Global Graphics Software
Smart software components for Print OEMs and ISVs

ScreenPro Core

Global Graphics Software's award-winning screening engine converts contone image data into ready-to-print halftone screened data in real-time with no compromise on quality. With ScreenPro Core you can maximize the performance of your digital printer and get to market quicker. ScreenPro Core is the world's fastest RIP-independent screening engine.

Features and benefits

  • Ultra-high speed
    • The world's fastest RIP-independent screening engine - dedicated ultra-high-speed, tile-based screening core
    • Blisteringly fast guaranteed throughput for real-time printing - variable data, short runs, just-in-time production
  • Massively scalable
    • Efficient state-of-the-art design for modern multi-core processors and massively parallel processing
    • Optimized for Intel i9, Xeon and AMD Ryzen Threadripper CPUs
    • Maximize efficient use of your processing resources and reduce your processing hardware BoM cost
  • Quick to market
    • Reduce development time and get to market sooner
    • Leverage Global Graphics Software's focused screening engine development and significant R&D investment
    • Direct access to Global Graphics Software's team of experts, scientists and engineers via the BreakThrough™ service
  • Open system
    • Fully compatible with your existing workflow - supplied as an SDK for seamless integration into your own OEM software
    • Complements any RIP, such as Esko,Caldera,ColorGate,EFI,Sofha, or Global Graphics Software's ownHarlequin RIP®
    • Embed ScreenPro Core invisibly into your existing workflow for a performance boost
  • Flexible
    • Supports single-pass and multi-pass printers with all printhead types and any drive electronics
    • Available cross-platform, Windows DLL and Linux (Ubuntu and CentOS) shared object versions
  • Tune to your press
    • Standard range of performance-optimized screens for different applications and press configurations
    • Use PrintFlat™ technologies and our PrintFlat Custom Advanced Inkjet Screen Service for a bespoke solution to take your print quality to the next level
    • Create multi-level screens for virtually any number of drop levels and choose which levels you want to use
    • Create and fine-tune your own linearizations
    • Import your existing screen tiles - all the benefits of ScreenPro speed, with your existing screen look and feel
  • Standardize your screening
    • Consistent print results regardless of your customer's choice of RIP
    • Simpler and easier to support and upgrade
  • Future-ready
    • Ready-made upgrade path to higher performance and new features, using the same screens that your customers will already know and love
    • Add features such as Variable Data Processing (VDP) or PrintFlat uniformity optimization, all without changing the 'look & feel' of the printed output
    • Regular product updates and future roadmap of new features and enhancements - add your feature requests to the roadmap
What is ScreenPro?

A core part of the software required to drive a digital printer is the halftone screening engine. ScreenPro turns contone image data into discrete drop levels; it is complementary to RIP software, and not generally a replacement for it. Many RIPs can provide screened output, but this is not their focus and the technology and algorithms used are often more than 20 years old. ScreenPro sits between the RIP and the printer and takes the output of your RIP software (continuous tone 8 or 16 bit grayscale TIFF separations) and screens the image to the drop levels supported by your printer (screened grayscale TIFF separations).

With ScreenPro Core you can configure multi-level screens for virtually any number of drop levels and have the flexibility to choose which levels you want to use. You can create and fine-tune your own linearizations, providing smooth transitions between drop sizes and improving color profile fidelity.

The 'art' of ScreenPro™ screening - to take 256 image levels and turn them into the few levels that the printhead is capable of printing, whilst maintaining the same perceived image quality, and doing it all at blistering SPEED.
input-image-with-256-levels.png
A typical input image with 256 levels available for each individual pixel - the histogram shows the distribution of the individual pixels across the 256 levels available.
screenpro-output-image-with-5-printable-levels.png
A typical ScreenPro output image with 5 printable levels (4 drop sizes) available for each individual pixel - the histogram shows the distribution of the individual pixels across the 5 levels available.
The need for SPEED - why is fast halftone screening important?

