Under the terms of the deal, Agfa will market the Canon range, which includes the imagePress C6000VP, the C7000VP and the newly launch C1+, alongside its own inkjet and pre-press products and its Apogee Suite workflow software.
Agfa Graphics UK managing director Laurence Roberts said that the deal demonstrates the company's "leading role in the integration of digital print within traditional printing businesses".
Agfa's Apogee pre-press platform has been enhanced to optimise its performance alongside the imagePress range within a hybrid workflow. The software will manage the data to create the proofs, the plates and the digital print.
Andy Vickers, managing director of Canon UK and Ireland, said that there is a "strong synergy" between Canon's print technology and Agfa's pre-press knowledge. The agreement begins with immediate effect with customer shipments expected to begin in the second quarter of the year.
Agfa's reputation and market reach with commercial printers makes the company a good partner for Canon to extend its sales.
For Agfa to return to digital print after nearly a decade's absence since it ceased with its pioneering Chromapress brand in 2000 is a reflection of the fundamental change in the print landscape and digital's acceptance as a mainstream print process.
For more, see next week's PrintWeek.
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