Agfa has announced global increases in the price of offset plates, blaming raw materials price rises.

The company says "soaring input costs, particularly relevant to aluminum, energy and packaging materials, in combination with sharply rising freight rates due to global logistic constraints make price increases unavoidable".

Offset plate prices will increase between five and ten per cent from April 1.

Agfa says "despite internal cost reductions", the magnitude of rising prices is no longer sustainable. Some offset will, however, come with higher aluminum prices when used plates are recycled their used plates.