Chicago, Ill – GRAPH EXPO (Booth #4024) – October 10, 2004 – :Alterno, Agfa's new color conversion software for packaging, is making its North America debut at Graph Expo. Announced earlier this year, :Alterno offers additional benefits that current color conversion models cannot achieve. It supports multiple color processes and offers spot color simulation. Based on PDF and Agfa's CMS/QMS technology, :Alterno will be integrated into Agfa's workflow management solution for package printing, :ApogeeX. :Alterno is a software conversion tool that substitutes the many colors that are often used in package printing with fewer customer definable colors and CMYK. In current models, these additional colors are predefined. In addition, :Alterno will work not only with FM screening (frequency-modulated, such as :CristalRaster), but also with cross-modulation screening technology such as :Sublima. "Packaging printers and anyone printing multiple spot colors will considerably benefit from :Alterno," said Agfa's Frances Cicogna, packaging segment manager, North America. "This technology will reduce the number of colors required on press to create and print packaging products with eye-popping impact. The benefits of :Alterno translate into substantial savings in press time for changing inks, ink costs and by allowing the ganging-up of jobs with multiple spot colors into one press run." While current models require color conversion to be defined at the design stage, :Alterno frees the designer of this burden. :Alterno accepts original PDF files and uses color profiles to convert any specified spot color to the appropriate color combination. It does so at the prepress stage and generates in a new PDF file. This means that existing packaging designs no longer need to be reworked before they can be printed in few colors. Additional tools within :ApogeeX workflow management, such as in-screen calibration and alternate screenings, will further enhance print quality and user-friendliness.