Prices start at £61,250 for a B2 machine and £81,250 for B1 with manual loading, – Auto-loading with a 50-plate cassette adds £10,600 and £12,000 respectively.
The B2 PlateRite 4100 produces 10 plates per hour and the B1 PlateRite 8100 produces eight plates per hour. "There is a huge number of printers with one or two presses and a slower machine is enough for their requirements," he said.
Although the laser head can't be upgraded, Screen will upgrade by swapping with a faster machine should a user require a faster machine or the ability to expose processless plates.
Filler acknowledges that at this end of the market, price is important, and many firms will opt for a Harlequin RIP at around £7,000 – as opposed to £29,000 for Screen's Trueflow workflow.
Agfa has also launched a slower thermal platesetter. The Xcalibur 45 E is a 15-plate-per-hour version of the 20-plate-per-hour B1 Xcalibur 45 (launched at Ipex), which is now known as the 45S. Apart from the speed, it is identical and uses the same GLV imaging technology. At £145,000 for the platesetter, it is £20,000 cheaper than the 45S. Agfa has no plans for a B2 thermal machine.
Hot on the heels of its lower-cost B2 thermal machines, Creo has introduced a new version of its B1 Lotem 800. The Lotem 800 II, which will be available by the end of the year, uses the Squarespot imaging head and is available in 10-, 16- or 25-plate-per-hour versions.
Story by Barney Cox
