and fidelity before they are produced, we can make more accurate and faster decisions in the creative and development process.” – Teresa Errázuriz, Creative Design Manager

Viña Concha y Toro is one of the most recognized names in the world of wine. This company, founded in Chile in 1883, has transcended the Latin American market and has been named among the top five most admired wine brands worldwide for over five consecutive years.

Viña Concha y Toro has reached a presence in more than 130 countries, which requires a high turnover of projects and designs throughout the year. The design department handles more than 2,400 annual requirements and more than 150 design projects for its various wine lines. This workload represented a challenge for the 23 designers at the headquarters in Santiago, Chile, since accurately modelling and representing the multiple products in a digital format was not a standard and straightforward process, as is their wine production.

Since the introduction of iC3D Suite, digital layout has changed significantly for Concha y Toro. Teresa Errazuriz, Creative Design Manager, tells us how the process has been transformed since they chose to use digital layout software. “Before iC3D Suite, the digital layout process was through the search for references and then retouching in Photoshop,…. then to have a more finished digital model, the best quality mockup was purchased, but always having a supply limitation.

By changing the workflow with iC3D Suite, the team has optimized the time spent on each proposal, as they obtain realistic images with greater detail in fewer iterations and can visualize the final product in its entirety. Teresa tells us what the results have been so far: “By being able to visualize the products with greater detail and fidelity before producing them, we can make more accurate and faster decisions in the creative and development process.”

Our iC3D team specializes in providing training focused on customer needs. In the case of Concha y Toro, the focus was imaging with a better level of finish and detailed visualization of print finishes such as metallic foils, dies, and UV varnish. Being able to bring out the print details more clearly was of paramount importance, as these are what communicate the beauty and quality of the labels.

As Creative Design Manager, Teresa tells us the most important aspects to meet the market’s demands today and continue innovating within the packaging industry. “The important thing is not to lose sight of the business strategy, the essence of what we do and be clear about the pillars that mobilize success in design, which in our case are methodology, technology and specialization.”

HP One Package Software

HP is a proud partner of ours and a household name around the world due to its successful product and service suite including personal systems, home and office printers, 3D printing, and industrial printing solutions. In the search for communication with other vendors and customers with the highest efficiencies, HP One Package Software was born. Built into the HP T-series presses, the HP One Package Software integrates and acts as a hub, connecting every component in the system, and attaining more flexibility and faster time to market for customers. HP One Package Software unites multiple vendors including GMG for color management, BST Eltromat for 100% print quality inspection, and Tilia Labs for planning, while CLOUDFLOW spearheads the communication at the core. The open architecture of these organizations allows for multi-vendor support for the greatest flexibility for our mutual customers.

HP + HYBRID Software

When HP started to design the One Package concept, they found that, whilst different customers had similar needs, there were always small differences concerning the integration with the different parts of the box-plant systems. HP realised that they needed a flexible platform that was easy to adapt to individual customer needs. They found this flexibility in HYBRID CLOUDFLOW.

After training by our team, the team at HP could independently set up a successful solution. After a short modification round from us, the final prototype solution was completed from start to finish in three short months.

“That’s it?!” – technician onsite for HP after the installation took less time than anticipated to deploy and get up and running

Digital Preprint for Corrugated Packaging

The HP PageWide T1190 Press with One Package Powered by CLOUDFLOW was up and running faster than any other press that HP had deployed. Since CLOUDFLOW is built on open standards, it has always been able to communicate freely to different systems, providing the solution HP was wishing for. CLOUDFLOW was adeptly able to solve HP’s challenge of pulling data from various inspection, corrugated, and planning systems, and our PDF Editor PACKZ supports the growing popularity of variable data printing including serialization for individual boxes and sheet-based serialization.

Mike Agness, Executive Vice President of HYBRID Software Americas, oversaw this project. He shares, “HYBRID Software solutions should be in the first line brilliantly simple. We aim to provide brilliant software solutions that at the end of the day create a comfortable experience for the end-user. The work together with HP to create HP One Package Software was a great collaboration of technology, and a project I am proud to have been a part of. This allows corrugated converters to achieve increased efficiencies like never before, and I look forward to the new possibilities for corrugated applications as well as for digital label printing. We orchestrate in planning the roll, whether that roll is 13 inches wide or 110 inches wide.”

