The calculator analyses the environmental impact of a variety of plates such as ZAC-processed, chemistry-free and processless.

Printers using the calculator can enter the number and size of the plates used per month as well as the amount of replenisher and developer consumed, the size of the processor, and in addition, how many hours it is in use and on standby.

The tool then generates bar graphs that show how much water, chemistry and energy is consumed and also how much waste is produced for each different plate-processing combination.

Graham Leeson, marketing manager at Fujifilm, said the calculator "quickly and simply allows a printer to understand the relative environmental pros and cons of the different platemaking technologies".

He added: "Importantly, the calculator clarifies the grey area surrounding chemistry-free and processless platemaking from an environmental perspective by clearly identifying the resources used and waste produced."

The online plate processing calculator can be found at www.howgreenareyourplates.com.