It also revealed that it is investing 27m (40m) in a second plate line for its European factory in Tilburg, Netherlands (pictured), which will increase the site's plate capacity by 50%.

"In today's products in the market there are compromises in speed, quality, run length, plate handling and on-press performance," said Fujifilm Graphic Systems UK director Keith Dalton. "True processless should have no compromises."

The firm's first processless plate to be launched will be the Brillia PRO-T, a thermally imaged develop on press plate that will ship in the first quarter of 2006. The firm claims that the sensitivity of the plate of 120mJ per sq cm is the same as its wet processed Brillia thermal plate, meaning that exposure speed matches normal plates. Run length unbaked is up to 100,000.

"Speed has been one compromise," said Dalton. "This is the same speed, it's a true drop in and turn the processor off swap."

Coming at some point in 2007 is the Brillia PRO-V, a violet sensitive plate. Due to the safelight requirements it is processed in a gumming unit prior to printing. The plate is good for runs of up to 200,000 and works with UV inks without baking, but can be baked for longer runs.

Fuji is working on the sensitivity of the plate, which will need more powerful violet diodes than are used in current platesetters, but these are coming on stream from several sources for Blu-ray DVD applications and will be available by the time the product ships. Both plates can hold 1-99% dots at 200lpi and are capable of holding 20micron FM screens.

The technology behind the plates includes a new chemically grained aluminium base for on-press performance a new emulsion for image quality and new high-sensitivity polymerisers for imaging speed.

Fuji declined to discuss prices for the new plates, but did comment that it expected the total cost of ownership to make the product appealing to a wider base of printers than current processless users, including those with significantly larger plate volumes than today.

The expansion at Tilburg, which is expected to begin production in October 2007, is being built to support European demand for Fuji's plates. The site has had double digit growth since 1997 and adds 60 plate sizes per month.

The new line will be devoted entirely to CTP plate manufacturing.
Before the new line starts Fuji will shift production of newspaper CTP plates for Europe to Tilburg, with production due to begin at the start of 2006.

Story by Barney Cox