Chicago, Ill – GRAPH EXPO (Booth #4024) – October 10, 2004 – You know the old saying: there are two sides to every story. Agfa is literally going to great lengths – and widths – to show both sides, as the new :Grand SherpaMatic will be demonstrated for the first time in North America at Graph Expo. The :Grand SherpaMatic offers high resolution, wide format, two-sided, automated proofing for imposition and contract proofs. The :Grand SherpaMatic is the fastest two-sided imposition proofer on the market, able to provide an 8-up two-sided proof in less than five minutes. It uses Agfa patented media handling and transport system to ensure accurate and consistent output in two-sided mode. With a 50-inch width, the :Grand SherpaMatic eight-color (CcMmYyKk) system offers double-sided imposition proofing for large format applications at three resolutions: 360 x 360 dpi for fast imposition contract proofing and 720 x 720 dpi and 1440 x 1440 for high-quality color. The throughput speed of the :Grand Sherpa combined with the versatility of Agfa's patented duplex proofing system gives users the :Grand SherpaMatic – a new level of quality and productivity for fully automated double-sided proofing. The :Grand SherpaMatic gives users the flexibility to produce two-sided high quality contract proofs with the 1 x 7 color ink configuration or the fastest imposition proof on the market with the 2 x 4 color ink configuration. Two-sided contract proofs are optimized on Agfa's new dual-sided 140 gm media. This new, high-quality paper with double-sided coating offers the best reproduction for two-sided contract proofs. "The addition of the wide format :Grand SherpaMatic two-sided imposition proofer was a natural extension of our :Sherpa product line," said Agfa's Deborah Hutcheson, senior marketing manager for digital solutions, North America. "We have proofers that come with multiple color capabilities, a variety of widths, and a range of speeds and resolutions. Commercial printers would be hard pressed to find a challenge that one of our proofers couldn't solve." The :Grand SherpaMatic will be available by the end of the year.