Just a couple of months after 8.1, we’re back with Mako Core™ 8.2 and it includes a big step forward for Apex™, our GPU-powered renderer first introduced in 8.0 (April).
What’s new in Mako Core 8.2?
Halftone screening on the GPU
Apex now performs screening via the post-processing API we added in 8.1. Because the work happens directly on the GPU, it’s extremely fast and scales beautifully.
Packed outputs for leaner I/O
You can retrieve screened results as packed bytes (eg 1 bit-per-pixel). Packing also happens on the GPU, so it’s fast and it shrinks the data coming back from the device, boosting overall throughput.
Why GPU-based halftone screening matters in real workflows
GPU-accelerated halftone screening isn’t just a speed boost — it changes how large-scale, heavy-load workflows behave. In prepress and cloud environments where hundreds of jobs run concurrently, moving screening to the GPU prevents CPU bottlenecks and ensures smoother overall throughput. That can mean fewer queue delays, better responsiveness for operators, and higher effective job capacity without adding hardware. This is especially important in industrial or high-volume print applications where every second of processing time impacts throughput and cost per job.
Real impacts you can expect
- Significantly higher throughput for multi-job screening in complex workflows
- Reduced bottlenecks when CPU resources are shared with other tasks (e.g., job scheduling)
- Lower hardware costs by leveraging existing GPUs for screening
This is not just about making a single job faster — it’s about improving end-to-end workflow behavior when systems are running at scale.
Where you’ll see the biggest impact
GPU-based halftone screening is particularly beneficial in environments such as:
- High-volume prepress and DFE systems
Where many complex jobs are screened simultaneously. - Cloud-based or virtualized workflows
Where CPU resources are shared and contention can quickly become a bottleneck. - Interactive or near-real-time applications
Where responsiveness matters as much as raw throughput. - Systems with heavy CPU workloads
Such as those performing imposition, colour management, automation, or analytics alongside rendering.
In these scenarios, moving screening to the GPU can smooth performance and improve overall capacity without requiring additional CPU cores.
What’s next
This is the direction for Mako and Apex: push the right operations to the GPU when it wins, and when it doesn’t, squeeze modern CPUs for everything they’re worth. We’re already exploring additional hot spots in the pipeline where we can deliver noticeable performance gains – sometimes with GPU assistance, sometimes with highly tuned CPU code.
Try it and see the difference
Mako Core 8.2 is available for download now. Pick up the release notes on our documentation site. Run your own benchmarks with Apex GPU halftone screening — and let us help analyze performance gains in your specific workflow.
Visit our website for more information about the Mako Core SDK and Apex technology.
About the author
David Stevenson is the product manager for the Mako Core™ SDK and responsible for the performance component in the SmartDFE™, the AI-accelerated digital front end platform for high-speed, single-pass, roll-to-roll inkjet presses. Throughout his career, he has specialized in electronic documents of one sort or another, starting with Xerox Corporation as a product manager for Venture Publisher, an early star of desktop publishing on PCs. That was followed by a 13-year career at Adobe, specializing in various aspects of PDF, including creative print workflows, electronic forms and accessibility. At Helix he continues to focus on PDF technology and solutions for PDLs.
Further reading:
- Mako Core SDK 8.1 extends GPU pipeline
- Introducing Mako Core v8 now with a revolutionary PDF renderer
- Film: Choosing a print Software Development Kit (SDK)
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