What Grafikontrol does

Grafikontrol Controlli Grafici e Industriali SpA is an Italian industrial manufacturer specializing in high-performance quality control equipment for the printing and converting industry. Founded in 1969 in Milan by Antonio De Grandis and Umberto Filippi, the company has operated for over 50 years under family ownership, now led by the second generation (Paolo De Grandis, Davide Filippi, Carlo Artuffo). Its core technology is the TQC-360° modular platform, which integrates 100% print inspection, color register control, in-line color measurement (spectrophotometry), web viewing, and defect tracking into a unified operator interface. The product portfolio spans four application verticals: Offset (CR25-CR26, CR25TPLT, GRAFIKOLOR, PM3, LYNEX PLUS), Packaging/Flexo/Rotogravure (MATRIX PLUS, MATRIX C/S, PARVIX, LYNEX PLUS, LYNEX C/S, PROGREX PLUS, EASY-TRACKER, CHROMALAB, CR50), Narrow Web/Labels (LYNEX-S), and Extrusion (LYNEX B/W). Systems operate at web speeds up to 1,000 m/min and detect defects down to 0.05 mm.

The company's business model is built on industrial equipment sales — cameras, sensors, control electronics, and integrated software sold to commercial printers, newspaper printers, packaging converters, label printers, and film extruders. A 15-year post-sale spare parts guarantee creates a long-tail service and components revenue stream layered on initial hardware sales, complemented by remote and on-site technical assistance through a dedicated helpdesk. Go-to-market is exclusively through a worldwide network of agents and distributors specialized by print sector, supplemented by direct sales offices in Milan (Italian headquarters) and Camp Hill, Pennsylvania (Grafikontrol North America, Inc.), collectively covering more than 50 countries across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The company holds ISO 9001 quality certification and a registered share capital of €8,030,900. No external funding rounds, acquisitions, or public listing have been disclosed; ownership remains within the founding families.

Name

Grafikontrol

Legal name

Grafikontrol Controlli Grafici e Industriali SpA

Website

https://grafikontrol.it

Company type

Private

Founded year

1969

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Grafikontrol is an Italian industrial manufacturer of modular print quality control equipment — including 100% print inspection, color register control, and in-line spectrophotometry — serving commercial printers, packaging converters, label producers, and film extruders globally through a 50+ country agent network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Print Quality Control Equipment

NAICS

Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516), Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (81121)

SIC

Printing Trades Machinery & Equipment (3555), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823), Measuring & Controlling Devices, Nec (3829)

akta.pro primary industry

Production & High-Volume Printing Systems (HDACAEAJ)

Keywords

• Print inspection systems
• Register control equipment
• Color measurement systems
• Web viewing systems
• Printing industry equipment

Headquarters

HQ city

Milano

HQ country

Italy

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Industrial Equipment Sales: Grafikontrol designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance press control equipment including print inspection systems, register controls, color measurement instruments, and web viewing systems. The company provides post-sale spare parts with a 15-year guarantee, suggesting ongoing revenue from service and components.
2. Technical Assistance & Support Services: Remote and on-site technical assistance services offered through a dedicated helpdesk. Assistance requests can be submitted for both on-site and remote support, indicating a service revenue stream complementing hardware sales.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Grafikontrol designs, manufactures, and sells high-performance press control equipment for the printing and converting industry. Its portfolio includes 100% print inspection systems, color register controls, in-line spectrophotometers, and web viewing systems used on offset, flexo, rotogravure, and digital presses. The TQC-360° modular platform integrates these capabilities into a single operator interface that supports modular upgrades, defect detection down to 0.05 mm, and web speeds up to 1,000 m/min.

