Beta site SMP Group in London will be the first firm in the world to install the M-Press (pictured), a UV-cured flatbed developed by Agfa in conjunction with screen press manufacturer  Thieme.

SMP will commission the machine in the autumn. It is taking a version of the fully-automatic 1.6x2.6m printer configured with a screen unit after the digital head to print varnishes and special colours.

The 100 sheet per hour machine can include screen units before and after the digital unit, and was described by Agfa as "a quantum leap in competitiveness" capable of competing cost effectively with screen printing on up to 500 copies.

The firm also stated that it could print more competitively than any other digital printer. Thieme managing director Frank Thieme said: "We have built the first fully automated digital flatbed that can produce long runs economically."

UK printers are leading the charge for the M-Press making up half the 12 orders taken so far for the machine, although the identities of the five firms following in SMP's footsteps have not been revealed.

Agfa also used the Munich show to launch another UV-cured machine, the Anapurna 100, developed with Mutoh; as well as range of new inks and a distribution deal with Robert Horne in the UK.

"Ink-jet for us is not just a side product it's a new era and a new arena where we have all elements in our hands and it gives us a growth platform in the future," said Agfa Graphic Systems president Stefaan Vanhooren.

The Anapurna 100 is a 100in wide UV-cured flatbed capable of printing flat sheets and roll-to-roll.

With a top speed of up to 97sqm per hour the machine is competitively priced at 124,000 against rivals such as the Vutek PressVu 200/600 and the Durst Rho 205.

"It's top of the quality axis with a very attractive price point," said Agfa director of wide-format systems Willy Van Dromme.

Mutoh, which will manufacture the machines in Belgium, will also sell the machine under its own brand as the Cobra 100uv.

Both the Anapurna and the M-Press use Agfa-produced UV-cured ink and Agfa's Universal Print Head (UPH), a jointly developed next generation print head made for the firm by Xaar, which sells it as the Omnidot.

Story by Barney Cox in Munich