The four-year Drupa International Printing Exhibition has become an authoritative conference for the inspection of industrial innovation. Every advancement in printing technology has scored a strong mark during the drupa exhibition. Such as digital printing drupa, cTP drupa, and this year's JDF drupa. The gathering of international manufacturers and the global attention to this conference forced all exhibitors to take a fancy to the show and to force them to keep up with this global event.
But drupa exhibition is not only in the trend of mass, in this year's show, Drupa2004 also forecast the trend of free processing plates. This technology has been talked about for many years, and some people may say it is not mature enough. Although this is not a mainstream product produced by the printing plate manufacturers, it has attracted the attention of various developers because it can significantly increase the efficiency of process production.
Speaking of the process-free printing plate technology displayed at the drupa printing exhibition in 2004, we have to mention that Presstek, the development-free plate developed by Presstek, has overturned the long-term need for the printing process of the printing plate. It is the printing process. A big move. But now the industry expects this technology to become the mainstream product offered by developers and hopes it will be compatible with more types of platemaking machines.
The orientation of many plates is "no chemical development" rather than a true process-free plate introduced to everyone. Chemical-free reagent plates still require a certain post-imaging process, such as washing, coating, or precoating, before they can be printed on the machine.
It is also worth noting that many printing plate technologies have been commercialized. On Drupa, there are many statements and counter-declarations that are used to tell people which plates are commercial products, which are in the R&D phase (Beta test phase), or which are only used for technical display (Alpha Phase or Alpha The stage before the hair).
Detailed results Manufacturers also believe that the advantages of exemption processing technologies are not small, and they can eliminate the need for supporting developing equipment. This saves on cost, maintenance, and process parameters. This technology also saves space, simplifies workflow, and has environmental benefits.
All plate makers see small and medium-sized printing companies as their main target market, at least for the current generation of printing plates. The reason is simple: Although some process-free products claim that the print-resistance can reach 100,000 impressions, the vast majority of printing plates actually have much lower resistance.
In addition, compared to other digital plates, due to the maturity of the exempt technology and limited production capacity, users want to try this technology for only a small extra fee. Small printing companies consider more of its simplicity of operation and space saving. In most cases, they will not, in the case of already having a CTP, partially or entirely eliminate the traditional printing plate technology and spend a great deal of money to switch to this technology.
The printing companies that think they are more suitable to deal with the printing plate technology now have a variety of solutions to choose from, and there are more than a dozen mature products.
Presstek's early CTP plates, Ap-plause and Anthem thermal plates, now have corresponding upgrades, and their resistance to printing forces can reach 100,000 impressions.
Applause continues some of the features that were considered to be disadvantages in earlier Anthem products, such as the need for a powerful waste removal system in the platemaking system, and the imaging of Freedom thermal plates. It is said that the chemical-free process is used, and the plate-making machine does not need to use the waste system. The graphic area is eliminated with a dedicated water cleaning unit, with a resistance force of up to 25,000.
Agfa's Azura is a new, non-exclusive thermal version based on the company's Thermolite. Imaging is accomplished through a physical, rather than a chemical, process that fuses the thermoplastic particles together and adheres to the aluminum base plate. Only non-graphic parts need to be cleaned or glued.
This type of printing plate has a print resistance of up to 100,000 impressions, and exhibits a 2% to 98% dot with a wide exposure latitude. According to the manufacturer, this printing plate is suitable for medium-volume printing, and its performance is very good.
Agfa's acquisition of Lastra has not yet been finalized, but they have already planned to position the Lastra product as an independent brand, but before the transaction is completed, it is subject to various restrictive instructions. On the other hand, Lastra has conducted beta testing of its Cosmic heat-treatment-free printing plate, which was developed based on convertible polymer technology. It is said that its resistance force is 100,000 impressions, its resolution is 150 lpi for a 1%-98% dot, and it can also generate a gradient image from green to yellow. This plate is designed for standard thermal (830nm) platesetters and is expected to be available in early 2005.
KPG claims that its KPG thermal direct-processed printing plate has a printing resistance of 75,000. It can be used with various thermal platesetters currently on the market, and no waste is generated during the imaging process. It can replicate 1% to 98% of the dots at a resolution of 200 lpi and can perform 20-micron FM screening. This plate is suitable for a variety of inks and fountain solutions, such as alcohol fountain solutions and the most popular alternatives to alcohol fountain solutions.
Creo also made some technical demonstrations at drupa, and its clarus PL product is a true aluminum-free printing plate. It does not require gluing, development, and any post-image processing. On the basis of commercialization, this kind of exchangeable polymer product is expected to reach 50000 impressions, support Creo Staccato 20 micron FM screening, compatible with the 830-nm thermal platesetter.
At present, Creo is doing beta testing on this product and plans to commercialize it by the end of 2004. Fujifilm Company announced that they also have an exemption-processed plate that is still in the R&D stage. It is reported that it will be based on smart polymer technology for the Fujifilm Brillia LH-NN thermal negative graphic board designed for the press (planned to be available in the fourth quarter of 2004), and this technology will also be used for uniform use. Particle technology Brillia LH-PJ thermal positive plate, soon to see on the eye week market. The product will also implement a new on-board development technology.
Although the timetable for the listing of this technology has not yet been announced, the developer has promised that the final product's processing capacity will reach 50,000 impressions.
Konica Minolta has introduced an exemption-free system for on-line and off-line imaging. The off-line product is a flexible thermal plate (TF-200) for the SR-830 ​​Platesetter, sold in a roll. The heat-sensitive water-repellent coating on the printing plate is exposed, and the unexposed portion is removed on the printing press under the influence of the fountain solution and the ink. It is said that processed plates can be copied from 1% to 99% of the dots, supporting random screening. Platemaker output plates range in size from 12.8x15.6 to 26x32.7.
The following is a discussion of a system with similar but completely different technologies, Glunz & Jensen. Its iCTP (Inkjet CTP) technology provides printing-free, aluminum-based printing. The Platewriter 4200 system sprays a patented Liq-uid Dot solution on a non-photosensitive aluminum substrate. The plate to be imaged is then transferred to a post-processing unit where the material is adhered to the plate surface through a drying process. The unit behind the inkjet printer has a gluing station under construction to protect the plate from damage before printing.
According to the manufacturer, iCrrP has the advantage of lower investment and cost compared to traditional plates. This system can work in normal daylight conditions, supports FM screening (equivalent to a traditional 175 lpi screening), and can image 2 or 4 pages. (The maximum plate size is 28x35.8.) The scope and processing power of the exempt technology are reflected in recent products, and its mode of operation completely overturns the traditional classification of printing plates. Despite this, the technology's inherent resistance to print forces, expensive pricing, slower imaging speeds, and the need for cleaning after imaging (in a few cases) are still being questioned. They constantly propose that whether the process-free or at least development-free printing plate technology will become mainstream.
Some small printing companies stand on their own to face this problem. Some industry experts have been at the forefront of this technological transformation. Although they were still pondering the issue of violet lasers to deal with printing plate technology in the discussion after Drupa 2004, the development of this technology is very likely to become an important part of Drupa in 2008.
Source: "Packaging and Printing Online"