51 www.signlink.co.uk Issue 263 - February | March 2026 AI IN SIGNAGE | JONATHAN PERT accordingly. As Moloney puts it: “This situational awareness allows it to optimise performance dynamically and prevent disruptions. For operators, it simplifies technical preflight reports into easy-tounderstand language tailored to the user’s experience level.” The other new solutions previously mentioned also use AI features to enhance their effectiveness. Fiery Scribe uses LLMs to intelligently scan incoming job request emails, converting it into a job ticket to eliminate the time it takes to manually input job requests. Fiery InkWise, by comparison, uses AI to analyse a print business’s historical ink usage over time, from which it creates an optimised ink purchasing schedule. Speaking of these new solutions, Moloney says: “These are very much in line with our core mentality: specific, pragmatic, and designed to use their AI intelligence to solve concrete pain points in the daily lives of PSPs.” 2026 has also seen the launch of Fiery XF 9, the latest version of the company’s RIP software for wide-format and specialty printing. XF 9 aims to bridge the gap with some its other technologies and markets, offering the power of Fiery’s DFEs and technical solutions in commercial printing to wide-format applications. In terms of AI tech, XF 9 comes with new AI-powered capabilities which allow print bleed to cover canvas edges with extra image or colour, aiming to avoid trimming issues where bleed is missing. Other new features in XF 9 include compatibility with FreeForm Create 2.0, a variable data printing (VDP) tool already in use by Fiery’s commercial, cutsheet, and high-speed printing users. The tool aims to eliminate the need for external VDP software, providing a ‘one-stop shop’ of solutions. XF 9 is also compatible with Fiery ColorGuard, a cloud-based colour control solution designed to ensure more consistent colour on a wide range of printers and substrates. Fiery views AI as not just a useful tool, but a vital component of its core vision for what digital printing can accomplish. As Moloney explains: “We don’t incorporate AI just for its own sake, or throw it around as a buzzword; rather, we focus on solving concrete, tangible, real-world problems print businesses face by utilising the power of AI to deliver smoother, stronger, more intuitive automation capabilities. “Intelligent AI tools will reduce operator intervention and deliver the most automated solutions possible, where the DFE can do a deep, intelligent inspection and make the right decision for the customer – just like how phones these days automatically pull up the optimal camera settings when you take a picture.” Hyper-Hardware For wide-format hardware distributor, China Print Supplies (CPS), its primary AI offering consists of advanced visual positioning cameras, which are designed as a strategic upgrade for its flatbed printers. The technology employs high-resolution optical recognition and AI analysis tools to precisely identify the placement and orientation of media on the print bed, thereby removing the need for manual alignment. The new AI-improved system from Chinese manufacturer, Dlican, is now capable of working effectively on clear materials, which has traditionally been a challenge for optical systems, widening the scope of substrates it can handle automatically. As Scott Clutton, managing director of CPS, explains: “Manufacturers like Dlican We expect systems that can autonomously detect print errors in real-time and adjust parameters without human intervention ► AI tools are used by print press manufacturers like Dlican to provide ‘advanced visual intelligence’
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