Emmingen, Germany - Atlantic Zeiser has signed a strategic partnership agreement with Berlin based SOFHA GmbH, a leading software solutions provider to high-speed digital printing machine OEMs. As part of the agreement Atlantic Zeiser will invest into SOFHA. SOFHA belongs to Adobe's exclusive circle of co-development partners with access to the company's source codes, enabling SOFHA to integrate and adapt those for industry specific needs. The cooperation is targeted at developing highly efficient digital printing solutions based on Adobe's PDF portfolio of standards, and creating a future PDF/VT enhancement as a new standard for variable data processing. "Together with our broad portfolio of high-speed digital printing solutions this step perfectly complements our promise to help industrial producers to increase operating profits – by solving the issue of frequently changing print content on their products, packages and labels", says Oliver C. Mehler, CEO of Atlantic Zeiser. The first results of the software alliance is planned to be presented in May at the IPEX Show in Birmingham.

Collaborating on setting a new software standard
Enhancing the variable data capabilities for PDF/VT means minimizing data streams, eliminating bottlenecks for the Raster Image Processor (RIP), and shortening the printing process. This way Atlantic Zeiser wants to enable producers to shift variable print content to later production stages, as this is often more cost effective. At the same time customers can continue using the PDF/JDF format and workflow.

The increasing need for this type of approach follows changing trends in the printing sector. Users are demanding lower production costs despite ever-smaller print runs, as well as additional individualisation options. This trend does not only apply to paper printing, but also to consumer products, packages and labels.

As traditional printing techniques cannot work cost efficient under such requirements, Atlantic Zeiser plans to roll out a comprehensive suite of solutions for industrial digital printing, which deliver offset-like quality and productivity on a broad spectrum of product substrates, including coated paper and cardboards, plastic, metal, foils and glass.