Welcome to the world of professional imaging technology.

SOFHA® GmbH founded in 1981 develops software products and technologies requiring high performance image processing solutions. These technologies are covering high resolution image data handling and state of the art accurate color management.

Thanks to our co-development partnership with Adobe Systems, including source code licenses for Adobe® PostScript® (CPSI) and Adobe® PDF Print Engine (APPE), SOFHA provides solutions of unmatched performance driven by innovative technologies based on industry standards.

As an OEM/ODM partner of leading printer manufacturers, SOFHA offers superior controller technology for both the commercial and industrial printing markets. Moreover SOFHA develops intelligent print workflow solutions, controlling the whole print production process using the JDF/JMF standard.

SOFHA offers additionally consulting and development services up to market-ready turnkey products for the broad range of customer required solutions.

The SOFHA Mission

Technology is changing and market demands are growing rapidly. Today's challenge is to become and remain the leader, not just to keep track of technology. Customers expect state-of-the-art performance at affordable prices.

Technology leadership requires very special skills and an outstanding degree of expertise. It requires to focus on core technology instead of wasting development effort in other areas.

Over 35 years of experience made SOFHA the first choice for providing leading-edge controller technology for imaging solutions.

SOFHA's objective is to be the number one partner for implementing market-ready imaging solutions within shortest time-to-market at the lowest possible cost.

Timeline

  • 1981 Founded in Berlin, Germany.
  • 1984 SofhaSCRIPT is the first European interpreter compatible to PostScript, developed for phototypesetters.
  • 1985 Complete hardware/software RIP solution with gate array chip for hardware-accelerated font rendering.
  • 1986 Printer drivers for Mac OS and MS-DOS®.
  • 1988 First high-end printer products with integrated SOFHA raster image processor.
  • 1992 Development of PS² (Page-Separated PostScript), the first page-independent interpreter technology.
  • 1993 Release of the Linux®-based POD Server® (Printing-On-Demand Server) for the Xerox® DocuTech®.
  • 1994 SOFHA becomes the independent European co-development partner of Adobe Systems.
  • 1996 Linux-based ProfiRIP® platform, combining POD Server® technology with genuine Adobe PostScript.
  • 1999 SOFHA DocuFLOW® cluster printing and variable data printing technology.
  • 2003 Launch of the new POD Server®, the complete workflow solution for high-volume color printing applications.
  • 2004 Database Print Manager™, a software package for PDF-based variable data printing.
  • 2004 SOFHA does the development of a printer-driver plug-in technology for Konica Minolta‘s PostScript based raster-image-processors. 
  • 2006 SOFHA becomes source code licensee of the Configurable PostScript Interpreter (CPSI) of Adobe Systems.
  • 2006 SOFHA supplies CPSI interpreters including SBL technology to Konica Minolta for Konica Minolta‘s embedded RIPs for their light production laser printers.
  • 2008 Integration of spot color overprint and spot color overprint simulation capabilities.
  • 2008 SOFHA becomes Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE) licensee.
  • 2010 Strategic partnership with Atlantic Zeiser, a market leader in industrial printing and coding.
  • 2011 First industrial printing solution with SOFHA Live Variable Data Printing technology.
  • 2012 SOFHA starts the development of the digital front-end "IJ-Manager" for Konica Minolta‘s high-speed inkjet printer KM-1 with an unmatched performance in Print-while-RIP.
  • 2013 Development of a web-based printer management software called ProfiWEB.
  • 2015 SOFHA and Konica Minolta enter into a close strategic alliance.
  • 2016 IJ-Manager and KM-1 are officially introduced at DRUPA in Düsseldorf

Solutions

Printer manufacturers are experienced specialists in their field of printer technology. As their digital printing machines become more and more powerful, they realize that their controllers cannot compete with the high standards set by their print engines.

It is still feasible to build a controller for basic requirements, but this controller could not make use of the potential of the print engine. How many years does it take to catch up on the performance gap? How many customers will be lost meanwhile? And what does all this cost?

SOFHA can provide the competitive controller solution, making the most of the printer's potential.

We can do it!

Technology changes, but there is a guideline to maintain compatibility with the rest of the world:

Standards are the key to exchange data across borders and to safeguard earlier investments.

SOFHA honors standards and contributes to their future development by working in DIN and ISO working groups and FOGRA.

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Partners

SOFHA became the independent European co-development partner of Adobe Systems in 1994.

Thanks to source code licenses for Adobe PostScript (CPSI) and Adobe PDF Print Engine (APPE), SOFHA can provide industry standard PostScript and PDF solutions of unparalleled performance.

SOFHA offers PCL interpreter technology from Artifex Software Inc..

SOFHA offers PCL font technology from Monotype™ Imaging Inc..