Epson and Agfa Graphics Strengthen Co-operation for Digital Proofing.

Worldwide Leaders Commit to Each Other's Technology for Integrated Proofing Solutions.

• Press release
• Mortsel, Belgium and Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• March 28, 2007 17:00

Agfa Graphics and Epson announced today that they have strengthened their co-operation to bring integrated colour proofing solutions. The companies have agreed to co-market and co-brand the Epson Stylus Pro range of large-format printers and UltraChromeTM K3 proofing inks together with Agfa's SherpaProof label :SherpaProof is available through Agfa's distribution channel, which is the largest of any pre-press vendor. :SherpaProof has already achieved official certification with Fogra, SWOP and 3DAP, and can be integrated in any digital prepress workflow.

"While we continue to develop and manufacture our own UV curable and other inks for the industrial printing market, we prefer Epson technology to complete our portfolio with certified printers and inks to offer a system that meets the requirements of the graphic arts industry for hard copy proofing," said Agfa Graphics VP of marketing, Richard Barham.

"The co-operation is beneficial for both companies and for our customers" said Duncan Ferguson, Director of Pro-Graphics Marketing at Epson Europe. "With :SherpaProof solutions, printing companies gain the benefit of combined expertise from two technology leaders." :SherpaProof is integrated in Agfa's :ApogeeX prepress production software. It uses Agfa's SherpaProof base on Agfa certified Epson Stylus Pro colour printers with Epson UltraChrome K3 inks for hard copy proofing.

About Epson.

Epson is a global leader in imaging products including printers, 3LCD projectors and small- and medium-sized LCDs. With an innovative and creative culture, Epson is dedicated to exceeding the vision and expectations of customers worldwide with products known for their superior quality, functionality, compactness and energy efficiency.
Epson is a network of 102,025 employees in 120 companies around the world, and is proud of its ongoing contributions to the global environment and to the communities in which it is located. Led by the Japan-based Seiko Epson Corp., the Group had consolidated sales of 1549.5 billion yen in fiscal 2005.

About Epson Europe.

Epson Europe B.V., based in Amsterdam, is the Group's regional headquarters for Europe, Middle-East, Russia and Africa. With a workforce of 2,600 employees, Epson Europe's sales for fiscal year 2005 were 2,402 million Euros.
For further company and product information visit www.epson-europe.com

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