Product overview

Grafikontrol is a manufacturer of high-performance equipment for the printing and converting industry, founded in 1969 and recognized as a world leader for over 50 years. The company offers the TQC-360° modular platform encompassing products across four sectors: Offset (CR25-CR26, CR25TPLT, GRAFIKOLOR, PM3, LYNEX PLUS), Packaging (MATRIX PLUS, MATRIX C/S, PARVIX, LYNEX PLUS, LYNEX C/S, PROGREX PLUS, EASY-TRACKER, CHROMALAB, CR50), Narrow Web (LYNEX-S), and Extrusion (LYNEX B/W). The portfolio provides total quality control solutions including 100% print inspection, register control, and in-line color measurement for gravure, flexo, offset and digital printing processes.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CR25-CR26 Color register control system for web-offset presses in commercial and newspaper printing, using high-speed matrix video cameras with micro-marks to perform automatic circumferential and lateral register control. The CR26 variant is positioned between the last unit and the dryer.
• CR25TPLT Longitudinal and sidelay register control system for cutting and folding operations, using advanced electronic technologies and high-speed matrix video cameras.
• GRAFIKOLOR System for measurement and color control in printing presses that allows accurate measurement and maintenance of ideal printing conditions through special marks and real-time corrections to ink keys.
• PM3 Web defects detection system that continuously checks paper quality from reel-stand to press delivery, distinguishing web breaks caused by paper quality from those caused by press settings.
• LYNEX PLUS (Offset) 100% inspection system for offset presses using 4K-pixel linear cameras for defect detection on any type of substrate and web width, with PDF/LIVE Master comparison software.
• MATRIX PLUS Web viewing and print inspection system using a 9.6 Megapixel camera with 16X zoom for analysis of print details down to dot level, with LED illuminators, multi-touch interface, barcode verification, and color monitoring.
• MATRIX C/S Dual camera system that performs simultaneous front-to-back register comparison, allowing real-time display of front and back print for verification of overlapped images.
• PARVIX Smart web viewer that enables real-time visualization of printed images with magnification to dot level, using an RGB matrix camera with continuous scanning of the whole print repeat and up to 32 inspection positions.
• LYNEX PLUS (Packaging) 100% print inspection system operating at web speeds up to 1000 m/min using 8K-pixel linear cameras for defect detection down to 0.05 mm on printed or unprinted substrates; discriminates defects by size and type.
• LYNEX C/S 100% inspection system for transparent varnish and coating that clearly discriminates varnish or coating defects from print defects, with detection by size and type, sensitivity adjustment per defect type, and a 6-month production database.
• PROGREX PLUS Combination of 100% inspection (LYNEX Plus) and web viewing (MATRIX Plus) managed by a single operator interface for total quality control on packaging presses.
• EASY-TRACKER Defect tracking system for traceability through the entire production process, with programmable sync-codes (2.5 mm x 35-40 mm) carrying job, roll, and meterage data, automatic slitter stops for defect removal, and label printing.
• CHROMALAB In-line spectrophotometer providing real-time color measurements including spectral curves, ΔE, L*a*b* values, density, and dot gain, with motorized traverse for automatic positioning and automatic ink dose correction.
• CR50 High-accuracy color register control for mechanical and e-shaft presses, using fiber optics scanners with auto-adaptive amplification to detect low-contrast colors on any substrate and reduce waste during make-readies, acceleration, and splices.
• LYNEX-S 100% print inspection system for narrow web presses with modular architecture for gravure, flexo, offset and digital presses, including semi/automatic register and color monitoring options.
• LYNEX B/W 100% defects inspection system for extruders that inspects opaque and transparent extruded films using 4K, 8K, or 16K pixel monochrome cameras with LED illuminators, detecting gels, holes, infusions, and insects.
• TQC-360° Platform Innovative modular platform integrating Grafikontrol's inspection, register control, color measurement, and web viewing products, allowing components to operate separately or together through a single operator interface with modular upgrades over time.
• Technical Assistance & Support Services Remote and on-site technical assistance services delivered through a dedicated helpdesk ([email protected]), supporting both on-site and remote support requests for installed Grafikontrol equipment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Web speed up to 1000m/min with real-time defect detection
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature11 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TCE PrintingminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 4 June 2026Grafikontrol's Parvix web viewer systems were installed on TCE Printing's flexo press for demonstration purposes at Plast 2026 trade fair in Milan, showcasing print inspection capabilities on tubular substrates.
• Orion Co.coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 30 January 2026Orion Co. serves as Grafikontrol's agent for Saudi Arabia, facilitating presence at regional trade shows such as Saudi Print & Pack 2026. The partnership enables Grafikontrol to reach customers in the Saudi Arabian market and broader Middle East region.
• Sabre EquipmentminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 27 January 2023Grafikontrol and Sabre Equipment co-organized the Future Pack Road Show 2023 in South Africa (March 6-10, 2023), visiting Johannesburg, Durban, and Cape Town. The partnership combines Grafikontrol's inspection technology with Sabre Equipment's local market presence.
• Soma EngineeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 November 2019Grafikontrol collaborated with Soma Engineering to develop a high-performance flexographic press for Bomarko, a leading US food packaging company based in Indiana. The collaboration combined Soma's press engineering with Grafikontrol's inspection and control technology to create a state-of-the-art printing solution.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Nireco Corporation: Japanese manufacturer of web control, register control, and inspection systems for printing, converting, and film processes. Comparable scope of register control and inspection equipment for offset, gravure, and coating lines.
• Erhardt+Leimer: German manufacturer of web guiding, tension measurement, and surface inspection systems for textile, film, and printing production. Overlaps with Grafikontrol in web inspection and process control for converters.
• BST eltromat International: Germany-based supplier of web guiding, web inspection, register control, and color measurement systems for the printing and converting industry. Direct competitor in CR-series register controls and web inspection that Grafikontrol addresses.
• EyeC GmbH: German print inspection specialist focused on packaging, labels, and printed matter proofreading/artwork verification. Competes with Grafikontrol's print inspection modules in label and packaging converter inspection.
• AVT (Advanced Vision Technology, now part of Danaher): Israel-based print inspection specialist serving labels, packaging, and commercial print with 100% inspection and workflow automation. Direct competitor to Grafikontrol's LYNEX, MATRIX, and PARVIX product families across label and packaging converters globally.
• ISRA VISION (now part of ATS Corporation): German industrial vision and surface inspection specialist offering web inspection, color measurement, and quality control for printing, packaging, and converting. Highly overlapping product portfolio with Grafikontrol across offset, flexo, and rotogravure segments.

Broad incumbents

• Koenig & Bauer: German press OEM for offset, flexo, and digital printing systems, with embedded quality control and color management capabilities. Like Heidelberg, competes at the press platform level rather than as a standalone inspection specialist.
• Bobst Group: Swiss supplier of packaging printing and converting equipment (flexo, gravure, digital) with integrated inline inspection and register control. Adjacent competitor in packaging converters where Grafikontrol's systems are installed.
• Heidelberger Druckmaschinen: German offset press OEM with Prinect workflow and inline color/inspection modules embedded in its press platforms. Indirect competitor because it sells integrated inspection suites, but operates at much larger scale with a broader portfolio that includes presses, software, and service.

Emerging players

• Quad/Tec (Spectra Sciences): Specialized supplier of color measurement, register control, and press automation for the printing industry, particularly commercial offset. Overlaps with Grafikontrol's GRAFIKOLOR and register-control product lines for offset printers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/Grafikontrol/videos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/grafikontrol-spa/mycompany

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Grafikontrol