Press release from the issuing company:
It has been an exceptionally active product development cycle for Hybrid Software, a leading innovator of packaging design and visualization software. The company will provide the first U.S. viewing of major upgrades to many of its product lines during Printing United Expo 2025, booth 3610. The latest innovations focus on accelerating prepress workflows, automating complex packaging, and enhancing design-to-print accuracy for packaging production.
Hybrid Software’s strategy has always been to strengthen its core competency of high-end graphical software through targeted acquisitions of complementary technologies. Printing United Expo Hybrid Software will also feature newly acquired Conics, a software development and consultancy firm that partners with customers to help select and implement graphical software, bridging gaps with custom development and integration services. Their experience in successfully delivering complex projects is a perfect complement to Hybrid Software’s existing expertise.
Hybrid Software Highlights at Printing United Expo:
Within recently launched PACKZ 11, PACKZ Max (pictured above), uniquely built on Hybrid Software and Harlequin RIP, delivers instant RIP previews in a PDF prepress editor. It enables real-time screening quality control, sharp details, smooth gradients, and consistent color. Designed for flexo plate creation, 1-bit TIFF output, and digital printing, it ensures superior print with minimal setup.
Packzimizer: The automated ganging and lane planning tool for digital label printing optimizes layout, minimizes waste, and improves press efficiency. Packzimizer can also be automated as a module of the CLOUDFLOW workflow automation suite.
CLOUDFLOW Colorspace: The 2025 EDP and Pinnacle Award winning software ensures consistent, precise color reproduction across diverse substrates and printing technologies.
Joining the AI bandwagon in a smart, productive way
Many organizations are building on AI technology, but what is most imperative is that it makes productive sense. Hybrid Software is building an AI technology foundation based on workflow tools that deliver true benefits.
The SmartDFE™ front end for digital presses developed by Global Graphics, the OEM business unit of Hybrid Software, is built around a patented algorithm using proprietary AI modeling to predict the speed at which a package or label will print on a given digital press—and then optimizes the content of that job to maximize press productivity. Recognized with the King’s Award for Enterprise, SmartDFE powers many high-speed presses.
Matches, based on technology developed by Hybrid Software’s customer and partner Saueressig, is an AI-driven application that searches all jobs produced by a printer or trade shop to find jobs with similar attributes or elements, including text, barcodes, and even image content. Many packages are similar, but differ in key areas such as sizes, flavors, or languages. Identifying similar jobs produced in the past helps assure fast and error-free production of new jobs.
The acquisition of Conics brings additional AI expertise to Hybrid Software, specifically through the jAImes product. jAImes uses a trained AI agent to extract order data from natural language emails, and prompts customers to supply missing information to complete their orders accurately and on time. It also interfaces with packaging MIS systems to create production orders automatically, for an even greater degree of automation, especially for reorders, which make up a large part of production for many package printers and converters.
A complete, powerful prepress production ecosystem from Hybrid Software
Hybrid Software sister companies will also be present, showing important developments, including:
Global Graphics Mako Core™ is a print SDK for developers creating print workflow components. The latest release introduces Apex™, a groundbreaking rendering technology designed to boost performance and reduce costs. Apex runs entirely on the Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) delivering exceptional high-speed rendering with high-quality results.
ColorLogic ZePrA is a full-featured color server that optimizes PDF printing data and image files via DeviceLink profiles. Its easy-to-use interface simplifies the process of custom color conversions with SmartLink and seamlessly integrates into existing workflows for immediate results.
Xitron K2, the first new commercial offset workflow in nearly two decades, drives virtually any new or existing CTP engine, also letting users integrate digital and wide-format output streams. Specifically developed to replace many aging systems—without compromising functionality, speed or performance—K2 is competitively priced to expensive upgrades.
Meteor Inkjet’s latest innovation brings focus and clarity to the field of waveform optimization by enabling its OEM partners to capture high-resolution, detailed images of drops in flight with its Single Event Capture ‘SEC’ technology. SEC enhances existing tools in the industry to create efficient, optimized waveforms.
Something for brands, too
Hybrid’s BrandZ team will also be available to meet with brand owners, retailers, and CPG companies to explore how its updated Artflow and iC3D software can streamline packaging and artwork processes.
Artflow 25.09 helps brand teams hit their deadlines with less stress. Real-time Gantt chart tracking gives everyone a clear view of progress and more accurate delivery forecasts. Retro planning makes it simple to schedule backward from launch dates, ensuring approvals stay on track. Artflow 25.09 also adds AI-assisted rules to streamline compliance validation, a tighter proofreading workflow with fuzzy search to locate copy directly on artwork, and customizable language displays that let users select which language(s) are shown during proofreading. A new Public API, built on Azure API Management, provides secure and scalable cross-system automation such as synchronizing product and brand data. Artflow now integrates seamlessly with MyCLOUDFLOW, Hybrid Software’s SaaS workflow automation platform for packaging graphics, enabling end-to-end automation like barcode placement, packshot generation, and step-and-repeat creation directly from within Artflow.
iC3D transforms packaging design with real-time 3D visualization and validation, taking ideas from concept to production in a single seamless workflow. Its all-in-one toolkit modernizes packaging design, accelerating production and simplifying the entire process. iC3D 11 Introduces a smart embellishment application with spot color detection and visual previews of foil, embossing, and varnish—early in the prepress workflow.
Mike Rottenborn, Hybrid Software CEO explains, “This year, all of Hybrid Software’s business units have been extremely busy building our next generation prepress automation software tools. Printing United Expo is an excellent time for people to really see the culmination of our innovation. We’re really excited. Our newest products truly allow those in our industry—both print/packaging providers and OEMs—to work smarter, and not harder, for unmatched quality and productivity.”
