Brazilian contract newspaper printer 3 Pontos Grafica E Editora is reporting good results from a trial of Agfa’s Spiral screening software.

Based in Ribeirao Preto, São Paulo, they print an average of 100 titles per week, most of them short runs between 2000-5000 copies, although some range to 30,000 and 70,000.

A three month trial from last September has seen reduced costs, increased productivity and efficiency, and importantly “very satisfied” advertisers, plant manager Macro Vallim says. Noticeable was the improvement in detail reproduction in the advertisements.

Annual plate consumption is about 20,000 m².

Claimed production gains include better quality with sharper images and better detail reproduction, faster start-ups, reduced ink and paper consumption, better ink/water control and faster drying.