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Question

Which combinations of Automation Engine and Digital Flexo Suite/PlatePrep are supported?

Answer

This page contains compatibility information between Automation Engine and Digital Flexo Suite/PlatePrep in the mode when connecting to Automation Engine.

Manual Merger in "Automation Engine mode"

The following chart lists compatibility of the "Manual Merger" (a.k.a. Digital Flexo Suite) in Automation Engine mode with the Automation Engine Server:

		Digital Flexo Suite Version
		23.3	22.11	22.7	22.3	20.1 5) 7)	20.0 5)	19.1	19.0	18.2	18.1	18.0	16.1	16.0
Automation Engine Version	SaaS (any version )
	23.07
	23.03
	22.11
	22.07 8)					9)
	22.03 8)
	21.11 7)						6)	4)
	21.07						6)	4)
	21.03							4)
	20.1.0							4)
	20.0.0							4)
	18.1.1							4)
	18.1.0						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)	1)
	18.0.1						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)
	18.0.0						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)
	16.1.1						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)
	16.1.0						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)		1)
	16.0.2						2)	2)	2)	2)	2)

: Supported under certain conditions/limitations.

1) Manual patching of the DFS installation is required, aeclientfordfs.jar from the DFS installation needs to be replaced by the one, which is in the installation of the Automation Engine Pilot. However, it is recommended to upgrade Automation Engine to a fully supported combination. 

2) The Manual Merger is using an optimized Merging algorithm (only extend the frames at the side where the label will be added), this new algorithm is not supported in the headless merger of Automation Engine. You can however use this version of the Manual Merger but setting the Press Plate Margins to 4 mm in the Merge Queue setup in Automation Engine. This way the Margins of the Press Plate will always be 4 mm around each Press Plate, so these older versions of Automation Engine will be able to create this requested Merged Plate. This can lead to a bit more waste of the Flexo Plate material.

3) In some rare cases, there are issues with the optimized merging algorithm in the headless merger in Automation Engine 18.1.1. In case of encountering these issues, make sure to set a margin of 4mm or higher to the Merge Queue setup in Automation Engine. This can lead to a bit more waste of the Flexo Plate material.

4) In the Manual Merger 19.1.x, there is currently an issue for layouts, where the margin is only extended at one side and when sending this layout to Automation Engine. This issue is planned to be solved in the Manual Merger 20.0. As a workaround, set the Press Plate Margin to 4mm or higher to the Merge Queue setup in Automation Engine. This can lead to a bit more waste of the Flexo Plate material.

5) In order to work properly, you need DFS 20.0.14 or higher.

6) In case the manual merger is used to generate merged plate for TIFF devices, DFS 20.0.18 or higher is required. 

7) For using Plate ID, you need DFS 20.1.4 or higher for the Manual Merger application and Automation Engine 21.11. For a compatibility list on Plate ID, please check KB341861822. 

8) Only DFS 20.1.8 or higher are supported

9) DFS 20.1.x connected to an Automation Engine server, works only for existing functionality. So, if solvent saver is used on Automation Engine, it is not supported, then upgrade to DFS 22.3 or higher.