Summary

When HP customers now have requests, they are taken care of very quickly, without any extra development needed, just configuration, and their customers benefit from rapid time to market. In addition, because HP utilized Global Graphic Software, our sister company, for state-of-the-art RIP possibilities, HYBRID Software’s central data management software connects flawlessly to the HP RIP.

Benefits:

• Lowered Costs
• Increased Production Capacity and Flexibility
• Extensive manufacturing process
• Open and fast
• Increased efficiencies with the customer
• Quicker to the market

If you are interested in improving the workflow of your prepress department, watch the video from our customer Finepack. Finepack is a flexible packaging manufacturer outside of São Paulo, Brazil, and a loyal customer of ours! We are happy to work with their dynamic team to successfully improve their productivity and performance in the Brazilian market.

It’s productivity “in the veins”

Article originally from the October 2021 issue of International Paper Board Industry and the September/October issue of Corrugated Today.

Digital presses have revolutionised packaging, delivering high-impact colour and creating a new paradigm for versioning and customisation. Despite its innovations, digitally printed packaging has not always offered solutions across the full spectrum of sizes and quantities. Georgia-Pacific Hummingbird® digital packaging solutions overcame that barrier by producing digitally pre-printed rolls for a full range of customer needs, from specialty versions to everyday large runs.

“GP Hummingbird really incubated at Georgia-Pacific’s Color-Box, one of the largest corrugated litho providers in North America,” recalls Robert Seay, Vice President, Digital Print Solutions, Georgia-Pacific. “They did something innovative. They took the work into pre-print, which included laminators and flatbed die-cutters – and the corrugated market.”

Along came the HP PageWide T400, complementing the other equipment. The company already had laminators where rolls or sheets could be made into combined board and its box plants were converting offset pre-print from a roll press. Now it could take the rolls right off the T400, and already had the tools to make that work, immediately. “The wide web digital press let us attack high graphics print completely differently. Then, it morphed and became its own business,” Seay adds.

GP Hummingbird was proof of concept that digital could work as an offset alternative. When the HP T1100 was announced, Hummingbird was the first packaging supplier in North America to provide 110-inch wide web capability for digital pre-print at lengths. Recently, Georgia-Pacific announced the purchase of an HP PageWide T1190 Press, the world’s highest-volume digital corrugated packaging solution, providing an east-west footprint. It will assure redundancy, provide scale, and let GP Hummingbird improve turnaround time while reducing shipping and logistics costs.

“Much of our value proposition is supply chain efficiency. We can help different corrugated converters, turning around high volumes quickly. It’s easier to ship rolls of pre-print than boxes,” notes Seay. “Anybody can order our rolls, but we focus on those who know how to run pre-print. Onsite packaging engineers can help optimise layouts and packaging structures.”

Serving many converters, GP Hummingbird has to consider how its workflow will be used everywhere. Customers will deliver a piece of artwork, perhaps from a flexo job, but will want to print digitally. The artwork could be a square or a rectangle, but finishing and the requirements of the box must also be determined.

Once a one-up is approved, a step-and-repeat layout must be prepared. The sheets must be imposed for the converter’s cutter. For example, a converter might generally use rotary die-cutters. A file built for a flatbed die-cutter needs an edge trim and a sidebar to grab before it goes on a rotary. You have to rethink the artwork at three levels – the one-up for the customer, the ‘n-up’ sheet for print and the corrugating and die-cutting tolerances. What does that layout look like and how do they get the customer to approve it? GP Hummingbird wanted an automated solution.

The entire process of creating the art and structure requires that they are approved together. “Sometimes we complete the artwork, but the structure changes because it’s going to a different corrugated converter – or a different piece wants the flap slightly different. That puts the artwork out of synch with the structure,” says Seay. At first, the process was manual and intensive, with many cross-checks to assure something didn’t change along the way, requiring adjustments.

GP Hummingbird’s business model is special. “Our original workflow couldn’t be customised, which became limiting, pretty quick,” discloses Seay. “Because we had HP digital presses, we’d already bought the SmartStream front end. We needed tools that could be adapted for our needs. We invested in HYBRID Software’s PACKZ and CLOUDFLOW and discovered a flexible workflow.”

