Agfa systems solutions specialist Chris Burn said: "The main under-the-hood change in Apogee 6 is the incorporation of APPE2, which gives significant speed improvements."

The Apogee Suite is the latest software package to adopt APPE2, which was unveiled at last year's Drupa, following the likes of EFI's Colorproof XF 4 and Fiery XF 4 RIPS and Fujifilm's XMF 2 workflow.

Other new features in Apogee 6 include the addition of an Agfa-developed Preflight module. Previously the Belgian-based company had relied on a third party deal with Enfocus.

Burn said: "We previously relied on Enfocus technology within Apogee, but we now have the alternative of the Apogee Preflight module.

"Developing our own Preflight module has allowed us to introduce new features that aren't available in Enfocus and will allow us to increase these features over time."

Bart de Pelsmaeker, head of software group at Agfa Graphics, added: "We have seen a clear demand for intelligent optimisation of PDF files. Our response is Apogee Preflight, which is deeply integrated within our Apogee solutions.

"This new processing component gathers all job specific production characteristics and dynamically tunes the PDF accordingly, including the application of any required colour management."

Agfa has also updated its Apogee Portal online submission and approval module with the addition of a new single-dashboard user interface based on Adobe Flex technology.

"It's a much sexier website for publishers logging on to upload files and/or approve soft proofs," said Burn. "The new website allows things like transparent palettes and drag-n-drop."

MIS vendors will also benefit from greater JDF/JMF connectivity with the Apogee suite, according to Burn, who said that Agfa had added a number of features that MIS developers had been waiting for "for some time".

He said: "We've added advanced support for job parts, which will enable us to proceed with even more JDF integration."

Agfa is currently in the process of upgrading existing clients on fully inclusive contracts, although the software is also immediately available to new clients and customers who aren't on contracts that include major release upgrades.

Also see:
Review: Agfa Apogee Suite