Ridgefield Park, NJ – April 18, 2005 – Agfa announced today that a Florida printer has become one of the newest users of :Azura, Agfa's groundbreaking chemistry-free CtP plate. Spotlight Graphics, a commercial printer based in Sarasota, Florida, has switched from a film-based workflow to a chemistry-free one with :Azura running on Agfa's 8-up :Xcalibur 45E system. Spotlight Graphics, a sheetfed commercial printer with 35 employees, provides in-house design, production and finishing services for a wide range of projects. In examining CtP options, prepress manager Chad Lynn needed a system that would help manage project volume by reducing workflow steps. He also needed a system that would produce high-quality plates to fit his 8-up press. When Agfa's :Azura chemistry-free plates became available in an 8-up format, Lynn decided that the :Xcalibur 45 thermal platesetter with the :Azura chemistry-free no-bake plates was a perfect fit. "Technology in the graphic arts industry is advancing so rapidly that when we made the switch to CtP, I wanted to eliminate chemicals from the workflow, too. I didn't want the hassle and cost of disposing waste chemicals," said Chad Lynn, prepress manager at Spotlight Graphics. "The combination of :Xcalibur 45 and :Azura means platemaking is simple, clean and completed in fewer steps." Lynn also noted that :Azura has excellent lithographic performance on press, holding up to Spotlight Graphics' longest press runs well over 100,000 impressions, without wavering in quality. It produces an extremely high-quality image, holding 2-98% dots on plate. In other thermal plates, a latent image is formed during exposure, which then requires a chemical reaction with developer to harden the lithographic image. The :Azura plate requires only a gumming step to remove the non-image areas, resulting in a more efficient and stable workflow. "The combination of the :Azura plate system running on the :Xcalibur 45 gives many 8-up printers the CtP system they've been waiting for. The chemistry-free system has fewer processing parameters to control, which means platemaking is more reliable than ever," said David Furman, Agfa's senior marketing manager, CtP Systems, North America. "The system delivers outstanding quality, which makes it perfect for printers, such as Spotlight Graphics, that do high-end commercial work." Readers who are interested in learning more can contact Graphic Systems at 1-800-540-2432 x4848 or by email at [email protected].