Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The economic shift from west to east
An interview with Stefaan Vanhooren, President of Agfa Graphics about current products and economic development.
By Thomas Fasold
How has Agfa Graphics’ product offering changed since the last drupa?
For the first time we have brought the M-Press Leopard to an exhibition. The M-Press Leopard excels in sectors of digital printing like
homeware and decoration. This complements market the sign & display market which we address with our Anapurna and Jeti solutions. All these systems have obviously evolved to state of the art solutions, including inks and workflows.
This brings me to the importance of the software and workflow that enable our users to approach their customers with web to print, and even cloud based systems, and connect their current pre-press with new digital printing alternatives. We are showing our latest software developments like Arkitex Eversify, a SaaS solution for newspaper publishing on e-media readers and Apogee 8.
Last but not least you will find a strong presence of our plates and equipment solutions for the offset market, with a special focus on chemistry-free plate solutions for both commercial printing applications and for newspapers.
What are the main focus points for Agfa at drupa 2012?
Offset printing is important for Agfa Graphics. We heavily endorse the chemistry-free plate solutions for offset printers, also for demanding users and newspapers. Chem-free plates make printing more sustainable because they are easier to use and easier to clean while offering an extremely stable process and greatly reduced waste.
For the industial and sign&display segment we focus on UV curable inkjet solutions with the widest offering in the industry, which not only includes presses but also inks for very specific applications.
And the software ties all of that together. Efficient workflows are much in demand, especially now that inkjet printers or presses have grown into production assets. Software also links the conventional offset workflow with digital alternatives so integration and connectivity are our primary focus.
Sustainability and care for the environment are important buzz words for drupa 2012. Agfa is reknown fort he plates – is there anything new?
Our solutions that lead to a more sustainable production of print are definitely not restricted to chemistry-free plates. In the meanwhile Agfa has a number of other products and services that help our customers to reduce their impact on the environment: we have press room products that enable them to eliminate the use of alcohol, and we have software solutions that reduce ink. They all make printing a more stable system, which in the end also means a more sustainable solution.
What is the impact of economic growth in the emerging economies?
There is definitely an ongoing economic shift from west to east.
Even though we have European roots, we are very active indeed in all of these markets, not only through local sales organisations (like in Japan) and some well-established and strong local partners, but also with our local plate supply from our manufacturing sites in China, South Korea, the US and Brazil.
We have increased our efforts in recent years to become a strong partner in these markets and we have been able to strengthen our activities and position consider-ably during the past few years, both in offset and in digital printing. The joint venture with Shenzen Brothers (Agfa Graphics Asia Ltd.) opens opportunities for a larger market presence in Greater China and the ASEAN Region. Latin America has traditionally been quite successful but recent investments in the local manufacturing site enable us to be present even more prominently. In India we have a technology agreement with Technova, which allows both of us to focus on the Indian market specifically
drupa Colleague of the Day
Country: Mexico City, Mexico (distance to Düsseldorf 9396 km)
Function title: Business Consultant Inkjet
Job at the booth: Sales of all inkjet products
Lenght of stay at drupa: one week (the first)
Best thing about coming to drupa
To gain new customers; to show the equipment and the new technology, e.g. the :M-Press Leopard
How long have you been with Agfa: 2 years (after the acquisition of Gandi)
Number of drupa’s attended: 2
Favorite Agfa product of all time: :Jeti Titan, because it is the fastest, with a good quality and I like its modularity. I think it is the best of all the engines.
If you would win two flight tickets, where would you go? Hong Kong
drupa Colleague of the Day
Country: Mortsel, Belgium (distance to Düsseldorf 200 km)
Function title: Global Communication Assistant
Job at the booth: Agfa Only: hotels, entrance tickets, demo bookings coordination
Lenght of stay at drupa:10 days
Best thing about coming to drupa
To finally meet the colleagues that you have been emailing and phoning with. The atmosphere between all colleagues. The feeling of being one big team.
How long have you been with Agfa: 15 years
Number of drupa’s attended: 3
Favorite Agfa product of all time: the :Anapurna's
If you would win two flight tickets, where would you go? New York
drupa Colleague of the Day
Name: Jeannie Yee
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (distance to Düsseldorf xxx km)
Function title: Sales Coordinator MarCom activities
Job at the booth: Info Desk aka Check In
Lenght of stay at drupa: full period
Best thing about coming to drupa
To get to meet colleagues that you have emailed but never seen. Also to get to see the huge printers.
