Fujifilm said that the plate's launch was part of a wider strategy to introduce products that have a lower environmental impact.

Sean Lane, Fujifilm UK technical manager for plates, stressed that running "greener" operations and reducing the use of chemicals were priorities for both commercial and newspaper printers.

He said: "There's a definite interest, which is being driven by things like ISO 14001 and carbon footprints, so a lot of the newspapers have got big projects in place to try to improve their credentials there.

"This plate helps them to achieve that because the chemical consumption of chemistry-free is dramatically less than typical normal processed plates."

The Brillia Pro-VN uses Fujifilm's "high sensitive polymerisation" technology, which the manufacturer said would allow the same level of productivity as conventional processed plates.

The plate also benefits from Fujifilm's MultiGrain technology, which aims to ensure optimum ink/water balance and handling performance.

Fujifilm, which is currently carrying out beta testing at a number of sites across the UK and Europe, is targeting the first quarter of 2009 for full commercial availability.