DotLine, set up by an ex-Krause management team, has launched three versions of its 405mm violet platesetter, the C55. These are the entry-level 22pph (at maximum resolution and plate size) v1, the 35pph v2 and the 52pph v3, which is being targeted at the newspaper market.

All models handle two- and four-up plates and
have variable resolutions from 800dpi to 2,540dpi. Maximum imaging area is 635x870mm. The 60mW laser unit can expose violet-sensitive silver or photopolymer plates.

Prices for a C55v1 with no options start at around 33,000 (Eur50,000), rising to 66,000 for the fully automatic v2 version.
"They are very low-priced machines, but they come with a lot of options including automatic loading and unloading," said managing director Tobias Kaufhold.

According to Kaufhold the kit's "unique selling point" was its combination of an internal drum bed and a polygon-scanner to give "perfect" exposing even with high resolutions and above-average productivity.

DotLine was launched last year by Kaufhold, ex-joint managing director of Krause, Michael Rosemann, previously Krause's head of optical development, and Wilhelm Niemeier, the company's electronic component and control software specialist.

"Virtually the whole development department of Krause is here now at DotLine," said Kaufhold.

The firm is now working on an eight-up version of the C55, which it hopes to launch later this year. It is also developing a plate magazine cassette system.

Kaufhold said that the company has made three German installations to date. The firm is currently in the process of developing a deal with a UK distributor, but at the moment it is selling directly into the UK.
Visit: http://www.dot-line.de

Story by Jez Abbott