Leipzig, Germany – IFRA, 17 October 2005 – Agfa and Punch Graphix announced today that have extended their development and manufacturing partnership. Under the agreement, Punch Graphix will be the exclusive manufacturer of the :Polaris and :Advantage CtP platforms. Agfa will be the sole marketing and sales channel for :Polaris and :Advantage. Of the more than 1500 Agfa CtP installations, one thousand were manufactured by Punch Graphix (formerly known as Strobbe Graphics). Punch Graphix has manufactured the :Polaris platesetters since 1996 and the :Advantage since 2004. "This partnership has benefits for both partners but more importantly, for our customers," said Emma Isichei, director of Agfa's newspaper business worldwide. "We have secured for them a unique combination of manufacturing excellence, innovation power and market leadership so we can continue to offer dedicated newspaper CtP in tandem with workflow software and offset plates. It's the total systems offering and good customer service that have made us a leader." "Over the past 10 years we have achieved remarkable business growth together with our partners from Agfa," said Piet de Paepe, general manager Punch Graphix Prepress Belgium. "This would not have been possible without the quality and dedication that both partners bring to the relationship. Our swiftness to react to real market needs is definitely the key to success."