Page 44 - Print 21 Magazine Jan-Feb 2019

Digital Technology
Low countries,
High technologies
Belgium and the Netherlands may be small in size, but they are at the forefront of print technology, as Print21 editor Wayne Robinson discovered when he took time to visit Agfa, Esko, Océ and Xeikon.
Although they are two of the smallest countries
in the developed world, the Netherlands and Belgium are making major contributions to the development
of print. A history of invention and innovation is deeply embedded in
the cultures. An enthusiasm for high technology has seen the emergence of world brands in many different areas of science and technology. In the story of printing, companies such as Agfa, Esko, Océ and Xeikon are building on years of work to emerge as trailblazers in the modern age.
During my travels through the Lowlands, I am privileged to meet and interview some of the people behind the technologies that are shaping the future of printing, not only in Europe but in Australia and New Zealand, and around the world.
Agfa – film to digital
Agfa is perhaps best known in the printing industry as one of the three major offset plate suppliers. Until
the arrival of CTP it was also the major manufacturer of imaging film, in addition to its well-known photo cameras. Since the onset of the GFC and the recalibration of the print industry, Agfa has had to adjust and, to a great extent, reinvent itself. It made its move into inkjet wide format print systems in the early part of the century, a move that proved essential to its business.
Plates remain a huge part of
the company. Volumes have been maintained even as print runs decrease in size, and more jobs in a shorter time ensure the demand for plates is holding steady. To handle the greater number of changeovers, Agfa has increasingly turned its focus onto workflow and automation.
I meet Guy Desmet, director of pre- press at Agfa at the company’s plant in Mortsel, Belgium. He tells me the
company’s drive now is to optimise production systems.
“We are now producing systems that need no pallet loading for 1200 plates. For the large short-run printers like Flyer Alarm and Vistaprint this is essential,” he says. “Virtual lights-out prepress from Agfa is here; the only human action required is in loading and unloading the pallets. Everyone wants optimised systems, and we achieve this by aligning our digital workflow Apogee with CTP.”
Processless plates have been around since drupa 2004, but longer run lengths remain a challenge for all manufacturers. Agfa has responded with chemistry-free plates, which have none of the drawbacks of processless plates.
Processless is in fact a bit of misnomer, as the plates are still actually processed – rather than being washed in a separate processing bath after exposure, they are developed
on the press. While processless or on-press plates do away with one
step, they require longer to come up to registration on the press and do create more waste sheets, so it is give and take – but there’s little doubt they represent the future.
“Agfa has its 3E strategy when it comes to plates; ecology, economy and extra convenience. The economy is all about reducing ink consumption and reducing press time, and we have the software tools to enable that,” says Desmet. “The aim is to get to a sellable sheet more quickly. We’re acutely aware going down from one hundred to fifty per job over the course of a year makes a decent difference. Here at Agfa we’re looking at the big picture and we have the resources to do so.”
Agfa has just released Apogee XI, the latest version of its award winning workflow software. This pioneering suite now includes functionality such as combining multiple jobs on the same sheet for maximum efficiencies, especially for those looking to gang
print. All its software is now cloud- based, and represents an increasingly large element of the company’s business.
Agfa famously moved into wide format print systems 15 years
ago, and since then has become a major player in the field. Its Jeti
and Anapurna range in particular struck a chord in the Australian and New Zealand markets. There is a substantial installed base here, and
in many sectors it is the benchmark technology. “Agfa is committed to the wide format business. It’s a growing and significant part of our portfolio. Our imaging expertise has translated over to wide format solutions, offering print businesses precision, quality and productivity,” says Desmet.
“We need to keep enabling print businesses to move forward, to enter new markets, to produce for existing markets more efficiently, to enable them to exploit new opportunities.” – Paul Whitehead, Océ
Esko lineage
Anyone tracing the lineage of packaging and print technology company Esko will come across great names of the past including Purup, Eskofot and Barco, companies based in Denmark, the Netherlands and Belgium. Headquartered just outside the historic city of Ghent, Belgium, and part of the USA-based Danaher Group, which also owns X-Rite and Pantone, Esko is a dominant player in packaging creation.
A visit to the global headquarters of Esko is to enter a world of clean lines, sleek workflow and confident direction. Since making the strategic
44 Print21 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2019