The workflow is used to clean up files and ensure that processes are standardised. That becomes fairly important given all the work running through the shop. “The more touch points, the more potential for mistakes. The first thing we did was deploy our workflow, along with our HP and graphic management software,” Seay adds. “The challenge is to know what you want to do and manage the installation as a software project. It was helpful that we could customise everything at our centralised hub in Cincinnati.”

GP Hummingbird breaks the workflow down into three buckets: programming and integration, editing tools and then step and repeat, building a solution that offers everything to create a press ready PDF. The workflow is tied into the order processing system when product designs are created. They can refer to an existing design that will be changed, an existing structure, or anything in between.

Human intervention could result in a lack of consistency. “We have a structured process so we can trust what’s going through our system,” says Dave Fox, Hummingbird Graphics Manager. Hummingbird creates PDFs that are automatically processed, eliminating judgment calls when setting the job for the press. An example is automated marks: Where are the slit lines and cut marks for the corrugated converter? What should the die-cutter expect?

The workflow conducts all of the traditional pre-press tasks like preflighting and trapping – as well as a few that are more sophisticated. For example, GP Hummingbird can recognise a barcode and replace it, adjusting for any print method. The company will also distort files to take into consideration what’s going to happen on the press or with the corrugated converter. It also conducts colour mapping, adjusts transparencies and clipping paths, and more. By standardising and automating these functions in one application, it makes creation of a press ready PDF file much easier. “We get different files from many different places. They arrive with a variety of issues. There are many things we can fix automatically,” continues Fox.

The company prefers to call its proofing system a graphics portal – not a customer or vendor portal – because it’s about managing the entire graphics process. It can offer quick layout suggestions that way. For example, solid fills can cost more using digital ink. GP Hummingbird will offer cost-effective alternatives that are graphically better and can show examples of what they might look like. Customers view their proofs online. If somebody wants to make a change, it’s not communicated via email. They can mark it up online and approve it, streamlining the entire process.

Step and repeat files and adjustments can be made without affecting the approved art. With the templates, imposing repeat items on existing layouts is faster and has increased consistency from layout to layout, because all marks are already placed, and approved.

Key to the process is being able to link the press upload server to the workflow, so files can be sent automatically to the press with a time stamp. There is one location to submit all project notes, reducing email traffic and offering a central place for team members to scan print sample info. Team members can track to see which jobs have been posted to press.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, GP Hummingbird’s graphic designers were able to work from home and still be effective, working from the HYBRID server. “We really didn’t miss a beat. That’s a big deal,” exclaims Seay.

Delivering samples and proofs can delay a deadline, but some customers still want to visit and do crosschecks – although there have been fewer during COVID-19. Online proofing simplified the process and has made the workflow easy for many customers.

The software has eliminated a number of potential mistakes. That matters because customers want supply chain efficiency. “Our workflow conducts so many deep edits that our pre-production people can effectively normalise our production files in a third of the time, with fewer workarounds and issues due to file components. We cleared up a lot of initial graphics work making Hummingbird’s pre-press so streamlined that one person easily handles the work of two or three people using more traditional imposition tools,” says Seay.

“The corrugated converter or the supply chain constantly changes. We need to pivot on the fly. A lot of the complex decisions surround finishing. How much tolerance do you have on the die-cut or how is it laid out? For example, one high volume customer uses us for work that dynamically changes. When the art is ready, we need to print the jobs quickly, and to very specific specs,” he continues. “One job may require 70-inch rolls, while another might require 80 inches. If I didn’t have the workflow, it would be harder to manage.

“One of the key values of our workflow was flexibility. Digital is going to morph and evolve. We want to morph and evolve our software suite as well. We also want to offer a better experience for our customers. It really comes down to, ‘Can I control their artwork? Can I control the workflow in between? Can I give customers assurances that it’s going to get done in a structured manner?’ Because our workflow is incredibly flexible, adaptive and delivers high quality work, it is now extremely valuable for our business and our customers,” concludes Seay.

This article was written by Mike Agness, HYBRID Software Executive Vice President, Americas. He can be reached at mikea@hybridsoftware.com.

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iMS builds global business with agile solution from HYBRID Software

Creative design, prepress and artwork production agency iMSGlobal has chosen CLOUDFLOW from HYBRID Software to ensure full production workflow flexibility across its multi-site operation. This is a symbiotic partnership that over the past five years has benefitted both companies and helped lay the foundations for the global expansion of iMS.

