Roberts said that Tribute was was not fully aware of the firm's ink-jet plans. He said: "We've not got all the pieces yet, but we're working on them". On Tribute's comment that Agfa lacked its own core ink-jet technology, he said: "We've spent a lot of money on head technology with Xaar."

The two firms are working together on a next generation print head to be sold by both companies. Xaar's Swedish factory is gearing up for production of the head, which builds on their earlier joint page-wide array project. But Roberts said that, as with its current position in pre-press, Xaar wanted "to sell consumables" and the firm was devoting R&D into the consumable of the future, ink.

He added that the UK's first dotrix the.factory, at Gardners in Cardiff, was progressing and that its acquisition of dotrix "for the technology" had "provided a two-year gain" in its development plans for ink-jet. Products from Agfa's joint venture with Thieme will be unveiled in spring.

Story by Barney Cox