Agfa Corp.

Agfa Packaging Solutions The AgfaScan XY-15 Plus is an oversized A3 format CCD flatbed scanner for high-productivity scanning. A hand-selected, premium 8,000-element CCD allows it to achieve a maximum density of 4.1 and resolution up to 15,000 ppi. Write 186, Visit www.agfa.com Artwork Systems ArtPro®, PackFlow™, LabelFlow™, FlexoCal™, and Hybrid Screening. System platforms are designed for Macintosh and Windows NT and support multiple output devices. Write 187, Visit www.artwork-systems.com J BETA INDUSTRIES Betalog Imagesetter Densitometers measure film to densities of 6.00+, maintaining imagesetter calibration, halftone quality. Model 77 measures large film on a light table, while Betalog 150

Agfa CristalRaster for PostScript-based stochastic screening technology for true photographic quality color reproduction. Write 209, Visit www.agfa.com J ANDERSON & VREELAND Anderson & Vreeland offers Digital prepress workflow systems, including Artwork Systems, RIPit Systems, Agfa Apogee Series and Xitron. Write 210, www.anderson vreeland.com, See Ad p. 8 Artwork Systems NEXUS provides total integration of the Artwork Systems leading front-end, back-end technologies. Write 211, Visit www.artwork systems.com J BETA INDUSTRIES BetaTab data acquisition software effortlessly captures calibration data and images to improve calibration, communication, and collaboration. Write 212, Visit

The Flexographic Prepress Platemakers Association (FPPA) convened its ninth annual convention last month in Amelia Island, Fla. During the three-day conference, presenters from the supplier and provider communities shared their insights on a variety of topics. Following a keynote address by Bill Raaths, CEO of Great Northern Corp., sessions included “The Effect of Simultaneous Imaging and Direct UV Main Exposure on Digital Plates and Sleeves” by Ian Hole of Esko-Graphics; “Remote Digital Proofing: Contract Color and Content Proofing at Remote Sites” by Deborah Hutcheson of Agfa Corp.; “Forensically Invisible Brand Protection Packaging” by Kevin Harrell, Creo/Kodak; “In-the-Round Production Technology” by Dan Rosen of Flint

Industry experts lend their advice on the best ways to approach remote proofing for packaging. IT HAS BEEN observed that Ginger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did, except that she did it backwards and in high heels. It's the same with proofing (Fred) and remote proofing (Ginger). Throw in the complex proofing requirements of packaging printers and a straightforward series of dance steps becomes an intricate high-wire act, in which the accurate long-distance reproduction of graphics, text, placement, and structure—as well as the matching of special brand or logo colors—can make or break an important job. Like commercial printers, packaging printers can save

PDF (portable document format) may be the greatest thing since sliced bread (or at least since PostScript), but it takes more than bread to make a sandwich that will satisfy a hungry customer. TODAY'S SHORTER PRINT runs depend on reliable, high-quality print output, delivered with minimal turnaround. The addition of JDF (job definition format) production language to PDF-based workflows increasingly is seen as a way to dramatically reduce print production time and costs while ensuring consistent, reliable output—even when last minute changes are required. In packaging applications, the benefits of JDF-enhanced or JDF-enabled workflows show up in better customer service; faster time to

RESTON, Va.—NPES The Association for Suppliers of Printing, Publishing and Converting Technologies elected a new chairman of its board as well as a new director at its Annual Conference October 9 in Key Biscayne, Florida. The new chairman is Thomas Saggiomo, President of Agfa Corporation's Graphic Systems business in North America. He was elected to the NPES board in 1998, and is the 26th chief executive officer elected to the chairman's post in the Association's 72-year history.  Saggiomo was elected to a one-year term expiring at the 2006 NPES Annual Conference. He succeeds Kathryn P. Marx, Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for

Extended color printing could be the next best thing to the eye of the beholder in the package-printing industry. PHILOSOPHICALLY SPEAKING, THE exact nature of color may be in dispute forever. As far as brand owners and the package and label printers who work with them are concerned, however, color is a concrete, measurable reality and the most critical component of print quality. If the job of the packaging or label designers is to create shelf appeal and ensure brand recognition, the job of packaging and label printers is to lock in those attributes by reproducing those designs as faithfully, efficiently, and affordably as

Soft proofing technology can do the job, but its success depends largely on good discipline and the printer-client relationship. "SOFT" PROOFING GOES by several names—monitor, virtual, online—and comes in an array of "flavors." No matter what you call it, however, the ultimate goal is as straightforward as it is universal: shrink production cycles, eliminate rework, reduce costs, and move everything faster. Unlike traditional hardcopy proofing, in which handling and transmission of the physical proof increases both cycle time and the potential for error, soft proofing depends on workflows in which color-accurate proofs can be viewed on calibrated computer monitors under controlled lighting conditions.

With package printers on the hot seat for nimble customer responsiveness at the lowest possible cost, accurate real-time information is a must. WHEN IT COMES to cutting costs and investing in the future, package printers have always had plenty of options on how to spend their money. The list just keeps getting longer, and the opportunities more tantalizing. In recent years, business and production software has been climbing to the top of the list and increasingly winning the fight for the limited capital resources. The reasons for this vary, but ultimately, it boils down to the growing need to run highly efficient and

Presentation is everything—up to a point and down to a dot. WITH RESPECT TO proofing, package printers must be prepared to be all things to all customers, or nearly so, and still be able to assure their customers that the proof they receive will reproduce accurately and consistently on both plates and press. To accomplish this, the printer will choose the technology or technologies that will provide him the tools to keep that promise. Few would argue that packagers have special proofing needs. These include: • Ability to proof on a wide range of packaging substrates, whether coated or uncoated, glossy or flat,