Esko Acquires Stonecube

GENT, Belgium—Esko announced it has completed the acquisition of Stonecube Ltd., a leading developer of print visualization software, for an undisclosed amount. At the same time the two companies announce Esko Visualizer, the first product resulting from their joint development efforts.

Founded in January 2002 and located near Bristol, U.K., Stonecube has been developing innovative, interactive 3D software applications for photorealistic and interactive visualization of special inks and finishes in print applications. The technology shows the resulting effects from various paper grades and other substrates, all kinds of inks including metallics, and decorative finishes such as varnishes, foils, embossing, glitter and flitter. Target applications include high value-added printing such as book and CD covers, greeting cards, and of course packaging and labels.