Johnston Press signs seven year deal with Agfa Graphics

Print Solutions

Johnston Press has reaffirmed its long standing relationship with Agfa Graphics.

The seven year contract covers a complete upgrade of the pre-press facilities at the company’s printing sites in Dinnington, Portsmouth and Carn in Northern Ireland. This will include the replacement of all ten existing Polaris platesetters with the latest Advantage N-XXT machines, new Attiro clean out units producing Agfa’s N95VCF chemistry free polymer litho plates as well as upgrading the group’s Arkitex workflow software systems.

‘This agreement has been a long time in the making but, having reviewed all the offerings from other vendors, we are pleased to be able, yet again, to select Agfa in what has been of a long standing working relationship. Agfa has improved its current equipment and software systems enhancing performance and reducing maintenance,’ explained David Crow, managing director at Johnston Press Print & Logistics.

The Advantage platesetters will include modifications to the punch and bending systems to improve throughput. A patented reuse dosing system incorporated in the Attiro clean-out units will greatly reduce the need for both water and gum. These units also promise a reduction in cleaning time as well as longer periods between cleaning cycles.

New Agfa software products are to be installed, including the Arkitex Portal software system that allows contract customers to easily upload and keep track of their jobs.

For many years Johnston Press has used the Agfa IntelliTune image normalising software, which is be upgraded but, to enhance quality of reproduction further, Sublima screening software will also be installed on each of the RIPs. OptiInk ink saving software will be hosted at the company’s central systems site so it can be utilised by all three printing facilities.

Over the next year Johnston Press will also focus on workflow cloud technology projects with Agfa Graphics, which has a proven track record in delivering cloud technology to the newspaper industry.