Agfa (formerly Matrix Instruments), manufacturer of the Agfa PCR, PCR II, and PCR II Plus, Agfa QCR, QCR/D, and QCR/Z, Agfa Procolor and Procolor Premier, Agfa FotoColor, Agfa Fotopro, Agfa ProSlide 35, Agfa Alto and Alto LS, and Agfa Forte and Forte Plus film recorders, has quit the film recorder business entirely. However, the Computer Graphics Group is committed to helping Agfa film recorder owners get the most out of the remaining life of their Agfa film recorders wherever possible, with repairs and current driver software for Windows PC's and Macintoshes.
The next section gives background information on the various Agfa/Matrix film recorder models. The section following that gives information on the availablilty of repairs for Agfa/Matrix film recorders; to skip directly to the repairs section, click here. The section following that describes the various driver software packages that have been used to operate Agfa/Matrix film recorders; to skip directly to the driver software section, click here.
This company began life over 20 years ago as Matrix Instruments. They produced the first "reasonably-priced" digital film recorder, the QCR. This was a 4K resolution film recorder, which sold for about $25,000! The founder of the Computer Graphics Group was among the first salesmen to sell QCR's, and many were sold, even at that price. The original QCR's interfaced to an IBM PC or compatible only, and used a special interface box called the "MVP", manufactured by Imapro, or a board also called the "MVP" (also manufactured by Imapro) installed in the PC. Later came the QCR/D and QCR/Z enhanced models, and the "QVP" PC interface board. Later Matrix introduced the PCR model, and the MVP/QVP interface was replaced with a (more or less) industry standard GPIB hardware interface directly to the film recorder. This interface also required a card (GPIB/IEEE 488) to be installed in the PC, but this board was commercially available and consequently much less expensive than the custom-built MVP/QVP, and was also available for the Macintosh, so GPIB-interfaced film recorders could now be connected to a Mac. There is no longer any supported software for the MVP or QVP interface boxes or boards. However, some of the older MVP/QVP-interfaced Matrix film recorders which have a GPIB (IEEE 488) physical hardware interface on the film recorder itself, may be able to be interfaced to a modern computer with a GPIB card installed in it, and run currently available software (Raster Plus for Windows - see "Software Drivers" below). GPIB cards are available from National Instruments, www.ni.com.
Some years ago Matrix Instruments was acquired by the Agfa division of Bayer, a German company. A number of other film recorder models were introduced under the Agfa name, including the Procolor, Procolor Premier, Fotocolor, Fotopro, Alto and Forte. Also, the transition was made from the relatively unknown GPIB (IEEE 488) interface, to the industry-standard SCSI interface for some of the newer models. However, evidently the film recorder business did not produce enough income for the massive Bayer, and so in June of 1998, Agfa sold the film recorder manufacturing business to a German company. Repairs for the Agfa film recorders have been dumped off on third parties, who may or may not still have spare parts. This has put Agfa film recorder owners in a real bind. See Repairs immediately below
Some repair service for Agfa film recorders is still available from third-party sources; call the Computer Graphics Group at (800) 999-2034 for information on current repair sources. Since no more modules or subsystems for these film recorders are being manufactured, most repairs will have to be made at the component level, which can require a long turnaround time and may be expensive; and some failures will not be repairable because the failed components are no longer available. In addition, the driver software which was originally shipped with the Agfa film recorder may be discontinued, may not run on current releases of your computer's operating system, or may not be compatible with recent releases of some graphics applications (PowerPoint, etc.). The replacement software, if available at all, can be quite expensive (see Software Drivers immediately below). In many cases it may make more sense to trade the Agfa film recorder in on a currently-manufactured film recorder make and model. See Tradeins below.
The Computer Graphics Group carries current driver software to interface most Agfa/Matrix film recorders to both Windows and Macintosh computers. For a complete history and description of Windows software drivers, click here. To jump directly to a table summarizing the driver software available for various versions of Windows, click here. For a complete history and description of Macintosh software drivers, click here. To jump directly to a table summarizing the driver software available for various versions of the Mac OS, click here .
Zenographics SuperPrint. This software supported early Windows 95 Agfa film recorder models. SuperPrint is now a frozen product - that is, Zenographics is not going to do any more development of SuperPrint to accommodate future releases of the Windows operating system or application programs (PowerPoint, etc.). SuperPrint for the Agfa film recorders is frozen at Version 4. SuperPrint Version 4 supports Agfa film recorders only under Windows 3.1, 95, and NT 3.51. No support is available under SuperPrint Version 4 for Windows 98, NT 4, or Windows 2000. For those Agfa film recorder owners with versions of SuperPrint older than 4.0, an upgrade to SuperPrint Version 4.0 is available directly from the Zenographics web site at: www.zeno.com/order/. However, for all Agfa owners with SuperPrint, we recommend switching to Raster Plus (see below) rather than upgrading your SuperPrint, as Raster Plus is a continuing product with ongoing development for new operating system and application program releases, etc.
Graphx Raster Plus. The Raster Plus software supports all Agfa film recorder models with GPIB (IEEE 488) interface, and all models except the PCR, QCR, QCR/D, and QCR/Z with SCSI interface (the PCR II and PCR II Plus models with SCSI interface are supported). It handles PostScript output as well as a number of raster formats, and runs under Windows 95, 98, NT 4, 2000, and XP (no NT 3.5).
