A new imaging engine takes Agfa’s Advantage N-TR HS platesetter to 350 newspaper plates an hour.

The new CTP system – the letters stand for trolley load, high-speed – is seen as an option for publishers who want to extend editorial and advertising deadlines, as well as replace multiple slower platesetters with faster ones.

Apart from less equipment, benefits include reduced labour costs and less floor space.

The unit has a trolley to transport plates from a yellow safelight environment to the imager, giving customers greater environment options.

The new platesetter ships at the end of this year.

Agfa has also introduced a new clean-out unit for newspaper users of its N94-VCF violet chemistry-free plates. The Attiro is designed with a cascade concept to save money on maintenance and gum. Three small gum sections clean out the plates with concentrated gum reused as it cascades from the third section to the second and then to the first.

• Also new is a version of the Arkitex production workflow for newspapers

based on HTML5. The “next generation” software can be deployed onsite or cloud-based, with a browser-based interface which can be accessed from laptops, tablets and smartphones, or even touchscreens in pressroom environments.

Modules meet the need of users from the smallest production site up to large multisite systems, with functionality added via extenders.

Quality enhancement features include IntelliTune image optimiation, Veripress soft-proofing, OptiInk ink saving, Sublima screening and automated ink-key presetting.