All four Global Graphics group companies – Global Graphics Software, Hybrid Software, Meteor Inkjet and Xitron – exhibited together for the first time at Label Congress on September 29-30. At booth 35, the group presented its full range of solutions for digital label printing, including their new SmartDFE.

SmartDFE is the first product co-developed by all Global Graphics companies and provides everything needed to add labels and packaging printing to an industrial production environment. It is designed to be part of a fully automated manufacturing solution supporting Industry 4.0 telematics and MIS integration, plus connectivity with automated manufacturing lines via the OPC UA standard. According to Global Graphics, it is the only full stack supplier of all the critical software and hardware core technologies needed for inkjet, and SmartDFE brings all of these technologies together in one easy-to-integrate solution.

In addition, Global Graphics Software showcased Harlequin and ScreenPro, a fast RIP and screening technology, which is ideal for variable data printing where every label is different.

Meteor Inkjet presented its comprehensive range of industrial inkjet electronics, software, tools and services, spotlighting recently announced engines to drive printheads such as the Xerox W-series printheads, ideal for industrial label printing systems;

Hybrid Software demonstrated its range of intelligent prepress and workflow products with PACKZ, STEPZ and CLOUDFLOW, which provide a unified platform for digital and conventional label file preparation, editing, and workflow automation;

Xitron demonstrated the Navigator Flexo Suite for traditional label prepress work and the award-wining Navigator Digital Front End for the high-speed digital market.

“Global Graphics has an outstanding range of award-winning products,” comments Mike Rottenborn, Global Graphics CEO. “Our innovative solutions provide our OEM and end-user customers with the best quality and performance, particularly when digital presses are getting faster and require print data to be delivered to the printheads at maximum possible speed.  SmartDFE is the first example of us all working together to build something unique in the market, a full stack of software and printhead drive electronics that has the power to bring mass customization into the label factory at the same costs as mass production. 

“We enjoyed presenting our solutions to our customers and prospects at Label Congress, which provided an excellent opportunity to network with industry peers for the first time since the start of the pandemic,” he adds. “Exhibiting as a group of companies offered an ideal opportunity for vendors and converters seeking innovative solutions to come to talk to us.”

A conference ran alongside the exhibition, and Rottenborn appeared in a conference panel discussion “How far can automation and Industry 4.0 go?”, where topics under discussion will include lights out manufacturing, the autonomous printing press, machine learning and the intelligent label press.