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High-capacity box: Western Lithotech markets six models of computer-to-plate devices under the DiamondSetter name. The heftiest machine is able to process as many as 200 plates in an hour. Computer-to-plate complexity is new territory you'll exploreORLANDO, Fla. -- Perhaps you're a systems editor, a newsroom type whose focus has been on the day-to-day business of getting out a newspaper. You've dabbled, as the times require -- with varying levels of intensity -- in on-line distribution methods. You've fretted about which pagination system to install, and how it will alter your workflow. You have assiduously and successfully avoided questions dealing with technologies that, in the not-too-distant past, were clearly the domain of the production department. Then some wise guy came up with the newspaper mantra of the '90s: "We're breaking down the walls." It's the modern-day equivalent of a bunch of trumpets storming the walls of Jericho. The walls around you are falling fast, and you've got to think about computer-to-plate. Now. NEXPO had lots of contenders for your CTP dollars, and it's likely there will be more hands reaching out for them next year in Las Vegas, and the following year when NEXPO graces our beloved San Francisco. You may know more than squat about CTP, but you suddenly need to know a lot more. (On the World-Wide Web, one site -- http://www.ctpp.com/ -- can provide you with the equivalent of a post-graduate degree in CTP, if you're interested. You may find it's more fun than you expected.) Before engaging you in a description of specific NEXPO '98 product offerings, we'll provide a brief topology of what you're likely to encounter, along with why it might be significant to you. The first thing to know is that CTP (also known as direct-to-plate) can have an almost infinite number of components:
You can buy all-in-one systems from one supplier, or pick and choose from specialty companies which focus on one aspect of the process.
So many questions to ask yourself
The heart of CTP equipment may include a flatbed, internal drum or external drum device which will image plates with a red, green or blue laser (the colors represent a difference in wavelength). You may encounter metal plates that are aluminum or plastic, coated with silver, or silver halide or polymer. The system utilized to guarantee that your color registration bears a precision that you haven't encountered since you first learned about pi may include references to three-pin, pre-punch, edge registration or retractable pin. You'll need to think about whether the plates in your CTP environment may be stored and loaded in daylight, or whether a darkroom has to be figured into the equation somewhere. And, of course, you must also consider compatibility with the plate bender you're using now or intend to use. You'll also want to think about how many plates, and/or how many plate cartridges, your device can handle. You'll need to think about whether the plates are manually or automatically loaded. And you'll be intrigued by the idea of built-in interleaf removal (which disposes of those sheets of paper between the plates, which sooner or later someone will worry about recycling to reduce waste). You'll also encounter considerations about how the plates are moved from the cartridge to the imaging device itself, and how well the emulsion-coated side of the plate is protected from scratches, fingerprints and other gremlins. You'll also want to make sure that the plate-per-hour statistics you're hearing apply to the particular size of plate you'll be using. Systems may be compared on the basis of format (plate size), media (metal or plastic plates), plate storage (how many unexposed plates can be held at once), production speed (the number of plates per hour, as well as inches and centimeters per hour, over a range of dots per inch, or dpi); spot size (27 micron is typical), addressability (which will show the dpi range and can be referred to in terms of number of pixels per centimeter), registration type (how plates are lined up for imaging), repeatability (which depends on your choice of registration method), power consumption, ventilation requirements, size and weight. Several companies manufacture CTP components but don't want to bother with distribution. You may find their products sold by another company, maybe more than one, and maybe under different names. (Don't get intimidated by all those numbers in the names of various CTP devices. They appear to be shorthand for the maximum image size a device can handle, and using them saved the company a few bucks because it didn't have to come up with some really creative name that didn't tell you anything at all.) When you're thinking about CTP savings, keep in mind that you might save money on equipment and still speed up production if you buy two smaller-capacity machines which can operate concurrently. As always, check to see that your price includes training, installation, support and warranty -- and remember that the cost of CTP plates may equal the combined cost of consumables used in the traditional negative-and-plate production scheme.
High-capacity CTP systems
Trolley-mounted cassettes holding 200 plates must be loaded in the darkroom, although the 3850 operates in full daylight. The process of loading, positioning and unloading plates is automated. Maximum plate size is 18.66-by-26-inches. The device features retractable registration pins, which allows you to use unpunched, pre-punched or notched plates, as well as hardware already in your plate line. The 3850 produces 97 broadsheet plates per hour at 1270 dpi. Top resolution is 2540. A three-pin lay system may be included in the system.
The AIR75 uses a blue argon-ion laser to expose most of the industry's currently available digital metal plates. It also offers two laser powers -- low for silver halide, high for photopolymer. Resolution range is 1016 to 2540 dpi with .001 inch (25 micron) repeatability. The device uses a combination of fixed pins and retractable pins in its registration system. The AIR75 can use the plate loading system from K&F Printing Systems International, which includes a bridging conveyer, plate processor and punch/bender. Plates are loaded under safe light conditions into a light-tight, trolley-mounted cassette holding 25 plates, either single- or double-width. ECRM also markets a 250-plate loading system, which requires darkroom loading but handles daylight operation.
