Agfa is bundling a 12-month Vio licence fee and software, with its Sherpa 24 colour proofer as part of a joint marketing agreement.


Agfa's product manager for film, proofs and ink-jet systems, Dave Varty, said: "At the moment it's a UK agreement. There's a strong demand in the British marketplace for remote proofing. But we're both worldwide companies, so we'll expand it as we see fit."


The Vio deal is only for buyers of the Sherpa 24, but Agfa will consider expanding it to the entire Sherpa range if it is successful.


"We decided to sell the bundle package in our B2 range because that's where there's the most interest and demand for remote proofing. But we'll sell Vio licences and routers for any model," said Varty.


Agfa claimed more companies would be able to use remote proofing as colour proofing engine costs became lower. Varty said Agfa preferred the Vio system of colour file transfer as opposed to ISDN: "With ISDN systems lines get
tied up."


Under the open-ended agreement, Vio customers will be shown Agfa's in-house colour proofing capabilities at Agfa's Brentford headquarters.


Story by John Davies