Mitsubishi described the PDP as a "true chemical-free platemaking system", because it uses polyester-based plate material that does not require any chemical processing.

The plates, which are available in roll format in various thicknesses, use a polymer cross-linking technology, require no chemistry and only need water in the integrated plate-washing process.

Mitsubishi will be imaging the plates on-stand at Ipex, using a compact violet 405nm/120mW laser, and will also run the plates on a Ryobi 784E live at the show.

The manufacturer is targeting B3 and B2 commercial offset printers with the Polymer DigiPlate, which offers a maximum resolution of 3,000dpi and run lengths of up to 20,000 impressions.

In addition to the PDP system, which will be commercially available from January 2011, Mitsubishi will also be demonstrating its Thermal DigiPlate (TDP) system at Ipex.

TDP is a chemistry-free thermal CTP system for single- and spot-colour printing that can output up to 75 plates per hour at 1,200dpi. The paper-based platemaking system, which requires no processing consumables, received the 2009 Technology Award from the Society of Printing Science and Technology in Japan.