Headquartered in Sydney, iMSGlobal provides integrated marketing solutions for many of the world’s best-known brand owners, such as Danone, Nestlé and Unilever. With offices in Australia, Singapore, India, China, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Switzerland, the company has a global reach, based on a knowledge workflow and single platform system that reduces time to market and improves productivity.

Working with clients, their agencies and print providers, iMS offers artwork, pre-press, colour and print management across all packaging, point of sale formats and print processes. It operates on a “Follow the sun” principle, with teams in different time zones collaborating to support clients and meet deliverables around the clock.

“Although we are a global company, we’re that little bit different to some of the other players, because we really focus on listening to our clients’ needs and being flexible,” says CEO Mark Mahoney. “So, we look for partners that have the same ethos and are happy to work with us to implement agile solutions that support our goals. As soon as we met the team at HYBRID and heard about their innovative approach, we could see that this would be the right fit for us.”

Following the sun
Underpinning the iMS vision is CLOUDFLOW from HYBRID Software, which has been rolled out across the four main production hubs in Sydney, Mumbai, Shanghai and Hull (in the UK). This is an Enterprise Packaging Workflow System that is fully integrated with the company’s own MIS (management information system). As a fully Cloud-based application platform with powerful Share technology, it links across the internet to exchange and synchronise project data and resources to optimise their utilisation.

Andrew Gale, iMS COO, says, “We wanted to find a model that really worked in our industry on a global scale. With CLOUDFLOW, we can easily manage projects around the group and truly ‘Follow the sun’. One of the real game-changers for iMS is access to all the global hubs within the same infrastructure; managing data in real-time is a huge bonus.”

CLOUDFLOW is specifically tailored for the packaging industry with support for PDF, colour separation, trapping, screening, proofing and much more. The modular nature allows users to define their own configuration and create a system that works best for their business. iMS is also using HYBRID Software’s PACKZ native PDF editor, which has been designed for labels and packaging to capture all elements of a print job in a single file for seamless prepress production.

“CLOUDFLOW is great for maintaining consistency across the board, so we have that continuity in every region where we are active. This is a massive advantage, not just for our technical teams, but for the whole business, and most importantly, for our customers,” says Andrew.

With floating licences that can be used irrespective of location, CLOUDFLOW has also proven to be the perfect choice during the COVID-19 pandemic as staff working from home can easily log in online without the need for specialised software.

Streamlining the businesses
It was at drupa 2016 that the two companies first connected and the plan for migrating to CLOUDFLOW and PACKZ was initiated. iMS was in the infancy of developing its own bespoke MIS as part of a drive to remove duplication of data and processes from the business, as they expanded to other countries.

“Australia is a smaller market, and it was a big decision for us to look abroad,” comments Andrew. “To support this move, we wanted a new fresh solution that would set us apart from the competition, because we needed to fundamentally change the business to make that leap.”

The goal was to streamline operations, keep an open platform and have full view of all assets at all times. Almost five years down the line, it is clear that the project with HYBRID Software has been a resounding success.

“During our negotiations with the HYBRID team, they were flexible and prepared to engage with us and help us to get the commercials right to suit the opportunity we had in hand,” says Mark. “Right from the start, we were very excited about what the solution promised to provide, and we are now seeing the real benefits and the technical advantages that this relationship is bringing us.”

Identifying the challenges and developing the software to each customer’s specific needs is the core mission for HYBRID Software. Paul Bates, who is the UK, Ireland & Global Accounts Manager, explains, “Although this sounds like a cliché, we do work very closely with our customers. CLOUDFLOW certainly wouldn’t be where it is today, if it wasn’t for that bi-directional relationship we have with the iMS team. Some of the functionalities you see in the software today were developed specifically for them to the benefit of all our customers. It has been a trailblazing cooperation.”

Mark concludes, “We’re looking to continue growing and we know we have a unique offering that not everyone enjoys. But this is only stage one and we’re excited about continuing the journey with HYBRID Software to see what we together can bring to the market.”

END

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Colorman Ireland Ltd, the leading print service provider, has chosen to partner with HYBRID Software to speed up operations in the prepress department. The company has seen substantial time and costs savings since introducing PACKZ, the native PDF editor, into its workflow.

