High-Speed System Adds Extra Black Ink For Optimized Ink Consumption GRAPH EXPO, Chicago, Illinois – October 6, 2002 – Agfa Graphic Systems (booth #3823) announced the newest member of the Sherpa family of digital proofers – the Sherpa 24m – a high-resolution inkjet system. Agfa combines its specially formulated proofing media, advanced in-RIP color management and quality control software with the latest seven-color piezo-electric inkjet technology to deliver a complete contract proofing solution. Agfa uses a second black ink cartridge to equalize ink consumption. "Agfa is in a unique position. The scientists that develop our digital proofing media and our software and hardware engineers all work closely together," said Deborah Hutcheson, Senior Marketing Manager, Apogee Workflow and Digital Proofing Systems. "As a result every one of our proofing components is fine-tuned to work with the other to deliver optimum performance and to provide a completely integrated proofing solution." The Sherpa 24m features seven multi-density inks – CMYKK + LC + LM. The additional black provides greater ink efficiency and light cyan and light magenta – for improved accuracy in matching pastel tints and quarter-tone images. The Sherpa 24m’s high-resolution piezo-electric inkjet engine takes full advantage of ColorTune Pro color management software and Agfa’s resin-coated AgfaJet Digital Proofing Base to deliver superior quality contract proofs. With resolutions of 360 dpi and 720 dpi, the Sherpa 24m also offers three printing speeds: High-speed, Standard and High-Quality. And it accepts paper rolls and cut-sheet paper up to 24 inches in width. The Sherpa 24m gives small- and medium-sized printers a contract-quality proofing system, allowing them to take advantage of the latest advances in digital workflow technology. Its compact size and versatility – from its page-pair proofing to its remote proofing capabilities – make it appealing to the designer and the printer. Complete Proofing Solution The Sherpa 24m includes the Apogee Proofer RIP, Agfa ColorTune Pro color management software, Quality Management System (QMS) and AgfaJet Digital Proofing Base. In addition to providing the industry-standard output profiles (SWOP, Euro Standard, etc) ColorTune Pro lets the user create ICC-based custom output and proofer profiles. It uses technology-specific mapping algorithms to precisely match the different gamut of presses used for specific applications such as newspaper or commercial printing. Custom profiles are editable and assure accurate reproduction of difficult neutral colors. Agfa Quality Management System is software that works in tandem with a spectrophotometer so that all Sherpa proofers within a workflow will have the same tonal response. It checks for consistency from the same Sherpa over a period of time or multiple Sherpa systems in remote locations. Color management is performed in RIP where Pantone and custom color libraries are stored for spot-color applications. Agfa pairs the Sherpa 24m with the high-performance, Windows NT 4.0 and Windows 2000-based Apogee Proofer RIP. The Agfa RIP, which is Adobe PostScript 3, provides automatic queuing and spooling, handles composite or pre-separated files and, in an Apogee workflow, provides absolute digital file integrity. The Sherpa 24m will be available at the end of October 2002.