Xitron, a subsidiary of Hybrid Software Group and the developer of Harlequin-based Navigator RIP and workflow products for commercial, flexo, screen, digital, and high-speed inkjet printing, has announced the expansion of its K2 workflow family with the introduction of K2D-X, a workflow solution optimized for digital print production, alongside K2 3.0, the latest generation of its production workflow platform.
The announcement reflects Xitron’s continued commitment to open, vendor-independent workflow solutions that allow print providers to build production environments around the equipment that best suits their business rather than the limitations of a single manufacturer’s ecosystem.
Today’s print providers operate in a variety of production environments, each with its own workflow requirements. While many commercial printers require a unified workflow like K2 to support offset, digital, and hybrid production, others have invested heavily in multiple digital presses, each driven by its own Digital Front End (DFE). As those digital environments become more complex, maintaining a consistent prepress workflow becomes increasingly difficult. K2D-X was developed specifically to address that challenge.
Designed for facilities operating multiple digital presses and multiple DFEs, K2D-X prepares incoming PDF files before they reach the press. Jobs are preflighted, corrected, normalized, and imposed before being delivered as press-ready PDF files to the appropriate Digital Front End. By standardizing prepress upstream, K2D-X allows print providers to prepare each job once while continuing to use the manufacturer’s native DFE to drive each press.
“Digital print providers have invested heavily in expanding their production capabilities over the past decade,” said Paul Napolitano, product manager at Xitron. “The challenge is that every new DFE introduces another production island. K2D-X gives customers a common workflow that prepares jobs once and delivers production-ready PDF files wherever they’re needed, without forcing them to replace the equipment in which they’ve already invested.”
Because K2D-X delivers press-ready PDF files, print providers that do not require traditional RIP or RIP options such as trapping can standardize prepress across mixed-vendor digital environments while preserving existing investments in presses and DFEs.
Alongside K2D-X, Xitron will also introduce K2 3.0, the latest release of its flagship workflow platform. New capabilities include expanded workflow automation, enhanced job management, streamlined deployment, and improved third-party integration. Together, these enhancements reduce manual intervention while increasing production flexibility.
Visitors to Printing United Expo 2026 will see demonstrations of both K2D-X and K2 3.0 at the Hybrid Software booth, C1371.
Together, K2D-X and K2 3.0 represent Xitron’s continuing commitment to open workflow solutions that allow print providers to choose the presses, DFEs, and production technologies that best fit their business, rather than the limitations of a single vendor’s ecosystem.
