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Hydra-Powered Applications Demonstrate Fastest, Most Accurate Color Management in All Print Segments

Built on the Hydra Color Engine, Alwan applications achieve IT8-level accuracy and less than Delta 1 for spot colors in just minutes

Return on Investment in one job

September 8, 2025 – Lyon, France – Alwan Color Expertise will showcase its Hydra Profiling, HydraFix, and HydraSpot applications at LabelExpo (Barcelona, Sept. 16–19) and Printing United (Orlando, Oct. 22–24) this fall. Powered by the Hydra Color Engine, which is Alwan’s patented spectral prediction technology, these applications achieve IT8-level accuracy and less than Delta 1 for spot colors in commercial, packaging, textile, and specialty printing environments… in only minutes.

In addition to powering Alwan solutions, Hydra’s spectral-based technology is also available for custom OEM integrations with strategic partners.

Ease of Use

The greatly reduced number of patches required by Hydra-powered applications make printing and measurement much easier, quicker and fault-free. Anyone who wants to trial a Hydra application and experience its simple operation can do so, at ColorCloud.AlwanColor.com

ROI

Hydra-powered Alwan applications pay for themselves in one job.

Hydra Customer Comments

Horizon Retail Marketing Solutions’ Print Manager Daren Cook spoke of both Hydra Profiling and HydraFix when the Cambridgeshire, UK company nominated Hydra for a Pinnacle technology award, which Hydra received last year.

“We’d struggled with color management,” Cook says. “We invested in a high-end solution that turned out to be difficult and slow. On top of that, support was a challenge. After replacing it with HydraFix, our color is absolutely spot-on. It’s easy to use, fast, and the results are impeccable.”

Alwan applications that utilize Hydra technology include:

Hydra Profiling®:

Hydra Profiling applies the Hydra Color Engine to create ICC profiles of IT8-level accuracy using a fraction of the usual patches. Where conventional methods require more than 1,600 patches for offset, Hydra achieves the same accuracy with 40; flexo requires only 48–84, and digital devices 84–368. This dramatic reduction cuts hours-long printing and profiling down to minutes, while delivering the precision needed for multicolor and expanded gamut (ECG) printing.

HydraFix®
HydraFix ensures digital presses remain color-accurate as substrates and conditions change. In just a few minutes and with 84 patches, HydraFix updates press profiles without the repetitive device linearization and paper-specific queues common in conventional workflows. The result is faster recovery of nominal conditions, consistent ISO 12647 or G7+® compliance, and sharply reduced downtime.

HydraSpot®
HydraSpot extends Hydra’s predictive modeling to spot color production. Digital presses can match colors with less than Delta 1, in only minutes. The added advantage of multi-illuminant optimization allows printers and converters to match brand colors under the actual lighting conditions where products will be seen—whether in retail, packaging, or specialty environments.

Availability
Hydra Profiling, HydraFix and HydraSpot are an all-in-one option available with Alwan’s ColorHub workflow. Hydra Profiling is also available via ColorCloud.AlwanColor.com.

Xavier Niebla, CEO of Delta E Mexico, on Hydra Profiling
Xavier Niebla tested Hydra Profiling on both a sheetfed packaging press with cartonboard and a web press with supercalendered paper.

“I’m genuinely impressed by how Hydra can build such an accurate ICC profile with so few samples,” says Niebla; CEO of the renowned color consultancy, Delta E, based in Mexico City. “I now have a high level of confidence that the ICC profile produced by Hydra is truly representative of the actual print condition. It’s clear that Alwan’s Hydra sets a new benchmark for speed and digital color accuracy. This is a major move forward for color management.”

See Hydra-Powered Applications at Upcoming Events

  • LabelExpo 2025, Barcelona, Spain – Booth #3A12, September 16–19
  • Printing United 2025, Orlando, Florida, USA – Booth #2595, October 22–24

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