The automation and digitization of the label and package printing industry will continue, especially as converters are tasked with doing more with less. To accomplish this, prepress software will play a significant role. 

Ricoh recently conducted a survey, gathering feedback from 152 respondents across 36 roles to better understand the direction of the print industry. According to the survey, 80% want to see more investment in production workflow automation, and 77% of the print sector want to automate. Meanwhile, 64% said their companies have failed to automate. Software represents the ideal place to start, and the future of labels depends on new prepress solutions.

“Prepress software is the backbone of modern label production, ensuring converters can meet market demands for both speed and precision,” states Serge Clauss, product manager, Software & Solutions, Durst Group. “By automating routine tasks, such as file checking and correction, color matching, and data preparation, it reduces manual bottlenecks and errors, while features like ink optimization and variable data tools help deliver cost savings and personalized products. The result is faster turnaround, consistent brand fidelity, and the flexibility to profitably handle both short and long runs.”

Prepress software is also critical in the approval process. Typically, proofs get returned within minutes, hours, a day, whereas before it used to be several days or a week. Therefore, it is paramount to get the proof to the client and receive approval in a quicker fashion than previous years. In the past, after the one-up proof was approved, an operator had to step and repeat it, and make sure it met the die specs, to finish the label off. Now, companies like Hybrid Software have designed products that enable a faster process without human intervention. And automation plays a role. If a converter has a multi-SKU job – for example, the Neapolitan strawberry, vanilla, and chocolate ice cream flavors – they can all be printed in a lane, with the quantity of each optimized because the system does the math.

“Typically the approval process involves the look of the labels and the graphics that the prepress software is concerned with,” notes Mike Agness, executive vice president, Americas, Hybrid Software. “It can include a review of how the labels will be manufactured, the information surrounding the job, the laminate, the stock – all the different things that a label means. Prepress software certainly speeds up turnaround times. After proof approval, most of the steps are done in an automated fashion, which means labels get to press quicker.    

“How do you make that proof with a fast turnaround? It’s by integration and an approval process that you can sign off on and rest assured that the label is going to be manufactured graphically correct,” he continues. “This includes the integration of the data to manufacture it: where the laminate’s going, what the rewind direction is, and so on.”   

Prepress software is accepted technology at this point, meaning the quality of the software will dictate a converter’s success. According to Agness, label printers should ask the following questions when analyzing products: Who are you starting with? What’s their background? What’s their knowledge? How easy is it to learn?

“We will usually install Hybrid PACKZ and Hybrid CLOUDFLOW to ensure easy connectivity and communication with outside customers/suppliers and the ERP,” says Agness. “Our customer training process makes sure customers are comfortable with it.    

“It’s very familiar if you can use a computer and you know some design and production skills,” adds Agness. “But converting isn’t just a design process. It’s a manufacturing process, and we have different tools to help manufacture labels. That all starts with what you’re going to print from, which is a PDF file. The PDF file format is huge in the process of everything.  To get there the fastest, we tell our customers to start with what’s closest to the beginning and end of the process. That file format is most often the PDF.     

“When designing a label, the designer has a concept in mind. When that file is sent along, and it is opened in a design tool, you might as well start over. Inefficiencies happen if it isn’t a PDF file. If you open it in our production tools, reading the PDF file – which is meant for output – you get there faster,” he says.

Plus, new software can serve as a competitive advantage for label converters. “The biggest downside to not using the latest software is security,” comments Agness. “When you’re not up to date, you are vulnerable to security issues. And, when you are working with confidential new product rollouts, you need to make sure you are extremely safe. Also, when you’re using five-year old software, which usually goes along with hardware from five years ago, you’re five years behind your competition. When you’re not up to date with your hardware and your software, you’re not as efficient as you can be. You can do more with less today than you could five years ago. And some of the most powerful computers in your facility are in front of your operators rather than in a server room. Take advantage of them.”

A ’Connected Ecosystem’

In recent years, prepress software has seen constant advancement. What once stood as individual software solutions now connects through a label printer’s entire workflow. Keeping prepress software up to date ensures compatibility with the latest industry standards, from new PDF specifications and color libraries to integration with evolving ERP and MIS systems.

“Prepress software has evolved from standalone tools into fully connected ecosystems that link order intake, prepress, printing, and finishing,” explains Durst’s Clauss. “Automation has become the backbone of this transformation, handling repetitive tasks like file corrections, color adjustments, and job setups with minimal human intervention, which speeds up production and reduces errors. Now, AI is pushing this even further, enabling smarter job routing, predictive quality control, and real-time optimization of performances. 

“The integration between production systems and their order entry or ERP systems has generally gotten tighter, as well,” adds Hybrid Software’s Agness. “That’s odd for me to say, because Hybrid Software started doing that 15 years ago. For us, data has always been important. The more data we have, the more we can automate. Just having tighter integration means we can automate more variables. We can progress without a prepress operator dealing with them. Automation and efficiencies from prepress automation have always meant something different to Hybrid Software. So just due to the fact of what we need to do to manufacture, it’s different.”

AI will also play a role, but Agness believes the technology is still a work in progress. “While AI will have a future, it needs to learn our industry and particulars about our industry,” he remarks. “Chances are the advances in AI will be what converters teach it about their particular workflows and not a global, open-to-public AI engine.”

