Agfa-Gevaert’s roots in the chemistry and imaging business date back to 1867. Combined with Kodak and Fujifilm, they owned the global imaging film and processing market for decades and, like Kodak and Fujifilm, initially had a difficult time determining their future as film was replaced by digital imaging. All three of them leveraged their background in imaging and chemistry to enter the offset printing plate business, and still compete today with a few others in the global market. Each of the companies has eventually focused its growth on digital imaging technologies including production inkjet applications and complementary solutions and software. In some products and markets, they are still competing, while in others they have rechanneled their focus. 

Today, Agfa business units include: Offset Solutions, which includes plates, chemistries, and software solutions for commercial, newspaper, and packaging industries; Healthcare Solutions, which consists of film and digital image processing and information solutions; and Digital Print and Chemicals, which consists of film for industrial use, conductive polymers, and synthetic media and their line of inkjet printers.

Agfa’s first foray into production inkjet was with the acquisition of Dotrix in 2004, a product that was ahead of its time and ultimately abandoned. Over the years, it has continued to build its digital imaging business around the sign and display market through internal product development and a series of acquisitions. Recently, they have also entered the industrial print market with their InterioJet water-based inkjet system for interior decoration of laminate floors and furniture. Each of these applications requires high-performance inkjet inks and fluid chemistries, one of their core technology strengths and a profitable consumable stream.