Agfa is leaving the PrintCity Consortium, the strategic alliance of nearly 60 graphic-arts companies whose goal is to provide workflows in an open-system architecture. The company says that while it recognizes the accomplishments of PrintCity, it has chosen a new approach for demonstrating connectivity benefits to its customers.
“Drupa 2004 fully demonstrated that systems and software from any member company [of PrintCity] can be integrated seamlessly,” says Jan Van Daele, Agfa's vice president of imaging solutions. “JDF connectivity, automation, open architecture, and interoperability are very much a reality in our industry today. We will demonstrate connectivity in our day-to-day business, not just in a consortium or at a trade show.”
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Agfa was one of the leading enablers of connectivity between PrintCity's print factories in Hall 6 at Drupa 2004. At future shows, Agfa reports, full connectivity demonstrations will not be limited to consortium partner companies. (Agfa: www.agfa.com, PrintCity: www.printcity.de)