Pre-media

Colour specialist X-Rite announced its Q4 and full year results today, posting a net loss of $64.7m (46.6m) for the final three months of 2008 and a loss of $117.8m for the year.

Quark has announced that users with old licences of its eponymous desktop publishing software, QuarkXPress, will be able to upgrade to the latest version for the same low price until 30 September...

Print giants Agfa Graphics and Canon have signed a distribution deal that will enable Agfa to distribute Canon's imagePress digital colour presses in the UK, <i>PrintWeek</i> can exclusively reveal.

Agfa-Gevaert Group posted a 106m euro (98.3m) pre-tax loss in its full-year 2008 results this week, following a 119m euro writedown of its Healthcare business.

The National Magazine Company (NatMags) has outsourced the production of image cut-outs for all 17 of its titles to India-based pre-media company Express KCS.

Callas Software has released an update for its Adobe Acrobat plug-in pdfToolbox, which it hopes could speed up the packaging industry's transition to PDF/X-4.

Fresh Media Group-subsidiary Colour Systems has been awarded the sole pre-press supplier contract for creative agency Show Media.

Digital Ad Lab (DAL) and the London College of Communication (LCC) have launched a student mentoring scheme with the aim of encouraging enthusiastic young people to join the print industry.

The Midland News Association (MNA) has claimed a UK first after becoming the first newspaper group to begin publishing with QuarkXPress 8.

Victoria Litho has boosted its plate production capacity after it became the UK's first company to install Agfa's Avalon N36 VLF platesetter.