SAI to give European debut to number of products at Fespa

Software company SA International (SAI) is showing a number of new products and discussing new partnerships with its European audience for the first time at Fespa.

The RIP software developer is showcasing its new SAI + EnRoute solution for routers in the signmaking industry, along with launching its HP software partnership with HP's new Latex Print and Cut units, plus an upgrade on its MyFlexi mobile app.

The router solution along with the app were given their global launches at last month’s ISA Sign Expo, Las Vegas, along with the HP Print and Cut units. All will be discussed and demonstrated on SAI’s Fespa stand.

“We see the direction forward as being so much more than just having a RIP,” said SAI chief executive Mark Blundell.

“All the software vendors have a RIP but what we are doing is providing more and more value-added to our customers.”

+EnRoute is an add-on to SAI’s Flexi RIP versions 11 and 12, which for an extra $24.95 (£19) a month on top of the Flexi subscription enables users to send a design from Flexi straight to EnRoute to create a routed sign. It also simplifies file clean-up and toolpath preparation of 2D and 2.5D Flexi design files for CNC output.

“It will enable a shop owner in a small shop that we service to see what is being produced in his shop. It enables people to be in touch with what they are doing,” said Blundell.

SAI claims to be the world’s first wide-format RIP developer to launch a mobile app and the MyFlexi app, the company's second, works in conjunction with Flexi to provide users with tools to streamline throughput and reduce production time. The new app has a quoting function that analyses the parameters of a sign and derives a quote from it.

HP will be utilising SAI’s FlexiPrint and Cut software for its new Latex Print and Cut units, also to be given their European debut at Fespa. Blundell said the two had been working together on the bundle for the last 12 months.

“This is part of HP’s attempt to capture a new market for themselves, the sign market, rather than the pure print market where they have been strong for a while," he added.

SAI had its Flexi wide-format printing and signmaking software certified by HP for use with the latest additions to its Latex 300 printer series at the end of last year