Star Products
Agfa Apogee Impose
EFI Web Control Centre
Roland DG Versa-uv LEC 330
Screen PlateRite 8000N

Timeline
Key dates since Ipex 06

Show Guide
Review of the Pre-Media kit that will on show

So much of pre-press has, with the advent of workflow, been automated to the point of invisibility and, with the rise of digital imaging, disappeared, which leaves little room for improvement. The major process for analogue print is plate output and for all print processes it is essential to keep colour under control. The tools to do that continue to move beyond the eyes of a skilled operator to a system based on spectrophotometry and statistics.

Computer-to-plate (CTP) is a mature market, but there will still be some innovations evident at Ipex.

For the big vendors, it's a case of improving on the existing model with enhancements to established products, such as Screen and Agfa's new machines that improve productivity and energy consumption, but these are definitely evolutionary rather than revolutionary.

Computer-to-conventional-plate (CTCP) has established itself a niche and the two dominant players in the market, Lüscher and Basysprint, are both showing machines that move the market on. In Lüscher's case, the Swiss firm has come up with a machine that promises to handle the more esoteric plate materials, such as flexo, letterpress and screen, offering firms with diverse platemaking needs a one-stop solution for digitising their workflow. This approach may have more merit than the original argument that it promised lower litho plate costs.

"The fundamental question for CTCP is can you amortise the higher engine cost?" explains Agfa commercial sales director Ralph Hillsdon. "It only fits certain customers with volumes in excess of 20,000m2 per year."

Many of the Chinese plate suppliers set to appear at this year's show are making much of the fact that they offer plates suitable for CTCP, and the main argument is that the prices are much lower.

Hillsdon counters that: "Plates are a small part of the total cost of a job, and if they won't register or come up to colour, the wasted press time is expensive. Most customers decide it's not worth the risk for saving a few pounds."

He also points out that CTCP platesetters, just like CTP devices, need highly consistent plates. "They may use analogue plates, but they still need the batch-to-batch consistency - you can't just leave the plate in for an extra 10 seconds like you used to be able to in a print-down frame."

To that end Agfa offers a UV-sensitive plate optimised for CTCP, Aluva, Hillsdon claims that in the CTCP market in Europe the majority of printers stick to materials from the big three plate vendors: Agfa, Fuji and Kodak.

Chinese whispers
There are a dozen Chinese firms showing plates at Ipex. However, in most parts of Europe, and particularly the UK, the uptake has been limited. Despite the promise of lower prices, it seems many firms are wary of cheaper products. Even some Chinese firms agree that some of their compatriots have a problem. "We're not ‘cheap Chinese'," says Xingraphics technical product manager, Europe Paul Rudman. "You get what you pay for."

He argues that his firm's decision to support Europe with local technical support and a warehouse in Amsterdam pushes its prices up compared to Chinese rivals, but it can still undercut the big three while offering similar standards of product and support.

Xingraphics has also innovated, rather than producing ‘me-too', cheaper versions of standard PS plates and thermal and the occasional violet photopolymer CTP plate. At Ipex it will give the first European showing of its Fit Eco processless plate, which uses phase-change technology. It will be interesting to see if a Chinese firm can deliver a technology where western firms have failed.

There are also other plate imaging technologies bubbling under. The idea of using inkjet to image plates has been around since the early days of CTP and inkjet, but has never moved mainstream. It's an attractive option because of the low cost when using a standard inkjet printer, but the limitations have always largely outweighed the benefits. However, Israeli firm VIM is showing a plate that is imaged using Epson inks, which offers the potential to proof and plate on the same machine. Kimoto is showing a platesetter using UV-cured inks to produce plates. On paper it's an elegant solution, however, the asking price of £28,000 for the printer and the limited resolution of 1,080dpi may restrict its success.

Small steps
While it's nice to see products that could be revolutionary, for most visitors it's the evolutionary products that offer the most benefits. Kodak's Trillian plate is one such example. It doesn't seem to be that significant at first glance, coming from an established player and being a thermally imaged processed plate. However, it promises excellent on-press performance, is tough without pre- or post-bake, saving energy, and although processed, uses up to 70% less chemistry than comparable products. Kodak calls it a ‘pressman's' plate.

Agfa has extended its range of processless plates with the launch of Azura V, its violet-sensitive plate, which like the thermal version just needs a washout to be ready to print. According to Hillsdon this plate promises to revive the violet market. For all but the oldest violet platesetters it can be dropped in with minimal modification to the processor, and for new installations the simplicity of the washout unit compared to a processor restores the cost advantage of violet.
"In 4-up, violet used to have a price advantage, but when we launched the thermal Azura plate the washout unit being half the price of a plate processor took that away," he says. "Azura V puts the price advantage back. If you can save £8,000-£9,000 on the cost of a washout unit, compared to a processor, that's a lot of money."

Process control is becoming increasingly important as the market moves towards colour standards such as ISO 12647-2 and the definition of colour in spectral terms rather than density. With that move to a more technical approach to colour, printers need additional tools and services to help keep things shipshape. A raft of products are springing up to better control and communicate colour.

However, it's all very well using technology to try to ensure colour consistency, but to be successful that technology has to be accurately calibrated. You need to know that the spectral reading today is the same as last week and next year plus that it's the same here as it is on the other side of the world.

Heidelberg has launched its Netprofiler solution, which does just that. Netprofiler offers colorimetric checking and calibration of its Prinect colour measuring systems. 

Using a three-stage concept Netprofiler checks, calibrates, and certifies spectrophotometric Prinect colour measuring systems using a new colour chart with reference data.

It's not just Heidelberg that's reacting to this trend. Bodoni Systems has found a need to be able to calibrate multiple spectrophotometers so they all provide the same reading.

"Inter-instrument calibration is becoming more important," says Bodoni managing director Ian Reid. "We're increasingly getting multiple instruments on one site and with different instruments, you get different results."

To get around that, PressSign allows you to create a master instrument and then calibrate all your devices to that.
Reid says that ultimately the firm, similar to Heidelberg's approach with Netprofiler, wants to be able to provide reference colour charts with data that can be tracked back to a national and international standard to ensure consistent colour across the industry.