Agfa Graphics president Stefaan Vanhooren said, “Print and print technology continue to play a crucial role despite the digitization of our daily lives. Print volumes undoubtedly suffer in particular areas and applications (for example, newspapers, magazines and some commercial jobs), yet they are still growing in packaging, wide-format and industrial applications, as well as in the emerging economies, generating plenty of business opportunities. And even in mature printing markets and regions, our innovative thinking and solutions enable our customers to always stay ahead.”
ECO3
ECO3 stands for eco-friendly, economic and extremely convenient. In the field of offset printing, Agfa Graphics focusses on transforming technology into sustainable solutions that create value for its customers. The environmental impact of these solutions is an important factor, yet Agfa Graphics is taking this one step further by adding total cost of operations and convenience to the equation – ECO3. “With the introduction of the Azura printing plate in 2004, we pioneered chemistry-free prepress solutions; we are still the industry leader,” said Joan Vermeersch, vice president technology, marketing and business development prepress. “In the meantime, we also keep improving conventional systems to become more ECO3.”
For drupa, Agfa Graphics also adds the Avalon N8-90 CtP to its family of thermal computer-to-plate systems, and the new Energy Elite Eco printing plate. Also new on the stand will be the pallet loader for the high-end, automated Advantage newspaper CtP systems, and the Advantage N Essentials CtP series.
Wide-format solutions
Agfa Graphics’ Anapurna roll-to-roll and hybrid solutions will be driven by the Asanti workflow at the company stand at drupa. So will the versatile Jeti Mira with the unique dockable roll-to-roll option and Jeti Tauro. “We continue developing the common Jeti platform with the quality and productivity demands of sign and display printing companies in mind,” said Dominiek Arnout, vice president Inkjet, Agfa Graphics. “Users get the most out of our wide-format systems thanks to the tight integration with the Asanti workflow. Now, with the automation features added, the entire printing process is fully streamlined to deliver maximum productivity.”
Software cloud solutions
Besides the new Apogee 10 and Arkitex Production 2.0, Agfa Graphics announced PrintSphere, offering print service providers a cloud-based solution for online data exchange. PrintSphere provides a standardized way to send and receive files including secure back-ups of production databases, all seamlessly integrated with the Apogee, Arkitex and Asanti workflow software.
Packaging South Asia is the cooperating media partner for drupa 2016 which is scheduled to be held from 31 May to 10 June at Dusseldorf, Germany.
