SAi has released Flexi 19, a new version of its signmaking, RIP and workflow software that brings a number of new features and a RIP performance boost of over 30% thanks to a 64-bit RIP engine implementation.
Aimed principally at smaller signmaking shops, Flexi is often sold bundled with print-and-cut devices, but supports a very large number of wide-format printers and cutters and is designed to provide a complete design-to-print/cut set of tools. New features in Flexi 19 for the design stage include Find My Font, which works on bitmap image files, identifying or suggesting best matches for unknown fonts, plus a Pantone Fine-Tune spot colour matching tool that allows test charts and adjustments to be made to provide better matching.
At the production stage, a new Cut by Layers or Colours tool expands users’ options when cutting intricate designs in vinyl. This builds on an existing cut by colour option, allowing jobs designed in other software that uses layers to be handled in Flexi for output and cutting.
Business-focused additions to the software include Pulse, a production data dashboard, and Sidekick, which lets users create quotes, manage customer accounts an ‘ultimately’ implement a CRM workflow so that jobs can be exported to the invoicing process. These are complemented by improved spot colour matching and an enhanced Profile WIzard, both of which should improve colour quality, job setup and repeatability.
‘As the largest ever upgrade to our all-in-one signmaking solution, Flexi 19 packs an extremely hard punch in catering for the varied and sometimes intricate requirements of those operating at the coal face of today’s sign and display industry,’ said Gudrun Bonte, vice-president of product management, SAi.
The software will be available via SAi preferred UK and Ireland business partner and distributor Graphtec GB, where it will complement the latter’s Pro Studio and Pro Studio Plus options which are based on FlexiSign and available as standard on all Grsphtec cutting machines. Flexi 19 will be on display at Fespa in Munich later this month.
