Vantage Strategic Marketing (VSM), a consultancy that specialises in the CTP market, has responded to the recent debate about the technology in its Direct-to Technologies 2004 report.

According to its research, which is relied on by major plate and platesetter manufacturers regardless of preferred technologies, thermal platesetters made up 64% of worldwide sales in 2003 and thermal plates accounted for 68% of CTP plates used.

The report also said: "visible CTP platesetters will gain some annual sales market share rising perhaps from 36% to 40% in 2008, but accumulative installed base is still likely to remain biased towards thermal."

"You mustn't get dazzled by technology, it won't win the day," said VSM principal Barry Happ. "People look at new technology and say it's going to sweep the board, but there is a hell of a backlog of thermal."

"Even if all machines from now on were visible 30% of plates sold at least would be thermal," added Happ.

VSM said it saw more visible light platesetters being sold to smaller printers on the strength of cost of ownership, but that price competition between thermal plate vendors was likely to keep thermal plates below the cost of visible "even with the entry of KPG into the visible plate supply arena". It also scotched claims that ink-jet and CTCP would become major technologies.

It said that CTCP was unlikely to take off as Esko-Graphics and basysPrint are small players and CTCP is not in the business interest of the major plate manufacturers, despite being technically sound.

Copies of the 200pp report are available and the firm is also working on a shorter, less expensive, guide to CTP for printers.

Visit: www.vsm.uk.com