Tokyo, Japan – IGAS (Booth E-3-09) – 23 September 2003 – Agfa announced today that it is showing, for the first time, its latest computer-to-plate (CtP) platesetter for newspaper printers, the :Polaris XD-J, at the International Graphic Arts Show (IGAS) 2003 in Tokyo. The :Polaris XD-J, available with either a violet or FD-YAG laser, offers high productivity and flexibility in a double-wide format. This format was designed specifically to meet the needs of the Japanese and other markets using a similar long-plate press format. Earlier this year, Mainichi Shimbun's Tokyo Metropolitan Center, part of the Mainichi Shimbun Group, the publisher of the third largest newspaper in the world, purchased two :Polaris XD-J systems for installation in its new printing plant in Fukushima, Japan. "We produce 2.2 million copies per day in three printing sites. The other 13 printing sites produce another 3.4 million copies," said Mr Yoshita Shiji, president of Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo Metropolitan Center. "We carefully reviewed options from various vendors and the :Polaris XD-J offered the highest production speed and the greatest image quality. We are confident that we chose the most reliable system on the market," he added. With this upcoming installation, Mainichi Shimbun will join the growing user base of Agfa’s double-width :Polaris systems in Asia. Kochi Shimbun of Japan has been using such systems for over two years and the new printing site of Kokumin Daily of Korea is scheduled for installation later this year. Besides the double-width engines, Agfa has a large installed base of single-width :Polaris all over the world, including Asia. :Polaris XD-J Features. The :Polaris XD-J is a double-wide flatbed platesetter that offers the fastest imaging speeds, flexible plate formats capabilities and proven reliability. It can output 110 1W2L-format plates per hour as well as 2W2L-format plates, a typical combination for Japanese newspapers. Furthermore, the input cassettes allow the housing of over 2,000 plates of different types online.