MCSi plans to introduce a swathe of new plate technologies to drive business forward.
This includes the Western Lithotech DiamondPlate LV-1 violet laser-imaged photopolymer plate in the first quarter of 2002.
It will also release the DiamondSetter 610SP-100, a lower-cost CTP system for small- and medium-sized newspapers that is capable of producing 82 single-page plates an hour at 1,016dpi.
The DiamondPlate LV-1, which will be available exclusively through MCSi, contains no silver and is designed for medium to long run lengths of 150,000 to 200,000 copies.
Paul Rudman, MCSis product manager for plates, said: Mitsubishis breakthrough has been its development of a patented PVA top layer. It prevents the oxygen getting to the top layer so the polymer stays receptive. It needs a pre-wash, but no pre-heating.
He said the real advantage of violet technology was the lower running costs of the heads. Firms can also work in a dull yellow light.
The LV-1 is being tested at various sites in the US and Japan and should come straight into commercial use in the UK and Europe.
MCSi has also announced it is on the brink of introducing the eighth version of
the DiamondPlate LY YAG laser-imaged photopolymer plate into the UK.
Rudman added that sales of MCSis DiamondPlate LT-2 thermal laser-imaged plate were going extremely well and that, unlike other manufacturers, not a single account had been lost.
The firm also claimed to have developed the worlds first negative working
photopolymer plate that requires no pre-baking or post-baking, the DiamondPlate LT-N.
Story by John Davies