By: Jim Rosenberg Agfa-Gevaert has reached agreement with Esko-Graphics to take over service and support for the latter's DMX platesetter and EskoNet newspaper workflow software customers and distributors. Esko-Graphics said it will continue its customer service during "a brief transition."
Agfa's global support organization is to provide service and parts to current DMX users, and that "for a limited period" it will sell additional DMX units to those customers.
The arrangement between the big Belgian firms follows Esko-Graphics' restructuring earlier this year around its core commercial printing and packaging system businesses and decision to divest its activities related to newspaper production. Esko-Graphics said, however, that it intends to retain support for Elaplan newspaper workflow customers.
The agreement calls for approximately 20 staffers from DMX platesetter technical support and EskoNet development and support to transfer from Esko-Graphics to Agfa, which said it will direct the completion of EskoNet version 2.1.
The announcement was made at this week's Ifra Expo, in Leipzig, Germany. As of early Friday afternoon -- a day after the annual newspaper trade show ended -- no one at Esko-Graphics' Kennesaw, Ga., offices could be reached for comment. A manager at Agfa's Wilmington, Mass., offices could not say when 2.1 is expected to be complete or confirm whether the deal with Esko-Graphics included the rights to its DMX technology and EskoNet source code.
The announcement also stated that EskoNet customers "can expect a full migration path into both current and future workflow systems." Whether that refers to EskoNet, to Agfa's workflow software, or both could not be ascertained.
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