Pre-Press - Computer-to-plate

MEETING DELIVERY dates can be a challenge for any type of printing operation, but there’s nothing quite like the deadline pressures of producing a daily newspaper. Pages need to be kept open as long as possible for competitive reasons, but the printed paper absolutely must be available to readers with their morning coffee. All elements of the newspaper production workflow have to be up to the challenge, and platemaking is a critical link in the chain. More plates typically are output in the final 15 minutes before the presses start to roll than during any other block of time. In recent years, digital technology

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Printers in growing numbers are having second thoughts about their computer-to-plate (CTP) systems. First-time buyers are still the dominant force in the market today, but the aging installed base is rapidly driving up the percentage of shops looking to invest in a second, or even third, generation of technology. By the end of 2004, the installed base of CTP devices in North America had reached nearly 12,000 units, including metal and non-metal systems, according to a new plate market study recently published by PRIMIR (the Print Industries Market Information and Research Organization). Completed by State Street Consultants in

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor Given all the debate about the technology of coatings in recent years, one might think printing plates are an exception to the rule that it is what's below the surfaces that really matters. One thing almost all of the solutions, even analog plates, have in common, though, is an aluminum base. Polyester plates are the exception, of course. This commonality in printing plates hit home earlier this year when vendors notified customers of price increases due to the rising cost of raw materials. Aluminum prices reportedly have risen some 40 percent over the past two years, and higher

VANCOUVER, BC—Creo Inc. is claiming victory in the wake of a district court ruling that six Agfa patents for computer-to-plate (CTP) technology were unenforceable due to acts of inequitable conduct. According to a statement from Creo, the ruling by the U.S. District Court in Massachusetts determined that Agfa failed to disclose known material information to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. "We are extremely pleased with this ruling as it supports what Creo has maintained all along," notes Creo CEO Amos Michelson. "Agfa's patents would never had been issued had Agfa told the patent office the complete facts on the development of automated CTP technology." Agfa

Fujifilm Adds PS Line at Plate Facility GREENWOOD, SC—Enovation Graphic Systems, a Fujifilm company, recently teamed up with Fuji Photo Film to provide a tour of the latter's plate line expansion at its Fujifilm-South Carolina manufacturing site. The project, which included adding more than 100,000 square feet of manufacturing space, is said to represent a $100 million investment. Fujifilm went public with its plan to add the plate line—which it has designated P7—in March of 2003 and, by August of this year, had completed the first production run on the new machine. It is designed to produce all of the manufacturer's pre-sensitized (PS) plates, but will

by MaRK SMITH Technology Editor Weak strains of the great violet vs. thermal CTP debate cropped up in some post-Drupa reports, and then were echoed in postings on the PrintPlanet.com "Computer to Plate Pressroom, CTP Technologies" eCommunity and other industry forums. These discussions largely have covered old ground, but two pending developments are seen as having the potential to change the competitive picture. CORRECTION:Heidelberg announced a new option in its Prosetter violet platesetter line prior to Drupa, which should have been included in the printed version of this story. With the new Multi Cassette Loader (MCL), any Prosetter can now image up to four

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor At the risk of having this sound like yet another Drupa story, the quadrennial international exhibition traditionally has served as a status check for industry innovations. Developments in printing technology often are marked in "Drupa time"—such as the Digital Printing Drupa, CTP Drupa and, for this year's show, the JDF Drupa. The concentration of international vendors and worldwide attention given the event put pressure on exhibitors to show that they are keeping pace with each other. While not as broad-based of a trend, 2004 also heralded the Processless Plate Drupa. This technology has been talked about for years,

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The size of a shop's presses used to be seen as saying something about the sophistication of its operations. Today, half-size and smaller presses are just as likely as full-size machines to boast sophisticated computer controls, digital interfaces and other automation features. While the trend toward shorter runs may play to the strengths of these presses, print buyers don't want to make any compromises in color, quality or service. Therefore, small- to mid-size printers have come under increased pressure to be technologically competitive throughout their shops. For a growing number, a critical step has been adopting computer-to-plate production with

BY MARK SMITH Technology Editor The goal is basically the same regardless of what name is given to the technology—no-process, process-free or non-process plates. Since computer-to-plate production is all about taking steps, variables and labor out of the workflow, it naturally follows that people would look to eliminate the chemistry-based plate processor. The leading plate manufacturers have very similar takes on the future of this development, even if they differ on what to call it. This shared vision begins with a focus on non-ablative switchable polymer and/or on-press development systems as promising technologies. That is, with the exception of Presstek Inc. in Hudson, NH.

BY MARK SMITH Rarely does the first generation of a "revolutionary" new technology live up to expectations. In software circles, for example, painful experience has taught many users to wait for version 2.0 of any new release. The saying, "Once bitten, twice shy," definitely applies. The greater the degree of disappointment, the longer the road will be to convincing potential adopters that a technology is now "real." Both stochastic/frequency-modulated (FM) screening and high-fidelity/extended gamut color separation technologies first made a lot of noise in the market during the mid '90s. Versions of each achieved some success, but both have been seen as failed technologies