Rival pre-press firms have rubbished claims from Creo chief executive Amos Michelson about plate prices and consumables as a smokescreen to deflect attention from problems at CreoScitex.


Michelson claimed subsidising hardware prices using consumables would stop next year when thermal plate prices would match those of conventional plates (PrintWeek, 17 November).



Suppliers queued up to dismiss both his claims.
"It ill behoves him to criticise others - he should put his own house in order
first," said Litho Supplies managing director Gerry Mulvaney.
"For a man who doesn't sell consumables to talk about bundling deals is laughable," said Agfa UK sales and marketing director Laurence Roberts.



"Bundling is a distinct advantage," said Presstek vice president sales and marketing Efrem Lieber. "Customers like the convenience of a single monthly payment. Suppliers like the guaranteed business."



Mulvaney added: "Bundling helps customers afford and gain access to CTP."



But CreoScitex maintains that firms can finance
equipment in more efficient ways. "Bundling doesn't come for free," said vice president of marketing Boudewijn Neijens. "Financing by media may sound cool, but I guarantee you're paying for it."



Plate prices are also
being disputed. "The idea that CTP plates will cost
4 per square metre next year is totally erroneous," said Agfa's Roberts. Neijens believed that prices would fall as Lastra and Mitsubishi aimed to gain a large chunk of the thermal plate market by offering plates at prices significantly lower than today. "I believe there will be a change in the dynamics of who's supplying the market," he said.



Story by Barney Cox.