Agfa unleashes its broad vision for the industry at drupa

An astounding array of new and improved solutions spanning the breadth of the graphic arts from commercial printing through speciality to newspapers ensures Agfa’s position as a seminal supplier to the industry.

At the Agfa stand (06/D27) drupa visitors will be able to access the latest developments in most areas of the graphic arts. No other company has such a wide range of solutions or as many pathways into the future.

New CTP products set the pace
A new 4-up thermal CtP imager :Acento is added to the Agfa product portfolio. Following in the footsteps of its successful violet cousin the 4-up :Palladio, :Acento brings the full automation, quality and reliability of thermal imaging to medium size printers looking for a thermal option.

:Acento comes in a variety of configurations, each featuring different levels of automation and speeds, depending on the customer’s needs. For example, the :Acento E, a 16-channel platesetter, produces 10 plates per hour, while the :Acento S, a 32-channel platesetter, produces 20 plates per hour.

There are also three plate loaders available. The :Acento L-300 plateloader keeps 300 plates online in three cassettes (including slipsheet removal); the :Acento L-100 plateloader keeps 100 plates online in a single cassette (including slipsheet removal); and the :Acento L-50 plateloader with manual slipsheet.

In addition Agfa has a new :Palladio targeted at entry-level users. The new system, a 4-up violet platesetter, is a manual loading system with an optional online processor. The Manual-Input :Palladio will be initially delivered with the extremely reliable 5mW laser diode used in the fully-automated :Palladio system. In July, both the manual-input, and automatic :Palladio will switch over to the 30mW laser diode.

The new system outputs plates at a slower rate than the automated :Palladio systems (17 plates per hour compared to 20 plates per hour). The new systems come in at a lower price, removing the barrier of entry to CtP that some commercial printers face.

“This new entry-level :Palladio system gives more printers the chance to get into high-quality CtP at an affordable price. The new system is nearly as fast as the automated version, and provides the same high-quality output,” said Theo De Keersmaecker, Agfa’s director of CtP. “We expect that 30mW violet laser diodes will become the de facto standard for violet imaging.”

The manual :Palladio will be available for drupa. Systems with 30mW lasers will be available after July 2004.

And CTP for newspapers too
The addition of two new platesetters for the newspaper and web commercial printing segments will be displayed at drupa. The :Advantage line, which was successfully launched last year with the entry-level DL violet platesetter, will grow with the addition of two new units - the :Advantage CL and :Advantage CLS.

The new violet laser-based systems, which will be introduced at Drupa later this year, will feature a multiple cassette option designed to provide high productivity. The CL provides speeds of up to 160 plates per hour, while the CLS can reach speeds of up to 220 plates per hour. By utilising violet diodes, Agfa's systems allow users the lowest cost of ownership and exceed the newspaper industry's requirements for speed, reliability and consistency.

The CL series also offers high quality imaging, which makes it the product of choice for the semi-commercial, insert market, as well as the newspaper market.

Not forgetting VLF for the packaging market
:Xcalibur platesetters is the fastest to date. The :Xcalibur XXT, which comes in 45-inch width/8-up (:Xcalibur 45) and VLF formats, features a higher power laser, more beams, a faster drum speed and faster loading/unloading cycle time.

The :Xcalibur 45 XXT does up to 40 plates per hour. Throughput speeds for the :Xcalibur VLF XXT will be announced before Drupa. Both the VLF and 45 models feature Agfa’s HD-CtP next-generation quality, accomplished via the Grating Light Valve™ (GLV™) based laser system. Additionally, both support Agfa’s advanced XM (cross modulated) screening technology, :Sublima. Both the :Xcalibur 45 XXT and VLF XXT will be shown at Drupa in May and will be available later this year.

The addition of XXT to the :Xcalibur family gives Agfa the most complete line of CtP systems available, including a wide variety of automation solutions.

:Azura – a processless plate
Testing has begun on a chemistry-free thermal digital plate to be commercially available before Drupa in May 2004. Responding to customer requests for cleaner and more reliable products, Agfa’s :Azura is an aluminium plate that uses a physical rather than a chemical process to provide high quality, thermal imaging.

Based on the same, proven technology that is used in Agfa’s :Thermolite Plus plates, :Azura is a non-ablative plate that offers very wide exposure latitude, very wide press latitude and run lengths of up to 100,000 impressions.

While in normal thermal plates, a latent image is formed during plate imaging, which then needs to be processed chemically to produce a lithographic image, :Azura plate imaging requires a clean-out or gumming step of non-image areas only. The plates offer excellent robustness for pressroom handling.

“After talking to our customers and understanding what their requirements are, Agfa chooses to first bring a real, working, chemical-free solution that meets most of our customers’ requirements, while the technology also offers a growth path towards truly processless plate,” said Theo De Keersmaecker, Agfa’s director of CtP.

“:Azura, which offers high consistency and excellent contrast, is a gradual progression to eventually having a fully processless plate.”

:Azura plates feature high quality (2-98% dots on plate) for medium volume (up to 8,000 m2/year) users in the 2-, 4- and 8-up format. They provide the benefit of being ecologically friendly, while also providing a total lower cost of ownership.

A new range of proofers
Agfa announced that a slate of new proofing products for the commercial printing segment will be demonstrated at drupa 2004. The new products include a large format, double sided imposition proofer, the :Grand SherpaMatic, and soft and remote proofing capabilities.

The :Grand SherpaMatic is the large format version of the highly successful :SherpaMatic double-sided imposition proofer. With a 50-inch width, the :Grand SherpaMatic eight-colour (CcMmYyKk) system offers double-sided imposition proofing for large format applications at two resolutions: 360x360 dpi for fast imposition contract proofing and 720x720 dpi for high-quality colour.

Additionally, Agfa will be demonstrating :ApogeeX WebApproval + CM for soft proofing and its hard copy remote proofing capabilities using the :Sherpa 24m, :Delano, :ApogeeX and standards such as PDF and JDF.

Agfa’s back in digital printing
Agfa will be demonstrating Direct-to-Press inkjet printing for packaging with dotrix at drupa. The demonstration will feature enhanced configurations of the company's single-pass digital inkjet press – the.factory – designed for industrial print applications. Capable of printing 907m2 per hour at widths of up to 63 cm wide, the.factory is the most productive industrial digital print solution available today.

Alongside the existing stand-alone, roll-to-roll version of the press, dotrix will demonstrate its suitability for point-of-purchase, folding carton applications and roll-to-roll label applications with the integration of a jumbo unwinder and sheet cutter. The area will also feature other Agfa printing solutions, including the new :Grand Sherpa Universal, Agfa’s poster printing system that uses eco-solvent inks.

Barco, the parent company of dotrix, agreed last month to an acquisition offer from Agfa. The acquisition adds digital and industrial printing niches, such as packaging, label printing, decoration, object printing and security printing, to Agfa’s portfolio.

“The addition of dotrix’s technology to the Agfa portfolio will result in increased print production. dotrix’s innovative developments working side by side with Agfa’s imaging expertise will give printers the greatest technology and value available in the graphic arts industry,” said Jan Van Daele, Agfa’s vice president of imaging solutions.

Agfa’s solutions and services can be found at Drupa 2004 in Hall 06/D27.
The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world’s leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems, intended mainly for the graphics industry, healthcare, non-destructive testing, micrographics, motion picture and photography markets. Agfa’s headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has 120 agents throughout the world. Together they achieved a turnover of 4,683 million euros in 2002 (approx. A$8,447 million). Product and company information can be found on Agfa’s home page www.agfa.com.au