100th unit of Packz sold in Italy

‘Having an efficient pre-press department is vital, so in 2012 we invested in HD digital flexographic plate making facilities, which improved quality and reduced production times,’ explained Artes owner Luca Airoldi.

‘To further increase throughput, we have recently purchased several seats of Packz, which will not only aid the speed of processing jobs in the pre-press department but also cut down the possibility of errors. Having moved into flexographic production during the mid 1990s, we have always had a policy of acquiring the most advanced machinery, equipment and software in the industry.’

Italy is an important market for Packz with customers there representing some significant milestones for Hybrid Software. In 2016 the 400th seat of Packz worldwide was installed by flexographic printer Z Due, one of the leading players in the Italian flexographic market.

Guido Van der Schueren, Hybrid Software chairman, said: ‘As the only vendor-neutral standard for graphics files, PDF eliminates the problems encountered by proprietary formats that lock-in users and deny them flexibility. By capturing all elements of the job in a single, convenient file, PDF ensures predictable results at every stage, without the need for file conversions which can often slow production. Offering support for advanced features such as transparency and versioning, PDF is increasingly the choice for packaging graphics production and plate making.’

Packz makes editing of packaging and labels accessible to small, medium and high production volume professionals. Available on OSX and Windows platforms, it offers 64-bit multiprocessing as well as multi-threading for high performance PDF editing. The software can be used for automatic and manual trapping, color separation mapping, step and repeat plus text and barcode editing.

‘We listen carefully to what printers want to achieve and develop our software accordingly,’ said Schueren. ‘Companies are installing Packz because they need high productivity, cost effectiveness and freedom to choose. Artes was able to easily integrate Packz within its existing pre-press workflow without having to make any changes. It’s one of the many attractions of the software. In addition, new features are continuously being created to ensure that Packz remains unchallenged in its leading position in the market.’