It is only now that it has come up with a proposition that it believes is suited to the bulk of the market.
"Three years ago the top 10% of B2 printers were interested in CTP, not the whole market," said UK marketing manager Maria Machera. "The market needs options – we needed to get pricing and our consumables strategy right."
Creo has dropped the price of a Lotem 400 with PS/M RIP to under £70,000. A version with Brisque Entro will cost around £72,000 and with Prinergy Entro £81,000.
Its push into the 4pp market follows efforts earlier this year to sort out finance and consumables bundling deals.
"Unless you have a complete solution you’re at a disadvantage," said Machera. "Some people sell electronics to sell consumables, we sell consumables to have a complete solution with electronics. If we need to offer finance we will, if we need to offer consumables we will."
Creo has also announced a processless option. It is immediately available for the Trendsetter 400 Quantum, and can be retrofitted to units in the field. Lotem 400 models, including the Quantum, will be available in processless versions by the end of the year. Creo currently has a deal with Presstek to supply the Anthem plate. Machera expects processless to really take off when plates are available from other vendors.
-Creo’s digital photography division, Leaf, launched a new camera at Photokina in Cologne this week. The Valeo is available in six-megapixel and 11-megapixel versions with an LCD display for image composition for location work without a computer.
Story by Barney Cox