Located in Broombridge, Dublin, Colorman’s printing campus covers 200,000 sq ft and employs over 160 staff. With a large portfolio of high-end clients, the company produces a wide range of print and packaging solutions. These include litho, digital, secure print and gift card manufacturing; ranging from healthcare fulfilment to print enhancements.

After investing in two floating PACKZ licenses, which are accessed across four Mac workstations, the time spent preparing each file for print has been cut by up to 50% on average. David Noone, Prepress Manager at Colorman, commented, “The jump up from our existing workflow and processes has been impressive, and we are now able to run a much leaner operation. The transition to PACKZ has also been remarkably simple and the software fits in well with our production workflow.”

New solution for packaging prepress
Colorman was first established in 1959 as a silk screen printing company, specialising in point of sale and poster hoardings for the advertising market. Over the years, it expanded into litho printing, and in the 1980s began diversifying into supplying the multi-national IT sector. Today, it is one of Europe’s leading full-service print and packaging companies, servicing the leading global companies in the technology, FMCG, corporate commercial, medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

In 2005, Colorman ventured into packaging and began supplying folding cartons to pharmaceutical and medical device clients. Since then, that side of the business has continued to expand, and today makes up over 50%. With more and more packaging jobs coming through the prepress department, it was becoming clear that a dedicated, more effective prepress solution was needed to continue on this growth path.

The team at Colorman started investigating the next-level software solutions that could replace the systems that were currently in place, including PACKZ from HYBRID Software.

As a native PDF editor, PACKZ has been developed specifically for labels and packaging with a number of features that eliminate repetitive tasks by introducing higher levels of automation. Version 6 released late last year comes with a redesigned user interface that contributes to an even better user experience.

Proof of concept tested live
During the evaluation process, HYBRID Software conducted a number of tests using job files from Colorman to show how the software would benefit their production. David explained, “The HYBRID team asked me to let them run one of our client’s jobs through the software, so we could compare like for like and really understand how many mouse clicks that could be saved. From there, we were able to quantify how quickly the investment would pay for itself and base our decision on that data.”

The job file testing in PACKZ was done remotely by HYBRID’s Solution Engineer Matt Dutch, who sent videos of the whole process back to Colorman’s prepress team for analysis. “We can demonstrate something until we’re blue in the face,” said Paul Bates, HYBRID Software’s UK, Ireland & Global Accounts Manager, “but Matt took David’s files and ran them as if he was one of their own production guys, so they could see the real-life advantages, rather than looking at one of our pre-prepared demonstration files.”

Once the software was installed, the Mac operators were also trained remotely by Tony Lawrence, who joined HYBRID Software six months ago with extensive experience of using PACKZ from his time as a studio manager. The sessions were scheduled around the productions shifts at Colorman to ensure a smooth and quick transition.

“The training was great and quite straightforward,” said David. “HYBRID was very accommodating and flexible, and the operators were very happy. Hats off to Tony too – his experience with using the product as a client really shone through.

“PACKZ is a big step up from what we had in place before. There’s a lot more efficiency there, and it was obvious from day one that we could get through file preparation so much quicker,” he added.

Set up for future growth
The sale was facilitated through HYBRID Software’s agent in Ireland, Litho Supplies, whose Sales Director is Richard Styles. He said, “Colorman has been able to reduce the number of steps in its processes, greatly increase efficiencies and demonstrate real time savings thanks to PACKZ. It is further proof that our decision to add HYBRID Software to our product offering in Ireland is truly paying dividends for our clients.”

The investment in PACKZ came just at the right time for Colorman and there is no doubt that it will be a vital factor in supporting the company’s future growth. “PACKZ has removed a bottleneck in our workflow and allowed us to free up significant amounts of time that we can now use more productively,” concluded David. “Most importantly, it enables us to respond quickly to our customers’ needs, especially in the packaging market, where we have seen a large increase in demand during the pandemic.”

END

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Having originally invested in PACKZ from HYBRID Software in 2016, Aztec Label has confirmed it is investing in a second license for the native pdf editing software due to accelerating growth of the Kidderminster-based company.

Offering a range of label and tag production capabilities, Aztec has announced a number of new press and equipment investments in recent months, including a 4,000ft2 extension of the facility, to boost the company’s capacity, quality and performance.