Raster Plus Windows Specifications:A summary of the Agfa film recorder models and their corresponding support software is shown here. A free evaluation copy of Raster Plus Windows is available at www.graphx.com. The evaluation copy has all the features of Raster Plus, but will only image for 14 days before you have to buy it (and you can't just set your computer's clock back - it knows that the time has expired, and also will not allow you to reinstall it). Raster Plus Windows for the Agfa Alto, Alto LS, Forte, Forte Plus, and FotoPro film recorders is list priced at $1995. Raster Plus Windows for the FotoColor, PCR, PCR II, PCR II Plus, ProColor, ProColor Premier, ProSlide 35, QCR, QCR-D, and QCR-Z is list priced at $995. You can buy the full version of Raster Plus at the Graphx web site, but you will have to pay list price there. Call the Computer Graphics Group at (800) 999-2034 for our current Raster Plus Windows pricing information.
Professional Output Manager. Older Agfa film recorders were supported by Professional Output Manager (POM) software from Visual Business Systems (VBS) on the Macintosh. VBS has been purchased by the folks at Graphx, who have re-released the POM software as Raster Plus Macintosh Edition. The old POM software is no longer supported.
Raster Plus Macintosh Edition. Raster Plus Macintosh supports all Agfa film recorder models except the FotoPro and QCR, QCR/D, and QCR/Z. It supports the Alto, Alto LS, PCR II, PCR II Plus, FotoColor, ProSlide 35, ProColor, and ProColor Premier models only with SCSI interface, and the PCR model only with GPIB (IEEE 488) interface. Raster Plus Macintosh Edition supports Mac OS6-9 only, not OS X.
Raster Plus Macintosh Specifications:
FilmMagic Pro. This software supported all GPIB(IEEE 488)-connected or SCSI-connected Agfa film recorder models, and was very popular with Macintosh users. However, the manufacturer (Inkwell Software) is now out of business.
A summary of the Agfa/Matrix film recorder models and their available support software is given in the tables below. Contrary to the information frequently posted by sellers of film recorders on eBay and other web sites, current driver software for Agfa/Matrix film recorders is not available for free download on Agfa's web site or anywhere else! (except for demo versions as described above). The driver software for all modern film recorders, including Agfa/Matrix, has not been free for at least the past 10 years or more. Please do not ask us to send you a "copy" of this driver software. This is licensed software which it is illegal to copy. In addition, other than what is listed below, we are not aware of any other (i.e, cheaper) software available to drive the Agfa/Matrix film recorders. If you want to output to an Agfa/Matrix film recorder from a Windows or Macintosh computer, you will have to purchase one of the following software packages to do so.
| Model | Interface | Software Support | |||||
| SCSI | GPIB | Windows 3.1 |
Windows 95 |
Windows NT 3.51 |
Windows 98 |
Windows NT4, 2000, XP |
|
| Alto Alto LS | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2 | Raster Plus Windows 2 |
| Forte Forte Plus | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2 | Raster Plus Windows 2 |
| FotoColor | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| FotoPro | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 2 | Raster Plus Windows 2 |
| PCR | no | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| PCR II, PCR II Plus | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| ProColor, ProColor Premier | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| ProSlide 35 | yes | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| QCR, QCR-D, QCR-Z | no | yes | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4,3 | SuperPrint Version 4 1 | Raster Plus Windows 4 | Raster Plus Windows 4 |
| Model | Interface | Software Support | |||
| GPIB | SCSI | OS 6 | OS 7-9 | OS X | |
| Alto Alto LS | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh1 | (none) |
| Forte Forte Plus | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh1 | (none) |
| FotoColor | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh1 | (none) |
| FotoPro | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh1 | (none) |
| PCR | yes | no | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh2 | (none) |
| PCR II, PCR II Plus | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh2 | (none) |
| ProColor, ProColor Premier | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh2 | (none) |
| ProSlide 35 | yes | yes | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh2 | (none) |
| QCR, QCR-D, QCR-Z | yes | no | (none) | Raster Plus Macintosh2 | (none) |
For Agfa owners whose film recorders can not be repaired, or for whom the repairs or software upgrades are too expensive, or who just plain want a newer, faster slidemaker, the Computer Graphics Group is currently offering a tradein credit for Agfa film recorders (working or not) on the purchase of a new Lasergraphics film recorder. Lasergraphics has essentially taken over the film recorder market, due to their products' high quality and reliability, and reasonable pricing. The 4K resolution Lasergraphics Personal LFR Plus, perfectly adequate for most slidemaking applications, is priced at $5995, before the tradein discount. For those who need the maximum in slide sharpness, the 8K resolution Lasergraphics Mark III is priced at only $8995, before the tradein discount. The 8K resolution Mark III DPM (Digital Photography Model), with proprietary special hardware and lookup tables for imaging negatives and standard 35mm film adapter, optional 120/220 and 4x5 film adapters, is list priced at $10995 before the tradein discount. The Premium 16K resolution LFR Mark VI DPM model, also with proprietary special hardware and lookup tables for imaging negatives, and optional 35mm, 120/220, and 4x5 film adapters, is list priced at $22995 before the tradein discount. See our Lasergraphics page for more information.
The Computer Graphics Group
Office Hours: 8AM-5PM Pacific Time Monday-Friday
U.S. Toll-free Number: (800) 999-2034
Southern California Main Office: (310) 372-3228
Northern California Branch Office: (408) 858-1044
email:
sales@computergraphicsgroup.com
techsupport@computergraphicsgroup.com