Group marketing director Mike Austin said guaranteeing a supply of plates to Fulmar Group's Heidelberg presses, comprising a total of 62 units, was paramount to the decision.

"We wanted a platesetter with exceptional throughput to cope with our considerable plate volume needs. Run lengths are growing shorter and response rates are faster and this investment was important to reduce our pre-press times still further," he said.

Austin added that with the new platesetter, which can image up to 51 Agfa thermal plates per hour, Fulmar could now produce a full set of plates for one of its 12-colour presses in just 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the company's investment in Screen's PDF/JDF-enabled Trueflow SE workflow was driven by its ability to provide automated preflight, colour conversion, imposition, trapping and ripping.

Austin said the company expected to continue its investment plan throughout this year. "We have some strong thoughts regarding purchases at Ipex next year," he added.