Ridgefield Park, NJ - October 3, 2006 - Agfa Graphics announced today that The Press, a commercial printer based in San Jose, California (USA), has experienced increased run lengths and lower chemistry consumption since switching to Agfa's ThermoFuseTM :Amigo plate. As a result, the thermal :Amigo plate has saved the company both time and money. "The :Amigo plates produce a consistent, durable image," said Mike Vega, pressroom foreman at the 80-year-old company. "Our previous plates only allowed us to achieve 50,000 impressions. We are now up to a run length of 200,000 with a single plate." The Press is also happy about the lower chemistry usage of the :Amigo plate. The company reported that the company did not need to change the chemistry for seven months after the plates were first used in November 2005. "Not only are the plates reasonably priced, but when you factor in low chemistry usage and disposal costs, not to mention the savings to the environment, it's a win-win situation," added Vega. :Amigo brings the benefits of ThermoFuse technology, popularized with :Azura chemistry-free plates, to high volume printers, including the VLF market. The ThermoFuse technology used with :Amigo plates physically forms the image during exposure. After imaging, the plate requires only a clean-out step to remove the non-image areas. As a result, :Amigo plates offer exceptional stability and consistency. ":Amigo is the perfect solution for printers like The Press who are looking to achieve quality results with extended runs," said Agfa's Susan Wittner, marketing director, North America. "The plates' consistency and durability, coupled with their low-chemistry consumption, are helping commercial printers around the world save precious time and money."