Agfa unveils additions to its newspaper pre-press range

Agfa Graphics unveiled the latest additions to its range of pre-press equipment for the newspaper sector, at Ifra Expo in Hamburg last week.

The Belgian manufacturer used the event to launch the Advantage N XXT, which with an output of 300 plates/hour at 1,270dpi is the fastest in the Advantage N range.

Agfa said the platesetter, which will be available from February 2011, was designed to help save costs while improving quality and productivity.

Rainer Kirschke, newspapers division sales manager at Agfa, added: "The improved image quality opens the door to new business opportunities in the hybrid printing market."

Agfa also launched the VXCF dedicated clean-out unit for its N92-VCF chemistry-free violet digital plate at the show, which uses a pH neutral gum to produce the plate and can slash waste by up to 40%.

In addition, the VXCF is claimed to enable a "significant productivity increase" in the production of N92-VCF plates, which can reach more than 300 plates per hour.

On the software front, Agfa demonstrated the latest upgrades to its Arkitex workflow management software suite, including new versions of its Analyst, Director, IntelliTuneX, Optilnk, Portal, and Vantage modules.