Making its North American debut at PRINT 09, the new :Anapurna Mw from Agfa is an UV-based inkjet press (roll and rigid) that builds on the existing :Anapurna series by adding single-pass pre-white and multi-pass post-white, which allows for printing on transparent or backlit materials – or printing white as a spot colour. Other recent :Anapurna machines include the :Anapurna M2, notable because it prints at 247 square feet per hour, and the :Anapurna M4f, which is a 63-inch, 4-colour, UV-based engine.

Also at PRINT 09, Agfa will be showcasing the latest incarnation of :Dotrix Modular, which is an inkjet-based, narrow-web press (25.6 inches) designed to work with a range of substrates, including paper, multi-wall, biodegradable plastics, PE, PP, BOPP, PET heat and pressure-sensitive materials. The :Dotrix can be configured roll-to-roll or roll-to-sheet.

The company will also make the North American debut of :Apogee Suite 6.0, which, employing a drag-and-drop graphical user interface, allows for the import and conversion of different file formats into a PDF, which can then be directly sent to a Web portal for soft approval, to a page or imposition proofing device, to an impaging device (CTP), a toner-based press, or export into another prepress system.

The company also plans to highlight enhancements to its industrial-scale :M-Press TIGER, which is a flatbed inkjet press – co-developed by Thieme and Agfa – featuring new printhead technology, auto-head positioning and tuning. The press, suited for screen printing-like work, can run at speeds up to 17,000 feet per hour.

Access Imaging, a large-format vendor based in Toronto, has opened two new offices in order to expand further into the national market. The company has opened an office in Richmond, B.C. and in Montreal, Quebec, each currently with two staff members for sales and service.

Access Imaging was founded in 1993 and was the largest ColorSpan sales and service provider in Canada before the line was purchased by Hewlett-Packard. Today, they are an HP Elite Partner, dealing with Designjet, Commercial and Industrial digital presses.

John Visentin, president of Access Imaging, says the company chose the Vancouver market because of the upcoming Olympic games and the resulting need for wide-format print in the region. The Montreal location will service the growing Quebec market. Visentin says there are plans to open more locations to service the Prairie provinces.