Agfa Corp.

BANGKOK, Thailand—The premiere staging of PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2007 in Bangkok, Thailand achieved its objective to become a forum for the region’s packaging and printing sectors: 285 exhibitors from 25 countries displayed their latest technologies on 161,400 square feet of gross exhibit space to some 20,000 trade visitors from 62 countries. The attendees included official delegations from Vietnam, the Philippines, and India. The event’s three co-organizers Messe Düsseldorf Asia, the Thai Packaging Association and the Thai Printing Association were pleased with the results of PACK PRINT INTERNATIONAL 2007. “The three organizers have worked closely to make this show a great success for exhibitors and

GHENT, Belgium—The Ghent PDF Workgroup (GWG), an international association that helps produce and exchange digital documents for the publishing workflow, announced the availability of new GWG Packaging Specifications, offering best practices for PDF file exchange in packaging applications. The specifications developed by the GWG’s packaging experts were tested in North America by Kraft Foods Inc., and in Europe by France’s Square. The new specifications are downloadable for free at www.gwg.org. GWG Packaging Specifications Reduce Time-to-Market According to GWG Packaging Subcommittee co-chairs, Steve Carter, director of technology, St. Louis Division of Southern Graphics Systems, and Christian Blaise, international sales account manager for Enfocus,

TORONTO, Ontario—The International Cooperation for the Integration of Processes in Prepress, Press and Postpress (CIP4) organization and Ryerson University announced a free “JDF Education Event” to be held at Ryerson University in Toronto on Tuesday, 20 February 2007. This one-day program will cover all aspects of print process automation, CIP4 and the Job Definition Format (JDF), and is hosted by Ryerson University’s School of Graphic Communications Management. This JDF 101 Education Event is the first of its kind in Canada. Speakers will identify the benefits of JDF-enabled process automation experienced by small and medium-sized commercial offset and digital printers, and will provide an introduction

Xaar extends its relationship with Agfa Graphics with the approval of one of the company’s UV-curable inks for use with the OmniDot 760 printhead, which was co-developed between Xaar and Agfa. Agfa specifically developed the Xaar range of UV-curable general purpose inks to achieve effective jetting of vibrant and lightfast colours to guarantee high-quality, durable results for a wide range of indoor and outdoor applications. Formulated using high-quality pigments with high fade-resistance, the ink ensures long-lasting results in outdoor applications. Its fast-curing capability enables high-productivity and offers excellent adhesion and a tough, scratch-resistant finish on a wide range of rigid and flexible substrates. This

RESTON, Va.—NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies announced the election of several new directors at its Annual Conference November 6 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Elected to terms expiring at the 2009 Annual Meeting were four new directors: Michael Fox, president of Screen USA Don Harvey, vice president and general manager of XpedX Printing Technologies Marc Olin, senior vice president and general manager of Professional Printing Applications Thomas Wetjen, vice president of Worldwide Graphic Communications at Xerox Corporation Nominated for re-election to terms expiring at the 2009 Annual Meeting were: Timothy Combs, vice president, sales and marketing at Fujifilm

Digital printing is making its presence felt in the package-printing arena. It’s no longer a promising technology for the next generation—it’s here now, and appears to have broken through the critical mass for emerging mainstream acceptance. For the time being, it has found its place in short-run production. Many times it is used to off-load short-run print jobs from traditional presses to make them more profitable. However, digital printing is still in the very early stages of evolution and as such, there still some barriers that need to be addressed, such as relatively high cost of entry and high cost of consumables. In

FIRST PLACE Bert Co., Los Angeles, Calif. Logitech NuLOOQ SECOND PLACE Rex Corporation, Jacksonville, Fla. 2005 Cigar Association of America Annual Meeting Carton Press: KBA Plates: Kodak Dies: Atlas Die Ink/Coating/Adhesive: Wikoff THIRD PLACE Boutwell, Owens & Co., Inc., Fitzhburg, Mass. DMI-Sudden Sun Therapy Press: Mitsubishi Plates: Agfa Dies: WR Sharples Ink/Coating/Adhesive: Wikoff

Most screening technologies work well. Every prepress workflow presents a multitude of screening options. Beyond these simple assumptions, however, questions proliferate. Is AM screening the right choice, or is FM better? Will transitional screening supplant them both? What are the tradeoffs? How tight a process control window can the printer operate within? The answers to these questions vary from market to market and from one print discipline to another. What is certain is that the right choice of screening method can help printers in their quest for differentiation. It can also have an impact in the pressroom, based on its runnability. Screening

Agfa Offers the Thermostar P970–ideal for VLF applications–and the Thermostar P971 thermal imaging plate. Write 160, Visit www.agfa.com J ANDERSON & VREELAND Offers digital prepress systems and conventional photopolymer processors and plate mounters. Platemaking materials include a range of solvent and water-wash sheet photopolymer, liquid photopolymer, rubber compounds, matrix and accessories. Write 161, Visit www.anderson vreeland.com, See Ad p. 8 J BETA INDUSTRIES The Betaflex 334 Flexo Plate Analyzer eliminates bad plates early in production cycle. Measures flexo plates, negatives, proofs, prints for true dot area, ruling, dot quality. Write 162, Visit www.beta screen.com, See Ad p. 7 BPS Printing Systems Offers state-of-the-art

Agfa The Sherpa 43 Inkjet System for contract proofing offers multi-density ink capability, optimal color accuracy, and a digital workflow. Write 196, Visit www.agfa.com J ANDERSON & VREELAND Digital proofing systems include digital halftone proofers and digital inkjet proofers from leading-edge manufacturers. Write 197, Visit www.anderson vreeland.com, See Ad p. 8 Artwork Systems Products support multiple output devices, including all common proofers, imagesetters, and platesetters. Write 198, www.artwork systems.com J BETA INDUSTRIES The full line of magnifiers, loupes, and microscopes from 5x to 300x fill every requirement in the film, plate, and print