Heidelberg will sell Fujis Brillia LP-NV violet photopolymer plate in its consumables range.

Im hoping it will be another good partnership, said Fujifilm Graphic Systems divisional director Keith Dalton. For Fuji, having Heidelberg and Litho Supplies spreading the word is good for us and good for them.

Dalton added that Fujis renewed focus in the UK was starting to bear fruit and that it was seeing a strong upswing in firms calling to trial its plates.

The deal gives Heidelberg an alternative plate supplier and technology for customers of its visible light Prosetter platesetters.

One advantage the Brillia has over both Agfas Lithostar and KPGs Electra Excel thermal plate is that it can be used with UV inks reliably without baking.

We needed a plate for UV, said Heidelberg national sales specialist consumables Neil Fletcher. Its good for us as well to have communications with all three major consumables suppliers.

Trials of the plate have been completed by Heidelberg and it already has several customers signed up who are due to install Prosetters with the Fuji plate early in the New Year.

The optical design of the Prosetter allows it to switch output power from the 5mW needed for silver to the 30mW needed for photopolymer plates at the flick of a switch. But Fletcher didnt believe existing Prosetter users would switch to Brillia due to the need to switch processors.

Story by Barney Cox