CAMBRIDGE, UK - Global Graphics and Software Imaging announced today that they have signed a cooperation agreement which will allow both companies to offer a broader range of products and services to office printer manufacturers, and software companies working in the Managed Print Services market.  Software Imaging provides printer driver technologies to the printer manufacturing and mobile device markets.  Global Graphics is the developer of Harlequin® Page Description Language software that is embedded on silicon chips inside devices. 

Under the terms of the agreement Software Imaging will recommend Global Graphics’ Harlequin Embedded SDK as its preferred embedded software and Software Imaging will become Global Graphics preferred Printer Driver Partner.  Software Imaging will also integrate Global Graphics’ digital document software, which is branded gDoc, with its own PCL and PostScript® components, to provide printer vendors with document solutions within print-focussed applications and workflows. 

Justin Bailey, Global Graphics’ VP of sales, says “Our ability to provide office printer manufacturers with a combination of the Harlequin embedded RIP, fonts, since our acquisition of the URW++ font foundry in September, and now printer drivers from Software Imaging is a winning combination of performance and price.

"Software Imaging’s role as a gDoc Services partner will enable us both to meet the needs of software companies working in the Managed Print Services market.”

Peter Lismer, Chief Executive of Software Imaging, says, “I have enjoyed a close association with Global Graphics for 17 years. Both companies have been widely respected for 30 years by their customers for the quality of their technologies and services . Trends in the printer manufacturer market have definitely changed and Justin is quite correct in saying that together we can offer our customers a winning combination of performance and price”.

The embedded version of the Harlequin RIP provides manufacturers with high-performance PDL interpretation and rendering even with only a handful of RAM.  Global Graphics licences its software directly to manufacturers of office printing devices to drive their single and multi-function printers, working alongside chip manufacturers such as Marvell.   In August 2015 Marvell announced that it had set a new performance standard with over 220 pages per minute PDL rendering on its 64-bit quad-core 88PA6270 using the Harlequin engine.

Software Imaging's printer drivers are also used on some of the fastest office multi-function printers in the world. In partnership with Global Graphics, the two companies will optimize the performance of their respective technologies to deliver the very best results.