Agfa Graphics

MORTSEL, BELGIUM--Agfa-Gevaert announced it has signed an agreement to divest Agfa Monotype Corp. to a Boston-based private equity investor, TA Associates. The transaction reportedly is valued at $169 million. The typography business now will operate under the name Monotype Imaging, Inc. It will continue to be headquartered in Wilmington, MA and currently mploys 144 people. For its part, Agfa says it is focusing on further strengthening its position in the prepress market and on building a new growth platform in industrial ink-jet printing. About TA Associates Founded in 1968, TA Associates has offices in Boston, Menlo Park, Pittsburgh and London.

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Not to get philosophical, but if a word comes to mean everything, there's a danger of it ending up to mean nothing. The digital revolution was already on its way to making "workflow" a catch-all term in prepress, when the rise of CIM (computer-integrated manufacturing) extended its use to the entire print production process. As a result, an ever wider array of products now can be called digital workflow solutions. For the purposes of this article, the definition is being limited to the evolution of what used to be called prepress systems. Vendors have responded to this trend with

Colter & Peterson and MBO America are now co-distributors of Wohlenberg paper cutters and cutting systems for the U.S. market. Specifically, the cooperative agreement will allow technical experts and sales personnel from both companies to confer with each other on how Wohlenberg cutters can best enhance the efficiency and productivity for printers and trade finishers looking to upgrade their operations. Rochester Institute of Technology's School of Print Media presented the Cary Award to Frank Steenburgh, senior vice president for business growth, Production Systems Group at Xerox Corp. during a breakfast at Graph Expo 2004. The Cary Award is presented annually to those who have

VANCOUVER, BC—Creo Inc. is claiming victory in the wake of a district court ruling that six Agfa patents for computer-to-plate (CTP) technology were unenforceable due to acts of inequitable conduct. According to a statement from Creo, the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts determined that Agfa failed to disclose known material information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "We are extremely pleased with this ruling as it supports what Creo has maintained all along," notes Creo CEO Amos Michelson. "Agfa's patents would never had been issued had Agfa told the patent office the complete facts on the development of automated CTP technology." Agfa

by MaRK SMITH Technology Editor Weak strains of the great violet vs. thermal CTP debate cropped up in some post-Drupa reports, and then were echoed in postings on the PrintPlanet.com "Computer to Plate Pressroom, CTP Technologies" eCommunity and other industry forums. These discussions largely have covered old ground, but two pending developments are seen as having the potential to change the competitive picture. CORRECTION:Heidelberg announced a new option in its Prosetter violet platesetter line prior to Drupa, which should have been included in the printed version of this story. With the new Multi Cassette Loader (MCL), any Prosetter can now image up to four

by chris bauer Managing Editor A wide array of digital printing devices have called Progressive Impressions International (PII) home throughout the company's 13-year history. Currently, the Bloomington, IL-based firm boasts eight Xerox cut-sheet monochrome devices, as well as a twin Océ continuous feed monochrome device. From a color perspective, Agfa, IBM and Xerox color systems have been used, but now the company's entire footprint consists of Xerox iGen3 and DocuColor 6060 technology. But it has not always been that way. "When PII first began, we only had offset presses," recalls Jamie Huff, CEO. "During the early- to mid-1990s we began migrating to digital technology to take advantage

Agfa Leaves PrintCity; Group Promises 'Business as Usual' MORTSEL, BELGIUM—Agfa announced it is leaving the PrintCity consortium. The company reports it has decided to take a new approach for demonstrating the benefits of connectivity to its customers because the group's charter objectives were fully met at Drupa 2004. "We will demonstrate connectivity in our day-to-day business, not just in a consortium or at a trade show," explains Jan Van Daele, Agfa's vice president of imaging solutions. "Open standards have become a given and we will continue to invest our efforts and resources in innovations, connectivity and profitability for our customers," adds Marc

Printing Research Inc. (PRI) and its owner, Howard DeMoore, announced the successful conclusion of a patent infringement suit against a European company. The suit, filed in Germany against Green & Snob Grafik, showed that Green & Snob's product was a direct infringement against PRI's Super Blue 2 StripeNet anti-marking, anti-static nets. John Laabs has been appointed director of marketing for Fox River Paper. For the past six years, Laabs has worked in various sales and marketing capacities for both the Fox River and Gilbert brands of paper. KBA North America has named Steve Korn its new district sales manager to cover the states of Illinois and

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor At the risk of having this sound like yet another Drupa story, the quadrennial international exhibition traditionally has served as a status check for industry innovations. Developments in printing technology often are marked in "Drupa time"—such as the Digital Printing Drupa, CTP Drupa and, for this year's show, the JDF Drupa. The concentration of international vendors and worldwide attention given the event put pressure on exhibitors to show that they are keeping pace with each other. While not as broad-based of a trend, 2004 also heralded the Processless Plate Drupa. This technology has been talked about for years,

Folder Operators Go Back to School WESTAMPTON, NJ—Twelve folding machine operators representing seven different companies came to MBO America headquarters recently to participate in 2.5 days of in-depth, hands-on training at the MBO Fold School. Trainees were able to observe or operate three different folding machines, including the automated Perfection. Directed by Dave Trutzenbach, an authority on binding operations and equipment, the MBO Folding School provides the opportunity for operators to improve their knowledge and proficiency regardless of their skill level. NAK Marketing & Communications, an agency that has served many of the leading brands in the graphic arts industry for over 14 years,