Colin Le Gresley, Managing Director of Aztec Label, said of the latest investment: “Adding an extra seat to our prepress department ensures we are eliminating any potential bottlenecks as the company grows. I’m delighted that my eldest son, Oliver, who is currently completing his degree at Birmingham University, will be taking on this work. We desperately need new prepress capacity as we’ve had record sales over the last twelve months, despite the pandemic, and 2021 is looking like another exciting year for the business.

“PACKZ acts like a prepress one-stop-shop for us. With such a broad array of customers, we need the ability to deal with lots of files, coming from multiple sources, in a simple way. There are no file conversions needed, it’s universal, secure and self-contained. PACKZ offers the ability to check font issues and embedded information and deals with trapping, editing, and full step and repeat, all in one file that can go straight to platemaking. Making the decision to invest again, securing the prepress advantages we already have, was simple.”

Greg Heather, Sales Manager, HYBRID Software UK, added: “There are over 3,500 seats for PACKZ in operation now worldwide and we were delighted that Colin and his team wanted to invest again. The software is perfect for businesses like his that have moved from standard desktop applications years ago to a professional prepress software environment. PACKZ grows with the business realising more and more benefits and with our focus on staying close to our customers, it was great to see that HYBRID Software was once again the natural choice for this high growth business.”

To find out more about Aztec Label, please visit www.azteclabel.co.uk

To find out more about HYBRID Software and PACKZ, please visit www.hybridsoftware.com and https://www.packz.com.

Meet Les Cartonnages Bes, a folding carton printing company from France, who’s goal was to use less paper and transform to digital solutions, as well as to acquire a platform for internal and customer communication.

Why did they decide on HYBRID Software?

• PACKZ user experience
• CLOUDFLOW connectivity
• Open web technology
• Watch to learn more!

Are you a folding carton company?

Watch our unique video for folding carton here:
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(Sydney, New South Wales, Australia) Rentons Labels, a rapidly growing label printer from New South Wales Australia, expanded their capabilities by adding the latest HP Indigo press to its arsenal. To better serve their customers, Rentons Labels chose PACKZ to support them in their growth: HYBRID Software’s native PDF prepress production tool designed specifically for the labels and packaging markets.

“We have introduced new value-added solutions at Rentons Labels, such as security features on labels, which have significantly grown our business”, shares CEO, Romeo Sanuri. “This growth has required us to do more with the existing resources that we have. In this regard, PACKZ has helped us tremendously to reduce the time we spend on prepress and increase the speed to market for our valued customers.”

Brenton King, Sales Manager at HYBRID Software for the Australasia market, reflects that, “Just like everyone this year, Rentons Labels needed to make a pivot. One of the main reasons the company decided for PACKZ was the software’s ability to save time in the setup process. This empowered their team to spend more time on the road selling labels, and ultimately, selling recently launched solutions such as their label security solution, which helps protect customers and their brand against counterfeit.”

New PACKZ Nebula Interface for label creation

PACKZ implementation at Rentons Labels

Through the implementation of PACKZ, Rentons Labels’ production time was significantly reduced, especially through the white underprint feature which creates varnish and special colors intelligently and automatically.

The step and repeat and imposition increased their speed and accuracy of output, as approved artwork can be sent to the press just soon after being delivered to the print room. Moreover, the dynamic creation of Rentons Labels’ proof sheets using the Live Objects feature has dramatically reduced the time and reduced the scope for error. As an ongoing project, HYBRID Software and Rentons Labels are aiming to reduce this scope even further via an integration with their PRINT IQ MIS system.

“HYBRID Software is extremely pleased to assist Rentons Labels in this process”, adds Brenton King. “As with all of our installations, we are happy to partner with any size business by supplying software solutions to drive efficiencies, not only for today, but to keep up with the ever-growing demands of the market.”

PACKZ 6 brings further automation

With the most recent version of the software, PACKZ 6 offers even further automations providing customers time-saving benefits by sweeping away repetitive tasks from their workflows.

PACKZ captures all elements of a job in a single PDF file. The software contains all the features required for labels and packaging production such as trapping, full transparency support, colour separation mapping, Live Objects for variable content, barcode pre-flight and creation, tabular step & repeat, and structured assets including fonts, images, separations, object-based screening settings, barcodes, and other PDF objects.
For more information on PACKZ please visit www.packz.com/.

Rentons Labels Bio:

• A fast paced labels business recently purchased by Next Printing
• Added a HP Indigo label press in January 2020
• www.rentonslabels.com.au