(11/02/2004) AGFA and Thieme to Jointly Develop Inkjet Digital Press for Screen Printing.

Revolutionary Technology Will Help Screen Printers Stay Ahead. Mortsel (Belgium) - February 11, 2004 - Agfa and Thieme announced today that they are working together to develop a flatbed digital press for screen printing applications. The new system will offer quality and speed advantages unavailable on the market today. The flatbed press is to use next-generation inkjet technology. The two companies have agreed to combine their strengths, expertise and proprietary technology to develop and market this new system jointly. 'We are confident that Agfa's overall imaging and inkjet expertise, as well as our solutions approach to prepress, are an ideal complement to Thieme's market and technology leadership on the screen printing market,' said Agfa's vice-president of Imaging Solutions, Jan Van Daele. 'The new system will resolve the quality and productivity issues that to date are inherent to inkjet presses for screen printing applications.' 'The screen printing market is evolving at a rapid pace but imaging technology to date has failed to offer real-life solutions that will generate additional revenue streams for screen printers,' said Konrad Vosteen, Thieme's product manager for Digital Printing Systems. 'Our agreement with Agfa holds great promise for the screen printing industry.' The companies plan to first show this new technology at Fespa 2005 in Munich, Germany. Agfa reached an agreement with Barco last month to acquire dotrix NV, a Belgian based company which develops, manufactures and sells digital colour printing solutions for industrial applications. Both this acquisition and the co-operation with Thieme are demonstrations of Agfa's commitment to the printing industry, especially with high-end inkjet systems. These add to Agfa's own strong market position on the digital colour proofing and large-format digital printing markets with its :Sherpa systems. About Agfa. The Agfa-Gevaert Group is one of the world's leading imaging companies. Agfa develops, manufactures and markets analogue and digital systems, intended mainly for the graphics industry, healthcare, micrographics, motion picture and photography markets. Agfa's headquarters are in Mortsel, Belgium. The company is active in 40 countries and has 120 agents throughout the world. Together they achieved a turnover of 4,683 million euros in 2002. Product and company information can be found on Agfa's home page on the World Wide Web at: www.agfa.com. About Thieme. Thieme is known as an experienced, highly qualified business partner for the design and construction of complete system solutions for industrial production processes. The company is known for its professionalism and quality in the production of screen printing machines. It employs about 500 people worldwide and achieves gross sales in excess of 70 million euros. More information can be found on the World Wide Web at: www.thieme-products.com . Info: Johan Jacobs Corporate Press Relations Manager tel.: +32 (0)3 444 80 15 / fax: +32 (0)3 444 74 85 e-mail: johan.jacobs@agfa.com (C) Companynews