Automation Without the Manual Work · Julie Watson

Ultimate Tech has been known for years for imposition and finishing automation in commercial print. But over the past four years, the company has been developing increasingly sophisticated solutions specifically for labels and packaging.

At Labelexpo Americas in Chicago, Pat McGrew meets with Julie Watson from Ultimate Tech to discuss what that means in practice.

For Ultimate Tech, automation means exactly that: removing manual work.

The software can dynamically group jobs, batch production, create impositions on the fly, optimize complete print rolls, handle true-shape nesting, and generate the information required for cutting, embellishment, and finishing. The objective is to minimize waste, optimize substrate usage, and make better use of production capacity — without requiring operators to manually build layouts in applications such as InDesign.

And the approach isn’t limited to large companies.

Ultimate Tech’s modular platform can support smaller converters with automation straight out of the box, while larger organizations can connect the same technology with MIS, web-to-print, and other systems across a broader production ecosystem.

AI naturally enters the conversation as well.

Julie makes an important distinction between LLM-based AI and the precision required in print production. Imposition, nesting, and production calculations have to be repeatable and exact. But AI agents can sit upstream, analyze information, make decisions, and send structured instructions into a production workflow where Ultimate Tech then delivers the precise output required.

The company already uses different forms of rules-based intelligence for applications including ganging, nesting, and automatically selecting appropriate impositions.

For label and packaging companies struggling with missed deadlines, underutilized equipment, or too much manual intervention, Julie sees workflow automation as much more than software.

It is a strategy.

And increasingly, choosing a workflow platform also means considering where that technology is going next. Ultimate Tech continues investing in an architecture designed to connect with future automation, AI, and increasingly autonomous production environments.

In this INKISH film, Pat McGrew talks with Julie Watson about label and packaging automation, imposition, nesting, AI, connected workflows, scalability, and why the future of production isn’t simply about automating individual tasks.

It’s about removing the manual work between them.