EFI has acquired Xerox’s FreeFlow Print Server digital front end business and all related intellectual property for $22 million, to be paid over an 18-month period.
“The strategic partnership will bring to market a next generation digital front end (DFE) to drive Xerox digital production presses,” said Xerox in a statement. “The agreement includes the sale of Xerox’s FreeFlow® Print Server (FFPS) DFE business to EFI. Under the terms of the deal, EFI will continue to produce and support FFPS so current customers do not experience interruptions in sales or service.
“This next step in our strategic alliance will give customers the industry’s highest performing DFE with unparalleled imaging and color management,” said Guy Gecht, CEO of EFI. “EFI integration among the DFE, workflow software, and management information systems products deliver the higher levels of automation and productivity that are key to print businesses taking full advantage of the opportunities with digital printing.”
The next-generation DFE coming from this partnership will be integrated with EFI’s Productivity Suites, which include management information systems such as PACE, PrintSmith Vision, Monarch and Radius ERP. Additionally, the DFE will integrate with Xerox FreeFlow Core and XMPie workflows, as well as third-party prepress solutions such as Agfa Apogee, Heidelberg Prinect and Kodak Prinergy. The Fiery DFE, which is the industry’s only JDF-certified DFE, will also offer a modern API to allow customers to easily develop integration to any customized applications.
Xerox and EFI have established a long-standing partnership. Xerox recently collaborated with EFI to develop a new print server, the Xerox IJ Print Server powered by Fiery, to drive the Xerox Trivor™ 2400 Inkjet Press.