SmartDFE, Global Graphics Software’s powerful Digital Front End for high-speed industrial inkjet presses, has been awarded a 2023 Pinnacle Product Award for Technology from the PRINTING United Alliance. The Pinnacle Awards honor the development of technologies judged to be truly innovative and expected to have a significant impact on the industry.

SmartDFE is a full software stack for high-speed, single-pass presses printing fully variable data. Built upon Harlequin Direct, a fast PDF RIP, and using patented components that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning, it provides rasterization and inkjet drop generation for the best possible image quality and fastest printing speeds. Its automation capabilities provide complete control of the print workflow as well as valuable information for QA and inspection, press maintenance and stock control.

“We are truly honored to receive this prestigious industry award. We believe the innovation in SmartDFE will transform the role of the inkjet printer: it not only meets the demands of OEMs who need to build wider and faster digital presses, but also meets the requirement to add a print subsystem to a manufacturing operation or a smart factory to produce mass-personalized products at near mass-production prices, the Holy Grail for retailers,” comments Justin Bailey, managing director at Global Graphics Software. “SmartDFE is fully customizable, and OEMs can choose to take as much or as little from the software stack as they require to get their digital inkjet presses to market quickly and gain a competitive advantage.”

This is the fourth PRINTING United Award the company has received. Global Graphics Software’s sister company, ColorLogic GmbH, has also been honored with a 2023 PRINTING United Pinnacle Product Award in the Non-Output Device category for its CoPrA 9 color management technology, which is also a key component of SmartDFE. Both Global Graphics Software and ColorLogic GmbH are Hybrid Software Group companies.