The One CtP kit, made by Italian manufacturer CtpOptotech, will be distributed in the UK and Ireland by the Gloucestershire-based firm.

Prepress Services engineering director David Binnie said there was a market opportunity among printers with CTP systems that would soon need upgrading: “A lot of people have Lotems that are coming to the end of their life,” he explained.

“We looked at two-to-three different CTP machines and this is the one we picked. For us, as an engineering company, it is very simple to use and easy to maintain,” he added.

CtpOptotech also has a modular workflow system for film and CTP production, One Workflow.

A B2-format One CtP system costs less than £60,000 for a manual version, rising to around £80,000 for a B1 manual model. Pricing for the B1 autoloader is to be confirmed.

The compact system has four resolution options starting at 2,400dpi, with a higher-resolution 7,620dpi version for specialist applications such as security printing.

Speed is 26 B2 plates per hour at 2,400dpi, or 20pph in B1 format.

Prepress Services has installed a B2 model at its base near Winchcombe. “We’re following up on the leads we got at Ipex and will be making test plates for customers,” Binnie stated.

The Italian manufacturer is beta testing a UV head for the platesetter, and is also working on a flexo version, he said.

Separately, Prepress Services continues to provide service and support for users of Luscher CTP systems.

The Swiss prepress manufacturer went bankrupt a year ago. It was subsequently acquired last summer by Heliograph Holdings and Wifag Polytype.