Agfa unveils new screening SPIR@L technology

Agfa launches SPIR@L, its latest patented screening technology that replaces traditional dots with alternative shapes to increase quality and reduce production cost.

It is the latest addition to Agfa’s ECO³ program, which focuses on economy, ecology and extra convenience.

SPIR@L is applicable to both commercial and newspaper printing. The technology makes it possible to hold dots from press to paper ranging from 1 to 99% without any additional effort, guaranteeing vibrant colours and sharp images.

Due to the shape of the screen, print artifacts such as image slur or smaller CtP imaging artifacts become invisible. As confirmed by several early adopters, this new screen avoids colour contamination in the blue colour range, yielding a higher quality reproduction. Due to the nature of the dot shape, the ink layer is reduced, which positively impacts drying time or energy consumption.

“The concept behind SPIR@L is simple but brilliant,” said Peeters, market manager commercial print at Agfa. “We replaced the traditional dot used in printing with a more efficient spiral shape. That way, print jobs require less ink to fill in the exact same space, resulting in a crystal-clear image and a higher press efficiency every time.”

SPIR@L requires no hardware additions to existing press and workflow setups.