Washington, D.C. – NEXPO (Booth #2502) – June 19, 2004 – It’s been a busy eight months for Agfa since the conclusion of IFRA 2003. Since that show, Agfa has taken an already impressive product portfolio and made it even stronger, giving newspaper publishers few reasons to look anywhere else for their prepress needs. Advances in Workflow. :Arkitex, launched at IFRA 2003, is clearly the leading choice for prepress digital workflows as more than 150 modules have been sold since its release just eight months ago. :Arkitex uses advanced production planning techniques to simplify and automate the workflow. It is modular and scalable, so it accommodates any size operation and lets the user add functionality as needed. It integrates easily with existing Agfa or non-Agfa systems, so users can make use of current technology, extending the return on assets and lowering the cost of investment. The latest :Arkitex module, :Arkitex Courier, is being shown for the first time in North America at NEXPO. :Arkitex Courier is a complete transmission solution that provides total control and at the same time, gives users full automation. Each operator is provided with a full range of simple-to-use capabilities to make real-time decisions to meet changing production needs. CtP: More, Faster, Better. Since its initial release, Agfa has continued to make enhancements to the :Advantage line. At Drupa, Agfa announced an addition to the :Advantage line of violet systems, the :Advantage CL and :Advantage CLS and they are making their North American debut at NEXPO. These new violet laser-based systems feature a multiple cassette option and automation designed to provide high productivity. The CL does up to 160 plates per hour, while the CLS can reach speeds of up to 220 plates per hour. Agfa launched the :Advantage line with the :Advantage DL at NEXPO last year, specifically to meet the needs of newspapers in North America. To date, 40 systems have been sold. West Penn Printing/CNHI Corp. recently got an :Advantage DL and uses it to produce The New Castle News (New Castle, PA), a daily afternoon paper, and The Sharon Herald (Sharon, PA) a daily morning paper. “We recently went full run with the :Advantage DL on both papers. It was perfect. The papers look awesome, just awesome,” said Brad Susen, production director, West Penn Printing/CNHI Corp. “We are now going full production with CtP, and feeling very comfortable doing it. The :Advantage is a great machine. The plates just look great coming out and the register on the press is awesome. Our color on the paper seems more vibrant and colorful, using the same ink densities. This is great for us, as well as our customers,” he added. Also at Drupa last month, Agfa launched new violet :Polaris systems. The :Polaris XTV-S and XCV-S are more than 25 percent faster than the XTV and XCV. Each new system is now capable of producing 260 plates per hour, enough to satisfy even the most demanding newspaper environments. “Agfa leadership in the CtP arena cannot be denied,” said Agfa’s Sheila Nysko, business development manager, newspaper business, North America. “Agfa leads the market, industry sources indicate, with nearly two-thirds of the CtP installations worldwide. Newspapers in North America and around the world know that for leading CtP solutions, Agfa is the place to go. Customers clearly like Agfa’s concept of providing a full system.”