The Esko color management engine for accurate color reproduction in design-to-print workflows for packaging and label printers has been integrated into the powerful, versatile Impress digital front end (DFE) that Fiery offers to manufacturers for high-speed industrial inkjet printers.
Integrating Esko’s Color Engine and the Fiery Impress DFE benefits makes sense for both industrial press manufacturers and press users. Press manufacturers will attract the attention of the many high-volume producers of packaging materials who already use Esko software or hardware in their design and prepress workflows.
Users of the Fiery Impress DFE with Esko Color Engine will reduce the time and complexity involved in reproduce consistent, brand-accurate colors even when some batches of labels and packaging materials are printed on digital presses and others are output on modern flexographic presses.
Fiery Impress
Fiery Impress is a software-based DFE designed for industrial inkjet printing. It can stream job files (including complex variable-data projects) at lightning-fast speeds to the electronics that control the printheads on a digital press. Impress can also deliver the image quality, brand color accuracy, and automation that users of industrial presses need for their products. Impress also gives press manufacturers the flexibility to drive any high-speed inkjet press and integrate with any industrial workflow.
Fiery Impress uses JDF (Job Definition Format) to exchange print-job-related data with other JDF-compatible software for prepress and post-press tasks,
“Workflows are key to success for digital industrial printing, especially in complex, variable-data-intensive applications such as labels and packaging,” said Toby Weiss, CEO, Fiery. “Print providers need integrated, easy-to-use processes that deliver streamlined automation while maximizing both power and color quality.”
Why the Esko Color Engine
Esko, based in Gent, Belgium, is a leading provider of integrated software and hardware solutions that accelerate the time-to-market for pharmaceuticals and consumer packaged goods (CPGs) such food, beverages and personal-care products.
Many brand-marketing and packaging teams already use Esko’s packaging management platform to manage their packaging, label, regulatory, and marketing content. The platform helps them increase their productivity, reduce costs, and save time. Users include brand owners, retailers, and pre-media specialists as well as trade shops, package manufacturers, and converters.
For packaging and label trade shops and converters, Esko can digitize, automate, and connect the entire print process, with software and hardware solutions for CAD design, prepress processes, and flexo platemaking.
With Esko Color Engine, packaging and label trade shops can meet the brand owners’ high expectations for accurate and consistent brand colors on different combinations of digital, analog, and hybrid print processes.
Why the Fiery Impress?
Fiery (originally part of EFI-Electronics for Imaging) is a long-time innovator in developing digital front ends and software many types of digital toner and inkjet printing devices. Fiery has sold more than 2 million DFEs worldwide.
The company can develop custom solutions for industrial press manufacturers because Fiery thoroughly understands the many combinations of printheads, inks, and substrates that can be used to digitally print everything from thin films and papers for graphics and packaging materials to soft, stretchy textiles and thick, rigid building materials.
Fiery has produced DFEs for narrow-web inkjet label presses and high-speed wide-format inkjet printers for the corrugated materials used for shipping boxes and in-store promotional displays.
EFI announced the Fiery Impress DFE in 2022 and spun off Fiery as an independent company in 2023. The Seiko-Epson (Epson) acquired Fiery from Siris Capital Group in 2024 and continues to operate it as an independent provider of DFEs and workflow solutions for printer manufacturers.
A Beneficial Partnership
“Workflows are key to success for digital industrial printing, especially in complex, variable data-intensive applications such as labels and packaging,” said Toby Weiss, CEO, Fiery. “Print providers need integrated, easy-to-use processes that deliver streamlined automation while maximizing both power and color quality.”
Integrating the Esko Color Engine with the Fiery Impress makes it easier for manufacturers of packaging and label printers to get their newest models to market faster.
Plus, users of industrial package printers will be able to integrate the DFE seamlessly into their established Esko’s design, prepress, and printing workflows. Users will no longer have to choose between high-speed data processing performance and color quality.
Andreas Goehring, Director of Professional Imaging, Epson America, believes “Industrial printing is a key growth area of digital print.” Integrating Esko Color Engine with Fiery Impress DFE not only delivers the color and performance results that make industrial-print customers happy, but it will also offer a more streamlined solution for industrial press manufacturers to offer innovative new presses around the world.”