Global Graphics Software, a Hybrid Software Group company, has been granted a US patent (Patent No. 11,720,769) for “Methods and Systems for Enhancing Raster Image Processing Using Artificial Intelligence”. This patented technology has already been embodied in Global Graphics Software’s award-winning SmartDFE™, a digital front end (DFE) for high-speed industrial inkjet presses.
“Real-time inline rasterization of variable data for high-speed digital presses poses a significant challenge, as it requires a very high constant rate of raster data to be delivered to the press. Unfortunately, the diversity of PDF files and computing hardware ensures that very complex jobs may process too slowly for inline rasterization. Compounding this issue is the vast number of PDF creators in the market, who prioritize design flexibility without considering rasterization or printing. Digital press operators have been forced to process jobs in advance—while their press sits idle—or to process jobs inline and hope that the DFE can provide data at the speed of the digital press. This risk has made the production use of inline RIPs for high-speed inkjet presses impractical until now,” explains Eric Worrall, VP of Products and Services and the inventor of the patent.
With this invention, SmartDFE harnesses the power of AI and machine learning to create an intelligent Raster Image Processor (RIP) model, tailored to each press manufacturer’s chosen computing hardware and encompassing an extensive range of over 1000 PDF operations which take place in the Harlequin RIP® that powers SmartDFE.
