Set off the CTP cover (middle)

Creo's first-generation CTP system is mainly used for monochrome or spot color prints that are rare in color and have few print jobs. In the UK, almost all book printers have chosen CTP technology. For example, Clays uses Barco's CTP; Caledonian uses Krause's products; Mackays uses Misomex's CTP system... The owner of Mackays believes that the advantages of CTP for book printing are threefold: first, the CTP plate is very clean; Second, the content of the CTP backup is very accurate; third, it reduces the preparation time of the printing press. However, color printing still occupies a large proportion in today's printing market, and the cost and flexibility of the work dictate whether printers choose CTP technology. Highwater and ICG have contributed to improving the flexibility of CTP. The two companies pointed out that their CTP system can both image on the plate, but also on the film imaging. They used actual products to refute the view that "CTP's flexibility is poor and non-digital workflows can't be covered." Other companies also pointed out that they can be integrated into the workflow of direct platemaking, whether it is analog or digital manuscripts. It is clear that the flexibility of CTP is improving. In terms of improving the flexibility of CTP, Saiangelo has made great achievements. The company's new product is a fully automatic multi-beam laser drum-type thermal CTP system, Lotem 800V.
Its design is concise and practical, and the price is suitable. It adopts the Says Angel's Brisque workflow. Although there are some difficulties at present, Saeangelen believes that the prospect of using the Brisque workflow is promising. Lotem's flexibility in handling different types of manuscripts has improved, but it is relatively closed, and it only supports the company's Brisque workflow. Agfa's Galileo CTP system supports PostSript and PDF workflow. The Galileo system itself is large and expensive, which restricts the promotion and application of Galileo system in commercial printing to some extent. In the printing industry, people prefer manual or semi-automatic systems with low equipment investment and easy operation. For the investment printers, Agfa will adjust the product structure and introduce the manual, semi-automatic and fully automatic Calileo CTP products. The Calileo CTP supports two- or eight-page plates. The imaging device uses FD-YAG lasers. It is expected that the imaging devices will be improved in the future. Of course, improvements to imaging devices generally tend to make thermal imaging of plates.
The thermal CTP is really "hot" The first generation of visible CTP plates has achieved good results, and will also achieve results in the future, especially DuPont's Silvelith SDB plate, but the trend of the future is thermal Imaging is not questionable! The thermal CTP utilizes the large amount of thermal energy generated by the laser beam to react the coating on the surface of the aluminum plate to the visible light, forming an image area suitable for offset printing on the plate. The thermal laser energy used by the thermal CTP in the printing industry is the largest. Some price printers for thermal CTP systems have now become affordable. In fairness, the time for the development of thermal CTP has matured and the technical conditions have been met. The laser produced by Polaroid using fiber optics has low cost, high energy, reliability, and a very small laser spot. It is suitable for use in computer-to-computer systems, and is particularly suitable for CTP systems in which single-beam lasers and rotating lenses form images.
Polaroid is targeting companies that produce equipment for thermal imaging of plates, thermal imaging of films, and thermal imaging of proofing materials. The development of fiber lasers has injected a "strengthener" into the thermal CTP. It is expected that many thermal imaging CTPs will be seen in the future. CTP plates are an important part of CTP. Compared to the photosensitive CTP plate, the "sensitivity" (actually, sensible heat) of the thermal plate is slightly inferior to that of the photosensitive CTP plate. However, the coating thickness of the thermal plate is not as high as that of the photographic plate. Gerber believes that the grain size on the aluminum plate will not affect the coating thickness of the thermal plate. DuPont's Silverlith SDT belongs to the category of thermal CTP plates. Gerbet's CTP system has a laser energy of 100mJ/cm2. This energy value can completely evaporate the visible coating part. In the thermal imaging, the laser beam spot is very small, and the exposure speed is very fast. Therefore, there is no heat of the photo that affects the image quality (ie, no heat is generated in the non-visible area, and the image does not deform). However, the residue of the coating remaining on the plate affects the printability of the plate, and the plate processing must be completely processed. DuPont's SDT plates have made the long-awaited direct free thermal imaging process a reality.
The advent of the SDT plate promotes the availability of Optronics' thermal CTP system. The resolution of the SDT plate is 350 lpi, and the resistance force is as large as 500,000. Other companies have also introduced their own thermal CTP plates, some of which have been put into commercial use, and some are undergoing final tests. Presstek's plate material is unique, it uses a unique approach, the company's known as non-process thermal CTP plate. (To be continued)