ISMA Color has chosen Hybrid Software to build a modern, integrated and highly automated prepress workflow, capable of ensuring greater production efficiency, colour control and high quality standards in flexo printing. We discuss this in this article and in an in-depth video interview with Mario Mancini, owner of the Marche-based prepress service provider.
ISMA Color, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has always been highly innovation-driven in the flexo sector: characterised by continuous technological upgrades and ongoing investments, although also marked by 2022 flood that devastated Ostra, Senigallia and Misa Valley area. “The damage was significant and we lost many machines due to water and mud, but with great strength and commitment all of us, including our staff, whom I consider a real family, managed to restart, also thanks to the valuable support of our suppliers and even some competitor-friends who stood by us in our time of need”, says Mario Mancini, founder of the company, now supported with the same passion by his sons Andrea and Marco. Since then, ISMA Color has rebuilt much of its production department, upgraded its machinery fleet, and accelerated investments in sustainable and automated technologies.
Technological evolution and target market
Back in 2003, Mario decided to invest in a Creo Thermoflex CtP system in 120×160 format, which marked the beginning of growing success and continuous investment: in 2011 a solvent recovery and recycling distillation system was installed; in 2013 a Kodak FlexCel NX CtP with laminator was chosen; and in 2017 a FlexCel NX Wide-C Imager was added, enabling the imaging of both offset plates (with or without processing) and TIL (Thermal Image Layer) for plates with Kodak Flexcel NX technology. Today this technology is offered by Miraclon.
The company also operates two XPS Crystal 5080 LED UV exposure units, which are faster and significantly more energy efficient; a CDI Spark 5080 and a FlexLine Compact 520 that integrates washing, oven and imaging in a single line. With the AWP 4260 PLF from Asahi, the company took its first major step towards water-wash processing. This technology has received Carbon Neutral certification from the Carbon Trust in compliance with PAS 2060, confirming a lower carbon footprint across the entire product lifecycle, from production to end-of-life, compared to other plate processing technologies, while also ensuring higher quality, faster processing times and greater overall sustainability.
“In total we have three plate production lines, which allow us to meet the needs of our customers in the food and industrial sectors, who are increasingly focused on sustainability. For this reason we have invested in solvent-free systems, because some clients require plates produced only with these technologies. We also place great emphasis on service, because that is what makes the difference today”, explains Andrea.
With Hybrid Software, automation, precise colour management, safety and top performance are guaranteed
The relationship between ISMA Color and Hybrid Software began over ten years ago, when the company chose Packz as its editing software, starting with a single license and gradually extending it to all workstations. Packz, for anyone who doesn’t know it, is a professional native PDF editor specifically designed for prepress in packaging, label and flexo printing: it allows operators to open, check, edit and prepare print-ready artwork directly in PDF format without intermediate conversions. ISMA Color later also implemented Hybrid Software’s Cloudflow.
“We fell in love with their products because they are flexible and give us security. Our constant goal is to increase productivity, reduce errors and automate processes. This workflow was designed specifically for professional flexo prepress, where speed, precision and standardisation are essential. We saw something special in their solutions and never left them”, says Andrea.
“Furthermore”, adds Mario, “Hybrid Software is a supplier that listens to customer needs; in fact, before every investment they analysed how we work, because their approach is not standardised. Hybrid Software listens to users and prefers operational dialogue, seeking to deeply understand real workflows before proposing technical solutions or automation. For a prepress service provider this is essential, because it allows you to build customised workflows based on production needs, customers and existing technologies. Every service provider is unique, with equally unique characteristics, so the workflow is designed tailor-made, like a bespoke suit”.
Post-installation support has also proven to be timely and precise, allowing the company to fully exploit the remarkable potential of the software thanks to constant guidance from Hybrid Software technicians. Even if these software are highly intuitive: “we recently hired two new operators, and they learned to use the systems very quickly”, Andrea confirms.
A job management system has been built with Cloudflow
Regarding Cloudflow, Andrea highlights that it is “a fully web-based platform: most features are accessed via a browser interface, without the need to install heavy client software on workstations. The working environment allows users to manage workflows, jobs, approvals, dashboards, files and automation directly through responsive web pages”.
This enables operators, production departments and even external clients to access information centrally, with differentiated permissions based on roles. The Jobs module within Cloudflow has been customised to fit ISMA Color’s processes. Clients can upload their files and monitor job progress, as the platform allows jobs to be configured according to specific operational logic, turning work into a centralised repository for data, files, versions, approvals and automation. Each job can include custom fields, dedicated status tracking, automated rules and different workflows depending on job type, client or printing technology used.
Colour management and ICC profiles
To ensure plate quality, ISMA Color has chosen ColorAnt and CoPrA, two ColorLogic software tools (part of the Hybrid Software group) dedicated to professional colour management.
ColorAnt is a tool for colour data optimisation and correction, used before ICC profile creation to clean, verify and improve measurement data by checking spectrophotometric readings, correcting anomalies, eliminating measurement errors and optimising print linearisation. CoPrA is the software used to create ICC profiles, using the optimised data from ColorAnt to generate accurate colour profiles. It supports CMYK, RGB, multicolour and DeviceLink profiles, with advanced controls for black separation, preservation of primary colours and optimisation of colour reproduction.
A journey of innovation and mutual growth
The relationship between ISMA Color and Hybrid Software goes far beyond a simple technology partnership: it is based on mutual trust and respect, and on shared challenges, goals and successes. “The relationship has been built over time and has evolved following market needs, turning every new challenge into a growth opportunity. With such solid foundations, the journey together is certainly set to continue for a long time”, concludes Mario.
