The upgrade means the violet platesetter can now produce 26 B1 plates per hour at 175lpi (1,270x2,540dpi anamorphic equivalent), more than 50% faster than the standard rate of 16 B1 plates. At 250lpi the dual-resolution Cobra 8 will be able to turn out 16 B1 plates per hour.

Sales director Peter Flynn said that demand for the upgrade was particularly strong in India where there is a strong service bureau industry which "doesn't really exist in the UK any longer", but with 200 Python installations in the UK, he said there would be domestic demand as well.

Flynn said pricing for the upgrade would depend on configuration.

Richard Warren, managing director at HighWater Products, added: "This enhancement was possible thanks to the renowned quality and integrity of our precision laser-optics system, which has meant we can offer the customers both high productivity and exceptional image quality within a single Cobra 8 system."