The Brillia Pro-VN2 offers the same 2-98% at 1,200dpi/100lpi resolution as it's predecessor while boasting a dramatic increase in the rated run length.

Users will benefit from an unbaked run length of up to 300,000 impressions, compared with a maximum of 150,000 to 200,000 on the original Pro-VN.

Fujifilm UK product manager, offset solutions, Sean Lane said the run lengths of Fuji's lo-chem plates now mirrored their standard LPN-NW and LPN-NV plates.

Lane said that this had primarily been achieved through advances in the binder, coating and undercoating layers, although he added that Fujifilm had recently switched to a different aluminium grade for all its newspaper products.

"To achieve longer runs the plate has to be more robust and part of that is down to the aluminium," he explained. "There are two grades available: standard and high strength and we've chosen to put all our newspaper plates on the high-strength alloy."

Lane said that Fujifilm was about to begin the first commercial trial at a UK printer for its Brillia Pro-VN2 plate, which is commercially available immediately.

Fujifilm said the new lo-chem plate also featured improved chemical resistance over its predecessor, which had its commercial launch at Ifra in 2009, and listed benefits including, less waste, smaller footprint, no pH control required, easier maintenance of the finishing unit, and more environmentally friendly with simpler processing.