Using aluminum-based, photopolymer plates, the Mark-III autofeeds from a 250-plate cassette. The complete unit is composed of the plate feed magazine table, plate transport unit, imager unit, heater/developer unit, puncher, bender and plate stand/stacker -- configurable in a straight line or L-shape, depending on your production facility. The company is open to either direct selling or strategic alliances.
The transport system will handle punched or unpunched offset plates. If you need higher productivity, a pre-loader option is available. It allows the system to pick up and pre-load the next two plates while two plates are being exposed; Agfa says that at 1016 dpi, you'll get a 20 percent increase in productivity. Plates are loaded from a light-tight trolley, and the device operates in daylight. Expect around 100 plates per hour, 120 with the pre-load option.
The Panther Fastrak Platesetter images directly to an aluminum plate (maximum 24.625-by-36-inches) and features Adobe PostScript 3 software RIPs, eight standard resolutions (up to 3048 dpi), dual one-gigabyte page buffers, autoloading and an optional on-line processor and multiport availability. Thomson Newspapers of Stamford, Conn., and Western Newspapers Inc. of Yuma, Ariz., are using the Fastrak Metal Platesetting Systems.
Plates are automatically loaded in full daylight, punched, exposed and processed. You can field upgrade to a maximum of three plate-loader stations, which allows you to process different plate formats at the same time. Plates are delivered emulsion side down; reloading is in full daylight. As a robot arm moves the plate, sensor units make sure interleaving is removed. While one plate is registered with the three-point registration system and punched on a flatbed punch table, the robot arm returns to pick up a new plate. The 2737 uses a DF-YAG laser with a mirror rotating at 30,000 rpm, reflecting light from the laser to expose the plate. Resolutions range from 900 dpi (354 pixels/cm), producing about 52 double-truck plates per hour, to 2032 dpi (800 pixels/cm), yielding about 27 double-truck plates per hour. Plates can be re-exposed via bitmap data on the sequencer platform which monitors the device. Plate types include silver halide, silver coated and photopolymer.
Features include flexible plate flow, flatbed imaging, interleaf removal and resolutions of 1016, 1270 and 2540 dpi. Image sizes are up to 24-by-34-inches (610-by-864 mm). Laser Express uses a cart-loaded, high-capacity, light-tight cassette; plates can be output in either landscape or portrait mode.
Metal plates are simultaneously imaged by two integrated laser imaging heads; an air flotation device ensures stability of the laser head platform. At the high end are the DiamondSetter 347 and 347s (which was announced at NEXPO). The 347 automatically produces up to 200 single-page plates per hour, the 347s up to 100 single-page plates per hour. Both have the equivalent scan rate of one inch (2.54 cm) per second at 1200 dpi. The 347 can image a 13.625-inch-by-24-inch format. Mid-range are the DiamondSetter 610sp and 610s2p, which can produce single, panorama and double plates, at plate scan rates of .83 inch (2.1 cm) per second at 1200 dpi. They can output a 24-by-36-inch image format. Both have automatic docking plate trolleys. The 610sp holds up to 500 double or single plates; the 610s2p holds up to 500 double or 1000 single plates.
Lower-capacity CTP devices
Maximum format area is 37-by-27-inches; maximum resolution is 2000 dpi (it was designed to do 16,000 dpi, but was detuned for newspaper use). Plates are moved by a semi-automatic gripper system, and require a darkroom load. Cymbolic uses an FD-YAG laser and a SCSI interface. Cymbolic Sciences doesn't sell direct -- it has a reseller agreement with Agfa (where you can find it as the Agfa Antares), and shares a global distribution agreement with FujiFilm Electronic Imaging Ltd. in Canada.
The capacity target is 60 single or 30 double-truck plates per hour. Loading and unloading is semi-automatic; the system uses register pins and an internal drum, which holds the plate stationary while the laser beam is directed by a rapidly rotating prism. Nappdirect supports OPI and a SCSI interface.
The LaserStar is an internal drum platesetter supporting argon ion, FD-YAG and YAG lasers. Expect to put out about 10 40-inch plates per hour at higher resolutions. The system uses a flexible pin register system, and pre-punched plates. Parascan Technologies Inc. of Sparks, Nev., is installing about 25 of its workflow solution systems on both Krause and Agfa Polaris devices in Europe, although Krause is just entering the U.S. market. -- L. Carol Christopher
Autologic Information International Inc., From THE COLE PAPERS, July 1998, Copyright © 1998, All Rights Reserved.
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