Las Vegas, NV (NEXPO Booth #122) – June 16, 2003 – Autologic, an Agfa Company, today announced the development of the :N91v digital plate, the newest addition to its digital plate assortment. The :N91v is a negative-working, violet-sensitized version of the existing :N91 plate, the market leading plate for ‘green’ 532nm laser newspaper computer-to-plate (CtP) systems. :N91v is undergoing initial customer testing and first commercial shipments are expected in the final quarter of this year. :N91v builds on the same stable and robust technology platform of the original :N91, with the same durable characteristics on press and wide working latitude that have made :N91 the market leading CtP newspaper plate. The new :N91v plate has improved coating technology, which is sensitive to the 405nm violet diode. This allows the :N91v plate to be fully compatible with the popular 30mW violet diode CtP systems which offer unprecedented reliability, low cost of ownership and ultra-sharp imaging together with affordable system costs. “At Ifra 2001, Agfa launched the :Polaris Violet CtP system together with the Lithostar Ultra LAP-V silver plate,” said Theo de Keersmaecker, Agfa’s World Wide Marketing Manager for digital plates. “That was the start of the violet story for newspapers. With :N91v, Agfa delivers the photopolymer offering that completes that story.” Newspapers around the world have already taken advantage of the violet diode’s reliability. “In the three years of selling hundreds of violet CtP units globally, we haven’t seen one failure of the violet diode,” added De Keersmaecker. “Violet takes CtP to new levels of reliability and user-friendliness, and newspapers around the world have been the beneficiaries.” Accompanying the :N91v are new photopolymer processing systems, :PD91 and :PD91R. This system - developer and replenisher - allows the user to enjoy the benefits of low chemistry consumption, combined with minimal processor maintenance. The plate making system has been designed distinctively to answer the newspaper market’s needs: reliable, consistent and predictable press performance. :PD91 and :PD91R are universal, chemistry solutions designed to work with both :N91 and :N91v. Their low usage rates, combined with an extended chemistry life enable photopolymer plates to meet the demands of the most critical environment. The introduction of this product portfolio will immediately reduce processor maintenance and allow significant savings on chemistry consumption. Agfa will continue to offer :N91 alongside the new :N91v, and will support both with the complete CtP portfolio of products including platesetter, workflow, proofing and software. :N91v may also be popular with certain commercial CtP printers, but Agfa anticipates that newspapers will account for the bulk of the anticipated demand.