On June 22nd, Agfa and General Inkjet Printing Technology Co., Ltd. officially announced in Beijing that they had signed a strategic cooperation agreement to deepen their technological and market cooperation in the inkjet field, optimize their respective strengths in research and development, production, technology and distribution, and provide a complete solution from equipment to consumables, from systems to applications to serve every niche market in the rapidly expanding inkjet printing market.
Agfa has been deeply engaged in the inkjet field for many years.
As early as 2004, a single-pass UV printing machine for flexible packaging and label printing was launched.
In 2009, Agfa acquired the Canadian company Gandi Innovations, which enabled us to obtain a complete range of inkjet equipment products, including roll-to-roll, platform-type and flat-roll integrated large-format printing platforms, targeting the advertising printing, signage and display, and industrial printing markets.
In 2018, the world's first industrial printing machine specifically designed for the decoration industry, InterioJet 2500, was launched.
In 2020, the ultra-high-speed large-format UV printing machine Tauro UHS3300 was released and was highly praised by the market.
General Inkjet Printing Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "GIP") is an inkjet overall solution provider.
Focus on system software development, development and production of inkjet core system related equipment, research and development of new materials and new processes, and provide overall inkjet solutions for different industries, including on-demand publishing, label and packaging, decor paper printing, textile printing, food printing.
The core team of GIP entered the inkjet field in 2005. Today, it has a research and development team of over 80 people, consisting of three core business units: Printhead-controller development, System integration, and Inkjet materials. At the same time, it is also collaborating with industry partners in multiple fields to provide application solutions for specific domains.
Printhead-controller： focus on the research and development of fully independent intellectual property digital inkjet printhead-controller systems, and provide customers with high-performance customized printhead-controller, embedded control systems and computer-based print control software, to meet the needs of different industrial digital inkjet equipment.
System integration：The developer and manufacturer of inkjet printing engine systems provides customized inkjet solutions for emerging markets. Besides the overall machine development and production, they also assist OEM customers in manufacturing independent printing engines and help OEM customers provide complete printing equipment for different markets.
Inkjet materials：Focus on the research, production and sales of inkjet consumables. The three core business departments under GIP cover every core aspect of inkjet printing. Through strategic cooperation with Agfa, optimize key technologies in the core processes, shorten the supply chain, accelerate market response capabilities, and have broad future development prospects.
CEO of Agfa, Pascal Juéry：“The inkjet printing technology features high efficiency and low cost, and is applicable to various industries. The inkjet market is a key investment area for Agfa and also a crucial business for Agfa's future growth. We promise to become an important partner in industrial production, providing reliable and cost-effective inkjet solutions.”
CEO of GIP, Bill Lee：“China is the world's factory, possessing the most complete industrial chain and supply capabilities. It is an indispensable and extremely important part of the global supply chain. Inkjet technology, with its advantages of variable data, wide adaptability and low cost, is naturally the best partner for intelligent production based on the Internet of Things.”
The cooperation between GIP and Agfa is more closely aligned with the factory and the market. The traditional advantages of Agfa and the system development capabilities of GIP will undoubtedly bring new production and business models to various fields.
For instance, in the decorative paper printing market, Chinese manufacturers account for more than two-thirds of the global share. Agfa and GIP highly recognize the potential of inkjet applications in this field and have taken the lead in developing dedicated inkjet equipment, InterioJet, for this market.
We believe that in all existing and emerging fields such as on-demand publishing, packaging, textile printing, even food printing, GIP and Agfa will undoubtedly become important partners.
Under the strategic cooperation framework between Agfa and GIP, GIP is the exclusive agent for Agfa's inkjet system, covering equipment, consumables and software. Meanwhile, GIP focuses on system development and equipment production. By leveraging Agfa's technological accumulation and ink development capabilities, both parties will surely jointly usher in a new era of "large-scale printing".
