The 4Page! is a flatbed machine that spins the plate to record the image, rather like a CD writer records information on the disc. It will ship before the end of the year and will cost 80,000 including a RIP, according to UK distributor Turning Point Technologies.
Productivity for the manual loading machine is 10 plates per hour with the standard 32 beam head or 20 plates per hour with the 64 beam head.
"The design goals for the 4Page! was to keep the benefits of thermal imaging and our optics in an easy to build and use flatbed, said Lscher development director Roy Darrell. "We tried to cost engineer the internal drum Xpose! For four-up. You just cant do it with internal or external drum; you need a radical solution.
"When we came up with the idea of the radial flatbed we thought it wasnt possible; modern computer power allows us to put the complexity into the software and keep the mechanics simple. This wouldnt have been possible even 12 months ago.
The first beta machine will be installed at a Swiss user after the show.
PixelProof is a new software package for proofing ripped bitmap files. Priced at 1,200 it competes head on with Pixelis ProofROOM. It has tools for soft proofing the dot structure and traps on screen, with the ability to view individual separations. Lscher is calling the software a pixel level post-flight checker. It supports up to 13 separations. A range of tools for on-screen previewing of the ink weights and exact colours is available for checking and editing the files.
It has been in beta testing with a range of clients for the past nine months including Nottingham-based screen printer PolyPrint.
Story by Barney Cox
