Arden Software, which is based in Stockport in the UK, has launched the latest version of its Impact packaging design software. This version moves away from the history-based approach of previous versions to a new parametrics method that aims to capture the designer’s intent as they draw. A further advantage of this approach is that any existing or imported drawing can be resized quickly and effortlessly.
Matthew Hewitt, Business Development director at Arden Software, commented, “Here at Arden Software, we are always striving to bring improvements to our software to deliver the best possible user-experience and time savings for our customers, and we’re confident this latest version will help improve and streamline the creative process for packaging designers, die-makers and brand owners alike.”
Amongst the new features there’s a new on-screen widget that does away with the need for a 3D mouse and gives users camera control, allowing them to click and drag on the widget to interactively control the 3D view without breaking out of the ‘dimension’ tool, for example.There’s a new 3D lock mode that lets users lock the cursor modes both horizontally and vertically on their 3D designs. Arden has reworked the 3D Snapshot tool, adding a new dockable toolbox to allow users to configure the Snapshot tool and take multiple snapshots with ease.
The searching has been improved so that you can now search for tools when configuring keyboard shortcuts to save having to root through the relevant tool category. It’s now possible to show expanded layer details within the Drawings Hierarchy tab of the Impact Explorer for quicker and easier identification, which allows for a rich display of both layer information and database field content.
Arden Software acquired American Software company Cimex in 2020, so not surprisingly it’s now possible to import Cimex CimPACK (*.cim) files, which should give more flexibility for die-makers, CimPACK and Impact users. Impact also gains the ability to add password protection to PDFs on export for enhanced security, as well as directly importing secure PDFs.
Hewitt added, “This latest version of our CAD software marks the last in our extended development cycle, where historically we tend to launch a significant release every two years. However, in line with customer expectations and today’s modern software delivery cycles, we’ll be delivering more frequent releases so Impact users can benefit from new developments more regularly.
Arden Software says that the next major release is due later this year and will include a new design tool set to offer geometric constraint tools, which Arden claims will be a first in packaging design CAD software. Constraint-based design is more commonly used within CAD software in other industries, such as architectural or Mechanical CAD. Hewitt concluded, “The next major release is already hot on the heels of Impact 2022, and it promises to be a gamechanger for the packaging design industry with the introduction of constraint-based design.”
Arden Software was set up in 1988 as part of the Arden Group, which itself dates back to 1965 when Arden Dies was founded by two brothers, Frank and Philip Poynter and their friend George Snowball. In the 1980s Arden partnered with the German company Marbach, and in 2008 the company expanded into the US market. The group now employs 165 staff and has an annual turnover of £11 million (approximately Indian Rs 110 crore).
The Impact software was originally called Interactive Packaging Design before being renamed in the 1990s. Arden Software employs 60 people worldwide including a compact Asia Pacific team in India led by Manish Bhaskar. In May 2022, the company expanded its Asia Pacific operations based in India and its office from Delhi to larger premises in a new office complex in Hyderabad in Southern India.
Reprinted by permission fom www.nessancleary.co.uk with inputs from Naresh Khanna.
