Fujifilm has recently announced that it plans to take a positive stand to ensure clarity on plate terminology for printers.

Its new approach is to drop the use of the term 'chemistry-free' for certain printing plates and instead use the term 'low-chemistry'. The company has introduced a new 'lo chem' logo as a result.

In the CTP world, there has been a significant move over the past few years to reduce the amount of chemistry used in the processing of plates and two terms have become well used, if perhaps not well understood.

These terms are ‘process-free' and ‘chemistry-free'. In Europe, Fujifilm offers the Brillia HD Pro-T process-free thermal plate and the Brillia HD Pro-V and Brillia Pro-VN chemistry-free violet plates.

Process-free plates such as the Fujifilm Brillia HD Pro-T and the Kodak Thermal Direct develop on the printing press by reacting with fountain chemistry and ink at the start of the print run. The exposed plate coating is removed mainly on the first press sheets.

Chemistry-free plates are either plates where the coating is ablated and washed off with a water wash, or where a supplied gum or photo-chemical aqueous solution is used to rinse and finish the plate after imaging. Fujifilm is now stating that plates using a manufacturer-supplied solution, rather than water, are not chemistry-free, but low-chemical.

Lack of definition
The definition of chemistry is very loose and can be used to cover a variety of solutions. Fujifilm believes that, if the solution used to finish the processing of the plate has what is known as an MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) supplied with it, then this solution has to be chemistry.

The MSDS defines the chemical and environmental aspects of the solution, but other factors can be used to define if a plate solution is chemistry-free or not. If the solution cannot be disposed of in the normal drainage, then it is chemistry. Also, a Ph value of 7 is neutral and traditional plate chemistries are alkaline solutions with Ph value around 12. The Ph value of Brillia HD Pro-V is under 10. Therefore, Fujifilm feels confident in calling it low-chemistry.

One might ask why Fujifilm is doing this and drawing attention to the fact that most chemistry-free plates are in fact not chemistry-free. Perhaps it is because of the Presstek Anthem Pro, arguably the only true chemistry-free plate, as it uses a water wash-out.

Fujifilm believes that, for most of the plates marketed within the chemistry-free classification, the term is misleading and presents an ambiguous picture of environmental performance. Unsurprisingly, then, it also wants to bring other plates into line with this new low-chemistry classification.

A recent development with the Fujifilm Brillia HD LH-PJE thermal plate and the FLH-Z processor has shown a reduction in chemistry usage by 75%. A report by J Zarwan Partners highlighted the fact that the Brillia HD LH-PJE plate and FLH-Z processor solution uses less chemistry than chemistry-free branded plates.

Fujifilm believes that in creating a new low-chemistry category, it is providing printers with a much clearer idea of the environmental performance of the solutions.

With the increasing emphasis on green approaches within the printing industry, Fujifilm's attempt to define a more accurate way of specifying its products can only be a good thing. After all, the low-chemistry approach is still far more environmentally friendly than conventional and digital plates.

I hope that other manufacturers using the chemistry-free branding for their plates also change their definition to low-chemistry. This would then correct the current ambiguous naming conventions for plates.

I also hope this new definition will be adopted worldwide. Printers need accurate information in order to comply with ever-stricter environmental controls and it needs manufacturers to provide non-misleading information.

Andrew Tribute is a journalist and consultant in digital pre-press and pre-media marketing technology. Visit: www.attributes.co.uk.