History

1868 – 1904: The Early Years

In the age of the construction of the Suez Canal, the invention of the telephone and the building of the Eiffel tower, the companies Agfa and L. Gevaert & Cie too first see the light of day, the former in Germany, near Berlin, the latter in the city of Antwerp in Belgium.

1905 – 1959: The Years of Expansion

Both Agfa and Gevaert rapidly expand. Their capital has grown enormously and they establish branches all over the world. Many new products are introduced to meet the needs of different quickly modernising industries, such as repro films and plates, X-ray materials and motion picture film with sound.

1960 – 1979: The Golden 60s and 70s

1964 is the year of the big merger between Agfa and Gevaert. In the following prosporous decade Agfa-Gevaert establishes itself as the leader of the standardization and automation ot the graphic arts industry, while electronic techniques start making their way.

1980 – 1990: Expanding in prepress technology

After Bayer has obtained 100% ownership of the Group at the beginning of the decade, Agfa-Gevaert starts producing anodized aluminium offset printing plates and expands its position in the field of printing and office systems through the acquisition of the American company Compugraphic.

1990 – 2000: From analogue to digital

Whereas in the first half of the decade more sophisticated filmsetters take over from the early phototypesetters, the second half of the decade is charaterised by the shift from analogue to digital technologies. A number of acquisitions make Agfa the leader in the graphic prepress industry.

2001 - now: Prepress and printing in the third millenium

Agfa Graphics gains momentum at the turn of the third millenium. It acquires a number of companies, thus reinforcing its market and technology leadership in prepress. The company also opens a state-of-the-art factory in China, and enters the industrial inkjet printing market.