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We spoke to Kerry Moloney, Senior Product Marketing Manager, and Frank Hueske, Product Line Manager, at Fiery, LLC about how Fiery XF 9 unlocks new ways to produce higher-value large format print.

Club FESPA: What specific problems was this latest iteration (Fiery XF 9) designed to eliminate?

Kerry: We are focused on reducing systemic pain points while making higher-value print more accessible for all. A significant addition to Fiery XF 9 is Fiery FreeForm Create, our free variable data application that makes it easy to add personalisation to any print job. In large format printing, incorporating variable data has often been a manual, fragmented process. Programs like Adobe Illustrator require every user to have a dedicated licence seat, or shops must purchase non-integrated, expensive off-the-shelf packages that take time to figure out. FreeForm Create is a free software application originally designed for cutsheet printing applications that provides a wide range of easy-to-use variable-data and customization capabilities, from variable text and images to customizable QR codes. FreeForm Create is now fully compatible with Fiery XF 9, which creates big benefits for mixed print technology shops that provide both commercial and large format services, with the result being a single unified VDP workflow across the entire print room.

We have also introduced Fiery ColorGuard compatibility to the large format side. Many users view colour verification as a one-off task – validating colour once and moving on – but ColorGuard allows for a continuous analysis of colour performance and more. It is a cloud-based colour control solution that tracks performance over time, identifying precisely when recalibration is necessary, and providing reporting to prove standards compliance to clients. ColorGuard is free for Fiery XF 9 users until the end of 2026.

Also new in Fiery XF 9 is AI Print Bleed. This addresses the common issue where files arrive without sufficient borders for gallery-wrapped canvases. Instead of a press operator or designer manually repeating pixels, this AI-powered feature automatically generates “intelligent pixels” that naturally extend the image to create a polished final result.

Club FESPA: That leads into the AI element. It seems to lower the bar for access by auto-correcting things like bleed. Does this decrease the need for highly technical staff?

Kerry: It certainly bridges the skills gap by automating tasks that previously required Adobe Photoshop expertise. It is particularly useful for shops dealing with “everyday people” who provide “non-professional” files…

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