Agfa upgrades its workflow software for the production of billboards, signs and other large formats. On the occasion of Fespa 2026, which takes place from May 19 to 22 in Barcelona, the Belgian manufacturer is launching Asanti 8, a new version geared towards automation and management of complex digital print productions, in order to reduce manual operations and secure production rates.
The end of manual sorting by print delivery point
The great evolution of Asanti 8 is the StackFlow function. StackFlow automatically organizes print jobs according to their final destination. Jobs with multiple delivery points, common in national campaigns or retail deployments, are thus sorted as soon as they leave the printer.
This automation eliminates manual collating steps and reduces logistics set-up times. StackFlow currently works with the Speedset Orca and will be extended to the Onset Panthera press.
Michael Dupré, Agfa's Software Manager for Digital Printing, explains: "The new StackFlow feature helps printers faced with high-demand campaigns, seasonal deployments or complex folding carton production, by making it easier to manage multiple prints to hundreds or even thousands of destinations simultaneously, accurately and on time. By automating the transition from order data to ready-to-ship stacks, we enable companies to offer advanced fulfillment services that were previously too complex or costly to deploy on a large scale."
Greater automation upstream and downstream of production
The workflow software also includes automation functions for file preparation. Hot Ticket tools offer automatic placement and auto-snapping functions.
Agfa has optimized media management, which is more advanced, and page layouts. Color management has also evolved. Pantone tone rendering has improved, particularly for out-of-gamut colors.
The workflow software also extends its connections with finishing equipment. In particular, Asanti 8 integrates with the Fotoba XL series of cutters. This connection enables barcodes to be generated automatically via the Fotoba Cloud service.
This automates cutting parameters, with no need for manual intervention during start-up.
Agfa will be exhibiting Asanti 8 on its Fespa stand, alongside its large-format systems, including the Onset Panthera, Jeti Tauro H3300 UHS and Jeti Bronco H3300 HS presses.
