Onyx 25.5 Upgrade Are you ready

ONYX 25.5 is out. Onyx Graphics released it in October 2026 as an update to ONYX 25, and most of the changes go after two jobs that eat time in a print shop: building white, spot and varnish layers, and getting spot colours to match.

If you bought ONYX after 1 July 2026, or you run a hardware key with an active ONYX Advantage plan, the upgrade costs you nothing. Below is what's new, who qualifies for the free upgrade, and what to check before you install it.

Version: ONYX 25.5, an update to ONYX 25
Available: October 2026
Biggest change: White, spot and varnish layers built in Layout
Free upgrade deadline: 31 December 2026, for RIPs bought since 1 July

What's new in ONYX 25.5

ONYX 25 brought back the Layout tool and added automated nesting. You can read about that in our ONYX 25 launch post. Version 25.5 builds on it with six groups of changes.

White, spot and varnish layers in Layout

You can now create and edit white ink, spot colour and varnish layers inside the ONYX Layout tool. You no longer have to go back to your design software to prepare them. There are controls for masking, knockouts and multi-layer jobs. Media Color Simulation lets you preview the artwork on a coloured or specialty substrate before you print.

Layer settings stay with templates, nests and variable data jobs. Onyx Graphics names decals, labels, packaging and specialty graphics as the jobs this is built for.
Closer spot colour matches

Smart Spot Search and Spectral Color Matching try different ink combinations to find the closest colour your printer can actually produce. Before, ONYX relied on a single ICC lookup. You can also set the rendering intent for spot colours job by job.

For colour-critical work there's spectral reflectance measurement for custom colours, plus metamerism reporting. That shows which colours are likely to shift under different lighting, which matters for brand colours on retail graphics that customers see under shop lights.
8-channel and iccMAX profiling

ONYX 25.5 can build hybrid ICC/iccMAX profiles, which the spectral matching above depends on. It also adds 8-channel ICC profiling for extended-gamut ink sets, such as CMYK plus orange, red, green and blue. A new G7 Status Viewer shows how your profiles and calibration are performing.

Onyx Graphics says the profiling changes also improve support for textile, ceramic, industrial and specialty printing.
Adobe PDF Print Engine 7.1

The PDF engine moves up to Adobe PDF Print Engine 7.1. Onyx Graphics says this improves PDF compatibility, colour fidelity and processing reliability. It also handles transparency in extended-gamut PDF jobs without extra colour simulation profiles.
Cutting and finishing controls

You get more control over registration marks, cut offsets and bleed on print and cut work.
Devices, connectivity and stability
- Support for the Epson SD-10 Auto Chart Reader
- Support for the Barbieri Spectro Swing qb, in its 2 mm and 6 mm versions
- A TCP/IP network connection for the Barbieri LFP qb
- IPP printing, and an expanded Data Access API for linking ONYX to other systems
- Better communication with ONYX Dashboard
- RIP-Queue stability work, including resource leak fixes and MongoDB start-up improvements

Is your upgrade free?

It depends on when you bought ONYX, how it's licensed, and when your ONYX Advantage plan ends.

Your situation	What happens
You bought a new ONYX RIP on or after 1 July 2026	The upgrade to 25.5 is free, but you need to request it before 31 December 2026. If you ordered a soft licence, 25.5 is already included and you only need to download and install it.
Hardware key, ONYX Advantage plan ending on or before 31 October 2026	Onyx Graphics upgrades these licences to 25.5 automatically. If yours hasn't changed, give us a call.
Hardware key, ONYX Advantage plan ending on or after 1 November 2026	Onyx Graphics will email you. Request the 25.5 update before your Advantage plan runs out.
An older licence, or your Advantage plan has lapsed	Speak to us. We'll check your version and licence and tell you what the upgrade involves.

Still on a hardware key? This is a good time to ask about moving to a soft licence. Soft licences update automatically, so you won't need to request the next version.

Before you upgrade

Check your printers and cutters are on the ONYX compatibility list. Onyx Graphics no longer offers printer drivers or install packages for unsupported versions, so the longer you leave it, the harder it gets to add new hardware.
Back up first. Onyx Graphics says your existing media profiles, Quick Sets and configurations carry over automatically, but a copy costs you nothing.
Pick a quiet hour. Onyx Graphics says most users are up and running in under an hour, so do it between jobs rather than mid-run.
If you're new to RIPs or weighing up alternatives, our RIP software range shows what else we supply.

Not sure if your upgrade is free?

Tell us which ONYX version you run and whether it's on a hardware key or a soft licence. We'll check what you're entitled to and talk you through the next step.

Speak to a specialist

Want expert advice on this topic? Call us: 020 7064 9660

Written by Perfect Colours Team

The Perfect Colours team brings 25+ years of specialist expertise in large format print technology, serving customers across the UK since 1999.

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