Chicago, IL - Agfa Graphics announced today that Real Graphix (www.realgraphix.com) of Bensenville, IL, is making positive strides even during today's tough economic times. They have done so by automating their shop with Agfa's :Apogee Suite version 6.0 workflow. Real Graphix also reduced waste, cut costs, stepped up quality and decreased turnaround time with a new :Avalon N4 platesetter and the :Azura TS Thermal Plates.
 
Real Graphix has come a long way since its humble start when two young brothers bought a small print shop out of a garage in 1985. Until the aforementioned recent upgrades, Real Graphix had been running a film imagesetter along with analog plates. This was a costly and labor intensive approach that had become outdated and unnecessarily slow. Seeing the need to continually improve customer satisfaction and reduce expenses, Real Graphix began the search for alternatives. After shopping the solutions from many companies, they chose Agfa, in large part due to the :Azura TS plate.
 
"With the :Azura TS plates, :Avalon N4 platesetter and :Apogee workflow, we are saving money when compared to our old process. The higher efficiency yet decreased cost of plating jobs gives Real Graphix the ability to offer more competitive prices, thereby increasing the amount of incoming jobs. Plus, we've reduced chemistry costs and eliminated time-consuming maintenance which is also a major savings," said co-owner Joe Alfirevic. Co-owner Ken Alfirevic also offered, "It just made sense for us to get rid of the former equipment and make the investment for our business. This move has helped Real Graphix, especially now in a down economy. :Azura TS is a cleaner and more effective solution and we have actually increased our quality. The register is great and we've gone up to a higher line screen on our process work. Now we have a more competitive edge."
 
- The :Azura TS thermal plate uses a simple process via a clean-out unit (COU), making plates press-ready without chemical processing. With :Azura TS, water consumption and waste are considerably reduced
- Agfa's :Apogee Suite is an integrated, digital workflow solution that brings together a wide range of features, combining automation with process control of the entire workflow in real time, from a single drag-and-drop graphical user interface
- The :Avalon N4 thermal platesetter offers a convenient solution for companies like Real Graphix. This system is a perfect fit for the small to mid-size printer market for 4-up and 6-up applications. The :Avalon N4 has a maximum imaging speed of up to 21 4-up plates/hr.  
 
"Real Graphix is proof that printers around the country, who are facing increased financial pressures, can benefit from automation and eco-friendly printing solutions. Together, these solutions are helping commercial printers provide outstanding output and protect their profit margins," said Peter Wilkens, President of Agfa Graphics.