A new partnership between Hybrid Software and Cerm has resulted in opportunities for printers to improve efficiency and profitability by interfacing Hybrid’s innovative productivity tools with Cerm’s MIS products. Both companies focus on the label market, with Cerm selling almost exclusively to the traditional and digital narrow web sector.

“Cerm is one of the few MIS vendors that has a global customer base and yet is market-driven, in this case supplying narrow web label printers and flexible packaging,” says Jan Ruysschaert, managing director of Hybrid Software NV. “This makes Cerm a very attractive partner because we also serve those sectors. Combining our two product portfolios creates some very exciting new possibilities for printers, who increasingly need to automate the entire printing process, rather than just prepress.”

The worldwide agreement means that existing users of either company’s products will be able to obtain a simple interface if they want to install Hybrid or Cerm software and link it to their current software. The first joint customers are expected to be announced prior to drupa 2016, while visitors to Hybrid’s stand (hall 7A, stand F41) at the exhibition will be able to see demonstrations of the software being used together.

Hybrid’s Cloudflow solution has a new interface to the Cerm server and is based on JDF standards. It will enable a 1-up approval cycle for new labels, with Cerm MIS operators and Web4Labels users (brand owners) having the option to utilize Hybrid’s remote soft proofing system, ProofScope. The Cloudflow system will also use step and repeat information from the MIS system to create a step and repeat for output.

“There is a huge synergy between ourselves and Hybrid in terms of culture, technology, client-base and aims,” says Geert Van Damme, managing director of Cerm. “This agreement is certainly not merely a case of developing an interface. Our two sales teams are currently undergoing cross-training, and we intend to collaborate closely in the future to ensure that all customers can benefit from new developments.”