Description
Global Graphics Software is a group of companies known for their digital printing products, including the Harlequin and Jaws RIPs. In May 2009 the company launched gDoc Fusion,an edocument builder software application designed for ease of use to create, review, edit, share and archive PDF and XPS documents.
On 1 December 2009, Global Graphics launched enterprise-level free PDF creation software; gDoc Creator.Global Graphics started in Nancy, France in November 1996 and was listed on the Euronext market in Brussels. An initial public offering on the Easdaq market started trading on June 23, 1998 with a total of 765,000 shares, increased from 680,000 in the March prospectus.
On June 30, 1998 the company finalised the acquisition by its wholly owned subsidiary, Photoméca, of the Italian company AZ srl, who manufacture flexographic equipment.
On 2 May 1999 the company acquired Heights Design Production Ltd, a manufacturer of lithographic plate-processing equipment and proofing equipment based in Wainstalls, near Halifax, U.K.On 21 April 1999 the company signed a letter of intent to buy Technigraph Products Limited, a Thetford based provider of lithographic processing equipment, to be completed in July.
On 12 July 1999 the company bought Harlequin Group Plc after Harlequin Ltd (the R&D company in the group) went into receivership, and have since used the Harlequin RIP products to build a product portfolio in the graphic arts and commercial print, newsprint, digital print, and document markets.
During 1999 the company also acquired ICG, a scanner and platesetter manufacturer.On August 29, 2000, Jaws Systems Ltd was formed from the Digital Publishing division of 5D Solutions Ltd., bringing the existing products Jaws RIP and Jaws PDF Creator into the Printing Software division.[4] The company business model includes selling software to OEMs who build products around it; for example, by licensing RIP software for use by laser printer manufacturers who embed the software inside their printer.
In 2001 the company reorganised its subsidiary companies, with former hardware businesses Photomeca, Colomag, Kelleigh, AZ, ICG, Heights Technologies and Technigraph forming the Hardware Division, and Harlequin Limited, Harlequin Inc, and Jaws Systems Limited forming the Software Division. The Hardware division of the company, which dealt in lithographic, flexographic, letterpress and scanning equipment, was sold in October 2002 to a group led by the former head of the hardware division, Gary Jones, who had resigned from the board in February.
In 2003 Global Graphics was chosen by Microsoft to provide consultancy and proof of concept development services on XPS and worked with the Windows development teams on the specification for the new format.