The manual platesetter, which is based on HighWater’s B3 model and took just six months to develop, is capable of imaging 16 silver or photopolymer violet B1 plates per hour, at a resolution of 2,540dpi.
Sales director Peter Flynn said: “Our sales partners across five continents have been asking us to develop this product as there is a real gap in the market, which has been left open by CTP manufacturers who focus on large format with automation.”
Cheltenham-based HighWater has priced the Cobra 8, including a high-spec workstation and Torrent PS RIP, at under £45,000. In addition, the platesetter has been designed with a variable register system, allowing for B1, B2 and B3 plate production.
Although the Cobra 8 is primarily targeted at Eastern Europe and the Far East, sales and marketing manager Sue Wood believes it could still prove useful to UK printers, thanks to its low investment cost and high-quality output.
She said: “The market in the UK is slightly different, but the Cobra 8 could be good either as a back-up device, given its cost versus a service contract, or for printers who don’t have a high-demand for B1 plates.”
HighWater reported that it has already taken one order for the Cobra 8, from a printer in Greece. “We are finding that there’s quite a market over there,” said Wood.
HighWater aims to fill manual B1 gap with its new low-cost Cobra
UK pre-press kit manufacturer HighWater Designs has made its first foray into 8-up plate production this week with the launch of its Cobra 8 B1 platesetter at a trade show in the Czech Republic.
