Branchburg, NJ — October 4, 2007 — Agfa Graphics announced today that its plate manufacturing plant in Branchburg, New Jersey (U.S.A) will now also be able to produce the new long-run, no-bake :Energy Elite plate which won the 2007 InterTech Technology Award. In addition, the expansion project will give Agfa the ability to manufacture more of the plates used in North America, including the popular ThermoFuse-based, chemistry-free :Azura and the low-chemistry :Amigo plates. Approximately 20 percent of the world's ThermoFuse plate users are in North America.
"With the widest choice of digital plates available today, Agfa has the right solution for every printing company around the world," said Tom Saggiomo, president, Agfa Graphics, North America. "By enhancing our capabilities at our Branchburg facility, we are strengthening our commitment to our customers by producing more of the world's leading plates right here in North America."
The wide press latitude of Agfa's aluminum plates offers superior water carrying properties thanks to more homogeneous graining and anodizing. Agfa's thermal plate selection includes the dual-layer thermal :Energy Elite which can run up to 500,000 impressions un-baked/1,000,000 impressions baked; the industry-leading ThermoFuse plates :Azura and :Amigo; photopolymer digital plates including :N91 and :N91v; and the robust :P970 thermal plate.
"ThermoFuse technology has helped printers all over North America, and around the world, reduce the use of chemicals and harsh effluents involved in conventional CtP plate processing. The popularity of our ThermoFuse-based product lines has contributed to the need for this expansion to help us meet the growing demand," added Saggiomo.