Hybrid Software Group acquires Creative Edge

Addresses 3D & additive manufacturing applications production

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IPP Desk
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Hybrid
From left, Mike Rottenborn, Trevor Haworth, and Guido Van der Schueren celebrate the acquisition. Photo Hybrid Group

Hybrid Software Group PLC (Euronext: HYSG) announced on 15 March that on 14 March 2022 it acquired the business and assets related to iC3D from Creative Edge Software LLC.

The iC3D software suite generates photorealistic 3D virtual mock-ups on the fly, allowing cartons, labels, flexibles, bottles, shrink sleeves, point of sale displays, and in-store visualization to be accurately rendered for design verification and eCommerce applications. In addition, iC3D offers the industry’s largest library of modeling templates for digital packaging design and prototyping as well as an online viewing platform that allows designers, brands, and print providers to collaborate on new designs with accurate real-time 3D rendering.

Mike Rottenborn, chief executive officer of Hybrid Software Group, comments, “3D and additive manufacturing applications are one of our fastest-growing market segments for printhead drive electronics and software, but visualization of packaging designs in 3D was a gap in our technology portfolio. The acquisition of iC3D strengthens our 3D offering and closes the loop between the design of high-end labels and packaging and industrial print manufacturing. We already have an integration of iC3D in our Packz and Cloudflow software with a substantial installed base of users that have licensed the iC3D option and we look forward to broader integration of iC3D in our Digital Front Ends (DFEs) and other software products.”

Trevor Haworth, chief executive officer of Creative Edge says, “We formed Creative Edge Software in 2013 to develop 3D software that would give packaging and label designers an all-in-one product to replace the many partial rendering solutions in use at the time. Since then, iC3D has become the product of choice for many leading brands. Almost since the start, Hybrid Software became one of our largest value-added resellers by combining iC3D’s fast visualization capabilities with their range of packaging production software products, and a close relationship between the development teams was established. Our acquisition by Hybrid Software Group is the logical step in the co-development of some exciting new products for the packaging market and I look forward to our expansion under the additional resources provided by such a successful group.”

Consideration for the acquisition is US $4.0 million (approximately Rs 30 crore) in cash, which has been paid in full.

2023 promises an interesting ride for print in India

Indian Printer and Publisher founded in 1979 is the oldest B2B trade publication in the multi-platform and multi-channel IPPGroup. While the print and packaging industries have been resilient in the past 33 months since the pandemic lockdown of 25 March 2020, the commercial printing and newspaper industries have yet to recover their pre-Covid trajectory.

The fragmented commercial printing industry faces substantial challenges as does the newspaper industry. While digital short-run printing and the signage industry seem to be recovering a bit faster, ultimately their growth will also be moderated by the progress of the overall economy. On the other hand book printing exports are doing well but they too face several supply-chain and logistics challenges.

The price of publication papers including newsprint has been high in the past year while availability is diminished by several mills shutting down their publication paper and newsprint machines in the past four years. Indian paper mills are also exporting many types of paper and have raised prices for Indian printers. To some extent, this has helped in the recovery of the digital printing industry with its on-demand short-run and low-wastage paradigm.

Ultimately digital print and other digital channels will help print grow in a country where we are still far behind in our paper and print consumption and where digital is a leapfrog technology that will only increase the demand for print in the foreseeable future. For instance, there is no alternative to a rise in textbook consumption but this segment will only reach normality in the next financial year beginning on 1 April 2023.

Thus while the new normal is a moving target and many commercial printers look to diversification, we believe that our target audiences may shift and change. Like them, we will also have to adapt with agility to keep up with their business and technical information needs.

Our 2023 media kit is ready, and it is the right time to take stock and reconnect with your potential markets and customers. Print is the glue for the growth of liberal education, new industry, and an emerging economy. We seek your participation in what promises to be an interesting ride.

– Naresh Khanna

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