中文Agfa has been recognized with two 2026 Pinnacle Product Awards from PRINTING United Alliance, reinforcing the company’s strategic focus on high-volume flatbed production and integrated automation for wide-format print workflows. The awards honor the Onset Panthera FB3216 in the RTR/Hybrid/Flatbed New Technology category and the MAX automation ecosystem for the Jeti Tauro platform in the Non-Output Automation Equipment category.
The dual recognition is noteworthy not just for the products involved but for what it signals about Agfa’s direction. The company has been steadily building a portfolio that addresses the full wide-format production chain — from print engine to media handling — and these awards validate that systems-level approach. In a market where individual print quality has largely reached parity among major vendors, the competitive battleground has shifted to productivity, automation, and total cost of operation.
The Onset Panthera FB3216 is designed for high-volume flatbed production across sign, display, and packaging applications. Its headline specification is a production speed of up to 1,514 square meters per hour, equivalent to 295 beds per hour. That throughput places the platform firmly in the industrial production category, where the economics depend on keeping the machine running at high utilization rates with minimal operator intervention.
Speed alone, however, is not what differentiates the Onset Panthera. The platform incorporates an integrated LED curing system that supports a wider color gamut, delivers both satin and high-gloss output at production speed, and provides gloss control without the need for varnish. Equally important for cost-conscious operations, Agfa’s Thin Ink Layer technology reduces both ink and energy consumption, addressing two of the most significant operating cost variables in wide-format production.
“These solutions reflect the direction many of our customers are taking, where productivity depends on the full system working in sync, from print engine to media handling,” said Deborah Hutcheson, Director of Strategic Business Development at Agfa North America. That statement encapsulates the philosophy behind both award-winning products. The Jeti Tauro H3300 XUHS MAX automation ecosystem extends the systems-level approach with robotic substrate handling, motorized media guides, flexible rigid and roll-to-roll production, and scalable automation designed to improve utilization, throughput, and labor efficiency.
The MAX automation ecosystem for the Jeti Tauro is particularly relevant in the current labor market. Wide-format print shops across North America and Europe report persistent difficulty in finding and retaining skilled operators, particularly for physically demanding tasks like loading and unloading heavy rigid sheets. Robotic substrate handling addresses this challenge directly, allowing shops to maintain or increase production volumes without proportionally increasing headcount.
Scalable automation is a key design principle. Rather than forcing customers to invest in a fully automated configuration from day one, the MAX ecosystem allows shops to start with manual or semi-automated media handling and add robotic components as volumes and ROI justify. This incremental approach lowers the barrier to entry and makes automation accessible to mid-size shops that might otherwise be priced out of industrial-grade solutions.
Agfa will demonstrate both award-winning solutions at the PRINTING United Expo, scheduled for September 23-25 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The expo will provide an opportunity for potential customers to see the systems in operation and assess whether the productivity gains justify the investment.
The Pinnacle Product Awards program, administered by PRINTING United Alliance, recognizes innovative products that advance the printing industry. The awards are judged by an independent panel of industry experts, giving the recognition credibility beyond vendor marketing. For Agfa, winning two awards in a single year underscores the breadth of its product portfolio and the coherence of its automation strategy.
For wide-format print providers, the awards are a useful signal but should not replace hands-on evaluation. Production speed, ink consumption, and automation ROI all depend heavily on the specific mix of applications, substrates, and order volumes that a shop handles. What the awards do confirm is that Agfa is investing seriously in the industrial wide-format segment and that its products are being recognized by industry experts as genuinely innovative rather than incremental updates to existing platforms.
The wider industry context for these awards is worth considering. The wide-format print market is undergoing a structural shift, with traditional sign and display work increasingly supplemented by packaging prototyping, interior decor, and industrial decoration applications. This diversification demands equipment that can handle a broader range of substrates, ink chemistries, and production volumes. Agfa’s dual-award-winning portfolio — combining a high-volume flatbed with an automated roll-to-roll platform — positions the company to serve customers whose application mix is becoming more diverse rather than more specialized.
The labor dimension of the MAX automation ecosystem deserves particular attention. In many markets, finding and retaining skilled wide-format machine operators has become a persistent challenge, with wages rising and turnover increasing. Automation that reduces the physical demands on operators — particularly the repetitive, physically intensive task of loading and unloading rigid sheets — can improve both productivity and employee retention. Shops that invest in automation now may find themselves at a competitive advantage as labor markets remain tight, and the scalable nature of the MAX ecosystem means that the investment can grow incrementally as the business case strengthens. For an industry where the difference between profitable and unprofitable work often comes down to utilization rates and labor efficiency, these are not marginal considerations.
Source: INKISH.NEWS