Screening can be a bottleneck in high-speed and real-time (variable data) printing, it can be processor intensive and hog system resources. Most standard RIP screening algorithms are old, inefficient and not optimized for modern processors. In contrast, ScreenPro screening was built from the ground up using the latest proprietary algorithmic technology, and is performance-optimized for CPUs such as Intel i9, Xeon and AMD Ryzen Threadripper. ScreenPro provides predictable and deterministic screening, essential to ensuring the guaranteed throughput required to keep up with modern press speeds. In the next generation of digital presses increasing printhead resolution, bit depths, print widths, line speeds and variable data all mean that the data rates required are increasing exponentially, and so the use of a highly efficient screening engine like ScreenPro Core is critical. Using ScreenPro Core means that you can minimize your BoM costs for processing hardware, and ensures that you are making the maximum, most efficient use of your hardware investment.

Quick to market

ScreenPro Core is all about SPEED - not just the speed of your screening, but the speed with which you get your product to market too. Using ScreenPro Core in your product provides a performance-optimized, ready-to-go component to your workflow, improving the competitive position of your product and getting you to market quicker. ScreenPro Core is the result of countless hours of engineering effort and significant R&D investment, all focused on this one key area of the printing process - using ScreenPro Core reduces your development risk and allows you to leverage all of this embedded knowhow at a fraction of the time and cost it would otherwise take to develop. And, if you would like additional development assistance, why not take advantage of our freeBreakThrough™ service? Add Global Graphics Software's technical experts to your engineering team to get you shipping sooner - they will help you break through any barrier that is slowing your route to market. Buy a block of days which is 100% recoverable against licenses as soon as you ship, making this outstanding service effectively free. ScreenPro Core future-proofs your workflow, as Global Graphics continues to invest in updates, improvements and new features, ensuring you're always at the technological leading edge. Customer driven, the Global Graphics on-going development roadmap provides an opportunity for you to prioritize the improvements and new features that you need.

Open system

ScreenPro Core is fully compatible with your existing workflow and complements any RIP, such asEsko, Caldera, ColorGate, EFI, Sofha, or Global Graphics' own Harlequin RIP. ScreenPro Core is supplied as an SDK for seamless integration into your own OEM software, providing an invisibly embedded performance boost, and is available as Windows DLL and Linux (Ubuntu and CentOS) shared object versions. ScreenPro Core is one component in Global Graphics Software's complete suite of workflow software. Global Graphics' suite of software is a completely open system, allowing you to pick and choose the components that will add the most value to your workflow solution now, and with the ability to add additional components later, as your requirements develop. Using ScreenPro Core brings screening under your control, ensuring your press generates consistent print results regardless of your customer's choice of RIP, thereby reducing support calls, and providing simpler and easier upgrades.

PrintFlat™ - taking print quality to the next level

Finally, to truly differentiate your product, add PrintFlat print quality optimization technology. PrintFlat is our award-winning technology that corrects digital inkjet image quality issues such as banding and streaking to give outstanding image quality. PrintFlat technology is applied during screening at runtime and enhances the quality of your output without any compromise on speed.Read more about PrintFlat™ technology here.

ScreenPro Core is supplied withAdvanced Inkjet Screens™, a standard range of performance-optimized screens, supporting a wide range of different applications and press configurations straight out of the box. You can also take advantage of ourPrintFlat Custom AIS Service which is ready to design a bespoke screen to the exact requirements of your printer and application.

Print before PrintFlat™ is applied
Before PrintFlat is applied.
Print showing PrintFlat™ applied
After PrintFlat is applied.
Working with you

Here at Global Graphics Software we understand how difficult it can be to get started on your digital print journey, and so our Technical Services team is ready to offer free expert advice and help.

Dedicated experts in RIP and screening technology, principal software engineers and color scientists, all with decades of real-world experience, are ready to guide you through the process of selecting the right software components and then successfully implementing them into your press.

We pride ourselves on offering a personal, friendly service and work with you to ensure the fastest time to market.

Talk to us about your project

If you need more information about any of our products, technologies or services, get in touch.