Hybrid Software’s first order in Ireland is a significant one, following the decision by J H Label Solutions in Co. Armagh to purchase two seats of PACKZ as well as the workflow software CLOUDFLOW, along with PROOFSCOPE and PACKZFLOW. The seats of PACKZ, which is the leading professional PDF editor for packaging and label workflows, were installed during September and have already improved productivity at the site as general manager, David Hedley, explains.

“We operate digital and flexo presses and have recently been expanding our digital printing capacity as part of a £1.5 m investment program,” he says. “This meant that we had to update our pre-press facilities in order to increase the output of print-ready files to a level that matched the new requirements of the pressroom.

“When we started asking around, Hybrid Software came highly recommended not just by other label printers but by the digital press manufacturers themselves. No one had a bad word to say and we felt this was a very important endorsement. When we contacted HYBRID Software we were immediately impressed by the comprehensive expertise of the Hybrid technical team, as well as Paul Bates who dealt with us from the UK office.

“So far we have implemented stage one of PACKZ, which allows us to produce extremely professional proofs with great efficiency. Over the coming weeks we will start using the other elements of PACKZ and then install CLOUDFLOW, which we expect to be fully up and running by Christmas. This will include interfacing the HYBRID Software products with our existing Cerm MIS system and as the two suppliers already work closely together we are confident this will be seamless.”

J H Label Solutions specializes in the food and beverage sector and is part of the James Hamilton Group, which offers digital and litho printing facilities from premises across the road. The parent company, a third-generation family-owned business, provides a wide range of services to the packaging market and has customers throughout Ireland and the UK.

“During the evaluation process Hybrid Software gave live demonstrations of its software that really enabled us to experience the benefits in a working environment,” says David Hedley. “One of the features that I particularly like is the simplicity of the software – it’s easy to follow and does exactly what HYBRID Software says it will.

“Although price was not the influencing factor, the software, training and support that we have bought is very competitive compared to other pre-press packages. We anticipate that our pre-press department will be highly automated by the end of the year. Based on the results we achieve over the coming months it will then be decided whether to install a similar HYBRID Software set up at the main James Hamilton Group.”