Agfa and Gämmerler extend PrintCity activities

PrintCity members Agfa Gevaert N.V. and Gämmerler AG have strengthened their ties with the strategic alliance of graphic arts companies, by extending their memberships of PrintCity Activity Groups.

Agfa, which is already a member of the Commercial and Knowledge Management Groups, has joined the Packaging Group. Inline finishing equipment manufacturer Gämmerler will contribute to the Web Systems Group, as well as continuing its existing memberships of the Commercial and Publishing Groups.

Rainer Kuhn, Managing Director of PrintCity, said: “Agfa and Gämmerler have already contributed greatly to the success of their respective Activity Groups, and their decisions to bring their competence to bear in other industry sectors is tremendous news.

“This demonstrates the ambition amongst our members to shape a successful future for PrintCity and, more importantly, the industry as a whole.”

PrintCity Activity Groups provide the core of PrintCity’s output. Members in each Group work together to analyse new technology and trends, and to meet industry-wide challenges in printing processes and applications within each industry sector. Activity Groups look to take a firm lead in guiding the graphic arts industry onwards in an evolving marketplace.

The knowledge and skills of PrintCity Activity Group members, all of whom are “best in class” companies covering every stage of the print process, provide end users with the benefit of proven turnkey solutions and new ideas for improving productivity.

Agfa joins the Packaging Activity Group

Thomas Wythe, Chairman of the Packaging Activity Group welcomed the Agfa decision. He said: "Prepress is as vital in packaging as in any other sector of printing, so it's excellent news that a prepress giant in Agfa is now on board with the Activity Group. Our goal is to be the most respected technical consultancy around for the packaging supply chain, and I look forward to working hand-in-hand with Agfa to achieve that target."

Colin McMichael, Electronic Prepress Product Manager at Agfa, added that joining the Packaging Activity Group was an obvious move for Agfa to make. “We have the in-depth knowledge of packaging created by our involvement with all of the major packaging groups in Europe, and a comprehensive raft of products to supplement that knowledge,” he said. “Reducing costs and turnaround times for customers is the driving factor for both Agfa and PrintCity, but we see the Activity Group as a two-way benefit, in that by working with other PrintCity partners we will be able to improve our packaging solutions still further."

Gämmerler joins the Web Systems Activity Group

"I'm delighted to welcome Gämmerler to the Group, since it adds a further dimension to the joint web expertise of the other members,” said Larry Lampert, Chairman of the Web Systems Activity Group. “Combining Gämmerler's in-line finishing expertise with the extensive prepress and on-press knowledge we already possess, means that we can now offer web printers an even more comprehensive programme of innovative products and value-added services - a programme that is unmatched by any other cross-industry group."

Viviane Koch, head of the Gämmerler marketing department, added: “We are convinced that PrintCity’s Web Systems programme can immensely increase the profitability of end users, by reducing the overall cost per copy of their print runs. No individual company acting in market isolation could achieve this.”

Ends

For more information please contact:
Colin Harding/Andy Knaggs of Woodside Communications on +44 (0) 20 7287 6534, mobile 07730 435 400.
Larry Lampert, Chairman of the Web Systems Activity Group on +44 (0) 1923 665657.
Thomas Wythe, Chairman of the Packaging Activity Group on +49 69 7190 5167.

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