Hoekstra Boom Wins First IFRA ISO Quality Certificate.

Long-time User of Agfa Technology the First Newspaper Printer in the World to Offer ISO Certified Quality Printing.

• Press release
• Mortsel, Belgium
• September 05, 2005 16:00

The first newspaper printing company in the world to win the Ifra ISO 12647-3 certification is Hoekstra Boom of Emmeloord, the Netherlands. The company uses all-Agfa solutions for its prepress operations, with two Polaris visible-light CtP units, :Arkitex production software and :Lithostar digital plates. ISO 12647-3 aims to control and improve the overall quality of prepress and printing. Agfa's systems and Hoekstra Boom's processes passed the tests, including output resolution, plate register, screening, colour consistency and overall quality, with flying colours.

"The certification shows that Hoekstra Boom handles prepress and printing from input to printed paper with predictable, dependable quality according to internationally accepted standards," said Hoekstra Boom CEO, Bauke J. Hoekstra. "Our vision is that our customers are entitled to that, and that all printing companies should offer quality in line with ISO 12647-3. It has been a challenging process, but working with Agfa has helped."

"We are extremely proud of Hoekstra Boom, said Richard Barham, vice-president of marketing for Agfa's Graphic Systems. "They have made wise investments in technology, processes and training. They now reap the benefits as they guarantee certified, consistent quality to their advertisers. This demonstrates the Power of Print and how Agfa can successfully help its customers to stay ahead. Hoekstra Boom are now looking at and testing our newest newspaper screening solution :Sublima to further improve print quality."

About Hoekstra Boom.

Drukkerij F.D. Hoekstra Boom Offset BV (Emmeloord, the Netherlands) prints 70 different regional titles and publications including four papers that are published three times each week. The roots of the company go back to a small family business in 1882 that has since grown to a leading newspaper printer for the region, with 47 staff and a circulation of more than 1.7 million copies. Two :Polaris computer-to-plate systems with :Lithostar visible-light plates and :Arkitex workflow, all from Agfa, produce 280,000 plates per year.

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