“Violet machines have a lot of advantages, and we expect that over 80% of the machines we sell next year will be violet. We can also retrofit any existing DMX,” said Raab.
The DMX HS can expose either type of plate without the need to change the laser. It outputs 270 plates an hour, but the firm believes it could go faster. No pricing information is available yet. It will be available from the second quarter of 2003.
At least two plate manufacturers will release violet plates for the newspaper market. Agfa is investigating the possibility of a violet version of its N91 photopolymer plate.
Agfa newspaper business segment manager Kurt Smits said: “To have a violet newspaper plate, the sensitivity has to double. We have looked into it and proven that it works.” But he would not say when the plate would be released.
Fuji launched a newspaper version of its violet photopolymer plate at the show. It also announced Brillia UVN-E, a conventional plate with a high speed coating designed for CTCP.
By John Davies in Barcelona
