The Belgium-headquartered manufacturer said it has been implementing quarterly price increases and surcharges since Q2 last year to compensate for the significant cost increases it has been facing in raw materials, logistics, energy, packaging material, and labour.

In a statement released today the company said: “The combination of ongoing efficiency programs and quarterly price increases has allowed Agfa to compensate for the highest inflationary pressure it has been faced with in decades.

“In spite of these efforts, continued and reliable supply of offset plates is not sustainable without further actions. Therefore, a double digit increase of the base prices of its offset plates will apply on all orders starting from 1 July 2022.”

Agfa vice president of sales for Offset Solutions Frederik Dehing said: “We continue to be confronted not only with historically high costs in raw materials, logistics and energy but also with a very unpredictable supply of some of our key raw materials.

“In order to run a sustainable business, allowing us to guarantee supply, continue to bring innovative products and quality service to our customers, we have no other choice but to increase the base prices of our offset plates.”

Agfa said that to support its customers in recovering part of the industry-wide cost increases, it is adding new tools to its ECO³ software program, allowing its customers “to drastically reduce their ink consumption and minimise their paper waste”.

Specifics regarding the price increases were not disclosed.

Earlier this month Agfa posted a big jump in its Q1 EBITDA despite what the group described as “an extraordinary inflationary context”. Q1 sales at Offset Solutions were up 11.6% at €189m (£161m).