It is important to note: AI does not replace employees. Conversely, the technology serves as a tool to empower them with faster insights and more consistent results. Not recognizing the significant improvements in the technology could lead converters to fall behind, especially as customers demand higher quality products with shorter lead times.

“Falling behind means missing these gains, but more critically, it can create compatibility issues: jobs may not process correctly, files may not render as intended, and integration with newer systems or presses may fail,” adds Durst’s Clauss. “Outdated software also lacks the security patches and AI-driven tools that modern workflows rely on, leaving converters slower, more error-prone, and at risk of producing work that doesn’t meet today’s quality or compliance expectations.”

New products

Durst’s Workflow Label software is designed with usability in mind, offering a clean, browser-based interface that makes it approachable even for new users. The platform integrates seamlessly with existing production systems, which reduces implementation hurdles and accelerates adoption. “Training is structured with flexibility, and Durst provides modules covering essentials like color management, data preparation, automation, and variable data printing, ensuring operators quickly gain confidence while still unlocking the software’s full professional capabilities,” notes Clauss. “This balance of simplicity and depth helps converters get up and running smoothly while building long-term expertise.”

Meanwhile, Hybrid Software just introduced its 11th version of Hybrid PACKZ, PACKZ 11. The release marks the company’s eighth release of PACKZ in the US or, eliminating patch fixes, the 16th version release of its PDF editor. “The new PACKZ 11 launch introduces PACKZ Max, featuring integrated Harlequin RIP technology for unparalleled – and unique – screening control from within the PACKZ PDF editor,” states Agness. “This release also debuts an automatic upgrade from 1D to 2D barcodes supporting the GS1 Sunrise 2027 initiative, paving the way for the future of barcodes on packaging.”

Hybrid PACKZ Max offers instant screening, viewing, and output directly from a PACKZ PDF editor station directly to a platesetter. It is the first RIP-integrated PDF editor – the first artwork editor and RIP in one, the company says. “We have also included additional ‘Analyze and Fix’ features, which are automatic checks and corrections to drive efficiencies in various different actions that are created,” adds Agness. “The result is that what took five or six mouse clicks at a time are eliminated. I have seen an example where it took a prepress department about 30 mouse clicks to get a job done. It added up to as much as 10 hours a week of clicking a mouse to run jobs. Now, if you can remove 10 hours – and that means eliminating 10 hours of error-prone human interaction – it saves a lot of aggravation.”

Domino launches AI-enabled Sunrise DFE software

Domino has launched the latest version of Sunrise, the digital front-end and workflow solution for Domino digital label presses. The company’s Sunrise Digital Front End (DFE) combines comprehensive prepress and production tools into a powerful, easy-to-use workflow solution. Domino designed the software for Domino N-Series digital label presses. Using the power of AI and the Harlequin RIP, Sunrise enables converters to process jobs faster and
more accurately. 

“Maximizing press uptime and productivity is a key priority for converters in today’s competitive marketplace,” says Michael Matthews, product manager – Digital Printing Color, Domino. “Domino is leading the way in using AI and machine learning to create intelligent RIP technology, delivering a highly efficient, scalable front-end solution.”

The latest update to Sunrise combines a set of advanced, AI-enabled tools in an easy-to-use interface. In addition, modules include Label Studio, which streamlines job setup by automating repetitive prepress tasks; powerful variable data processing with inline RIP capabilities; and Domino Viewer, enabling the monitoring of press performance and the capture of running data to inform decision-making.

Label Studio also makes the preparation of press-ready PDFs easy. It does so by eliminating the need for graphics editing software and helping ensure consistent and accurate results.

“Finding skilled labor can be a challenge for converters, and mistakes can happen,” acknowledges Matthews. “Label Studio enables any operator to automate and speed up prepress label processing. A real-time preview reflects any adjustments made, maximizing press uptime, reducing waste, and enabling fine-tuning before ripping for optimum print results.”

Requests from brands seeking to incorporate variable data, including 2D codes, into their label designs are on the rise. Therefore, Sunrise is well-positioned to meet this demand. The software handles jobs with complex personalization with ease. Plus, it raises the bar with real-time inline ripping onboard the N730i digital label press.

“Inline RIP of variable data is a game-changer for converters,” says Matthews. “Traditionally, jobs containing variable data had to be pre-processed while the press sat idle, as RIP speeds were too slow to keep pace with printing speeds. Sunrise breaks down this barrier, processing variable data ‘as-you-print’.”

Harnessing AI and machine learning, Sunrise’s powerful inline label processing capabilities can instantly deconstruct PDF print jobs, fine-tune printing RIP settings, and accurately predict the achievable printing speed. This empowers press operators to make data-driven decisions, optimize scheduling, and significantly reduce the risk of downtime.

Domino Viewer monitors the status of one or multiple Domino presses in real time. It displays errors, job information, and cost estimates for the current job queue, too. A converter can access the data across their local network or remotely via a VPN connection. It is also possible to seamlessly integrate Sunrise with a converter’s MIS and ERP systems. 

“Having all this data at your fingertips makes it easy for production managers to identify potential cost savings and process improvements to increase overall equipment efficiency,” explains Matthews. “The tool also allows converters to leverage historical job information for in-depth, retrospective analysis, and
machine learning.”