Fremont, California-based wide-format printer manufacturer and workflow software developer EFI announces its acquisition of Xerox’s digital front end (DFE) business, called FreeFlow Print Server.

The companies say that key elements of the Xerox DFE service will be integrated into EFI’s own Fiery DFE, leading to what the two companies are calling a “best in class” DFE offering.

While the integration is occurring EFI says it will continue to produce and support the Xerox DFE, so current customers do not experience interruptions in sales or service.

Formal terms of the agreement were not announced but in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing EFI states that the deal will include a payment to Xerox of $22 million over a period of 18 months. Also, Xerox is committing to purchasing a certain number of DFE packages from EFI annually.

Xerox and EFI have a long-standing partnership. Most recently, Xerox collaborated with EFI to develop a new print server, the Xerox IJ Print Server powered by EFI’s Fiery DFE, to drive the Xerox Trivor 2400 Inkjet Press.

The next generation DFE that comes out of this new partnership will be integrated with EFI’s Productivity Suites, which include management information systems such as PACE, PrintSmith Vision, Monarch and Radius ERP. Additionally, the DFE will integrate with Xerox FreeFlow Core and XMPie workflows as well as other third-party prepress solutions such as Agfa Apogee, Heidelberg Prinect and Kodak Prinergy. The Fiery DFE, which is the industry’s only JDF certified DFE, will also offer a modern API to allow customers to easily develop integration to any customized applications.

This new agreement is for FreeFlow Print Server only and does not impact the Xerox workflow solutions that carry a FreeFlow sub-brand name (FreeFlow Core, FreeFlow VI Suite, FreeFlow Makeready and FreeFlow Digital Publisher). Those workflow solutions will remain independent key planks for Xerox customers’ workflow strategy.