Sherpa Proofing System Able to Meet SWOP’s Industry Specifications Ridgefield Park, NJ – July 1, 2002 – Agfa announced that its Sherpa Proofer has achieved recognition from SWOP Inc., successfully demonstrating that it is capable of producing contract proofs that conform to SWOP industry specifications. SWOP – or Specifications Web Offset Publications – recommends specifications for the use of all those involved in the production of publications -- including advertisers, publishers, printers, advertising agencies and prepress service suppliers. "This recognition proves what Agfa has known all along – that the Sherpa system is capable of producing proofs that meet the requirements for contract proofing and is recognized by industry leaders as being able to produce high-quality contract proofs," said Willy Van Dromme, worldwide director of marketing, Agfa proofing. "We are proud to say that the Sherpa’s abilities have been given the SWOP stamp of approval." The SWOP Test The SWOP certification program requires that manufacturers of off-press proofing systems submit a SWOP Application Data Sheet (ADS) and representative proofs to SWOP to achieve SWOP Certification. SWOP representatives check proofing systems submitted for certification against the supplied Application Data Sheet (ADS) for quantitative conformance and determine the acceptance of each system’s visual match to a SWOP Certified Press Proof. An ADS must provide directions for producing proofs as closely as possible to the appearance of the SWOP Certified Press Proof as defined in ANSI CGATS TR 001. Once a system successfully passes this inspection, it is deemed "SWOP Certified," which means it is capable of producing proofs that match as closely as possible to the appearance of the SWOP Certified Press Proof. Users of the certified system must replicate the formula in the Agfa Sherpa ADS in order to produce acceptable proofs. The certification of the Agfa Sherpa proofer is listed (with a link to download its Application Data Sheet) at: http://swop.org/certification.html About Sherpa The Agfa Sherpa family of piezo-electric inkjet digital color proofing systems is combined with an Apogee Proofer RIP, ColorTune color management software, a dedicated spectrophotometer and AgfaJet proofing paper. The complete system delivers consistent and accurate large format contract proof output. Quality Management Software (QMS) ensures repeatable proofs from multiple proofers at any time and in any location. Agfa developed the Sherpa system to provide affordable, high-quality contract color proofing for a truly automated all-digital workflow. About SWOP Specifications for Web Offset Publications (SWOP) was initiated in 1975 as a response to the printing industry’s need for uniform specifications and tolerances to ensure consistency and quality of material in publications. Over the past 26 years, SWOP has become a major factor in the publication printing industry. The resulting recommended specifications are the concern of all those involved in the production of publications, including the advertiser, publisher, printer, advertising agency, and prepress service provider. For additional information about SWOP, Inc. visit the SWOP Web site at www.swop.org. About Agfa The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world’s leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analog and digital systems, intended mainly for the graphics industry, healthcare, non-destructive testing, micrographics, motion picture and photography markets. Agfa’s headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has 120 agents throughout the world. Together they achieved a turnover of 4,911 million Euros in 2001. Product and company information can be found on Agfa’s home page on the World Wide Web at: www.agfa.com.