How long have you been with Agfa: 10 years
Number of drupa’s attended: This is the first. I had been waiting for ten years!
Favorite Agfa product of all time: the :Xcalibur platesetter, merely because of its name
If you would win two flight tickets, where would you go? Tokyo or Hongkong, I can't decide
Country: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (distance to Düsseldorf xxx km)
Function title: Sales Coordinator MarCom activities
Job at the booth: Info Desk aka Check In
Lenght of stay at drupa: full period
Best thing about coming to drupa
To get to meet colleagues that you have emailed but never seen. Also to get to see the huge printers.
How long have you been with Agfa: 10 years
Number of drupa’s attended: This is the first. I had been waiting for ten years!
Favorite Agfa product of all time: the :Xcalibur platesetter, merely because of its name
If you would win two flight tickets, where would you go? Tokyo or Hongkong, I can't decide
Saturday, May 12, 2012
Agfa extends range of UV inks
From Labels and Labeling
With the growth in single-pass piezo-electric inkjet technology requiring robust specialist UV-curable inks, Agfa is extending its range of Agora and Altamira inks. Already established in the document and packaging sectors, these inks have now also been formulated for use in industrial applications, with major printhead manufacturers partnering with Agfa to bring new opportunities to the digital market.
Agfa’s UV-curable inks are now available for system integrators, OEMs, industries etc in a variety of different formulations, researched and developed for specific market sectors and printhead integration.
The line of Agora and Altamira inks is composed of industrial inks targeted to many specific applications, including marking and coding, transpromotional printing, object and decoration printing, label printing, packaging printing, and a wide variety of other industrial applications.
‘Accurate droplet size with outstanding sharpness and color accuracy is complemented by lowest overall consumption and the ability to generate very fast throughput speeds that exceed 100m/min and guarantee superior adhesion across a wide range of materials and surfaces,’ said the company in a statement.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Agfa Graphics Launches :Advantage N HS Platesetters for High-Volume Newspaper Printers
High-production systems hit speeds of 350 plates per hour, helping publishers extended editorial and advertising deadlines without sacrificing quality
Agfa Graphics today introduced two new high-speed platesetters for the high-volume newspaper market. The :Advantage N PL HS (Pallet Load, High-Speed) and the :Advantage N TR HS (Trolley Load, High-Speed) both run at speeds up to 350 plates per hour, 50 plates more than the :Advantage N. :Advantage N PL will be available for demonstrations at the Agfa Graphics stand at drupa (Düsseldorf, Germany May 3 – 16, Hall 8A).
The :Advantage N PL HS, a completely new design, can hold up to 6,000 plates in a fully-automatic setting - two pallets of 3,000 plates each. The system employs a unique and patented process that pre-separates the plates and slip sheets in the plate stack before plate loading. Regardless of temperature fluctuations, RH issues or long storage periods, the pre-separation process avoids plate and paper jams due to plates or slip sheets sticking together in a plate stack. Agfa's patented auto slip sheet removal process offers less downtime with no paper jams and an efficient procedure for emptying the slip sheet into the "dump area."
"With these new systems, Agfa Graphics again shows its commitment to the newspaper industry by offering state-of-the-art CtP technology that meets the requirements of the premium level newspaper market segment. Like all segments in the newspaper industry, the high-volume segment is also looking for improved production efficiency, cost savings and automation. With Agfa Graphics, newspaper publishers have a company with expertise in hardware, complete workflow solutions and consumables, covering the entire pre-press production area," said Emiel Sweevers, marketing manager for Newspaper Engines, Agfa Graphics, worldwide. "Agfa Graphics' goal is to continue to develop solutions that enable our customers to effectively meet the current market challenges head-on and win."
The :Advantage N PL HS and the :Advantage N TR HS will be shipping at the end of the third quarter.
Thanks to the increased speed, both systems can extend newspaper publishers' editorial and advertising deadlines, giving them the ability to deliver the latest news and last-minute offers to their daily readers. The increased speed will also help newspaper publishers replace multiple, slower CtP engines with fewer, faster ones. This would result in savings on new CtP investments and other costs, such as processing equipment or punch and bending machines. Fewer CtP engines also results in increased floor space.
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