Making a first-time appearance at drupa is the award-winning :M-Press Leopard which, along with the :M-Press Tiger, represents offset litho and screen-printing speed and quality in a platform which encompasses the highest levels of versatility and output quality. This revolutionary wide-format industrial production engine now handles rigid and flexible materials up to a maximum size of 1.6 x 3.3m and now offers a choice of manual or auto-loading options.

A recent nominee of a prestigious EDP Award for 2012, the :M-Press Leopard ink-jet platform combines technology from Agfa Graphics and Thieme and offers industrial printing on a variety of materials up to 5cm thickness. Its high levels of precision and design make it easy to produce accurate recto/verso sheets using a simple positioning, register pin and vacuum system.

The :M-Press Leopard's bed size has now been increased to 1.6 x 3.3m so that it can accommodate the growing range of materials for which larger sizes are standard, such as Forex rigid sheets as well as a significant speed increase by the extra sheet that can be loaded when comparing to smaller table sizes. Handling longer media is catered for efficiently by an increase to 75 vacuum zones for easy positioning of the sheet, while the 29 register pins maintain the correct alignment of the substrate.

Firmly established as a cost-efficient alternative to analogue production, the :M-Press from Agfa Graphics is finding new markets beyond conventional applications such as point-of-sale and retail advertising. Increasingly it is also being used for more unusual options, including décor and packaging, where the opportunity for low volumes and one offs has added to the creative capabilities of both the :M-Press Tiger and the :M-Press Leopard.

Unlike other platforms in the high-end wide-format digital print segment, the :M-Press Leopard is configured to be the most versatile solution on the market. Its ability to work with thin and thick sheets, from small sizes to the maximum accommodated on the table, is complemented by a flexible 75 zone vacuum system that eliminates the need for taping over areas not covered by the material to be printed.

:M-Press is designed to consume very low volumes of :Anuvia ink, thanks to the high density of the formulation. This is aided by the dedicated print shuttle which features 64 Agfa UPH2 greyscale print-heads that feature variable dot sizes, and a page wide print array.

Highly popular for its convenient and versatile manual loading, the additional option of an auto-loader is now available for the :M-Press Leopard. This assists when automating higher volumes of material, and features a pick-up system on one side and an offload facility on the other side of the flat-bed table.

Driven by Agfa Graphics' :Apogee software which brings full automation to digital print workflows, it is easy to streamline production and job management, control color and simplify the use of variable data printing and versioning via :Apogee Vibe. CIP4 Digital Print ICS compliance simplifies integration into a full JDF environment, and the recently launched :Apogee StoreFront is ideal for PSPs and their customers who want to generate jobs in the cloud via an innovative web-to-print interface.

"The decision to take the :M-Press Leopard to drupa is based on our desire to demonstrate its superiority against other high-end industrial wide-format ink-jet presses," comments Tom Cloots, Marketing Manager for Industrial applications at Agfa Graphics. "Visitors can see its effortless, advanced performance and extreme versatility across a range of different materials and application, confirming that this solution is a true digital alternative with industrial potential."

Held annually to reward printer manufacturers for innovative design during the previous twelve months, the EDP Awards acknowledge new products brought to market that encompass new technology.