Analysis of Hot Spots in CTP Technology (I)

In recent years, CTP technology has become more mature and more and more users are in China. The vast majority of printing manufacturers have realized that CTP is the direction of prepress development, but the domestic market has not been introduced as many people expected, and many manufacturers are still waiting to see. At the same time, the diversity of CTP technology has also made many manufacturers feel unable to start with and cannot determine which technology is most suitable. As one of the leaders of CTP technology, Agfa has not only a complete CTP product line, but also has a large share in the international and domestic markets, and has a wealth of user experience. In response to various concerns about CT P technology, applications, and market prospects, Agfa has the following perspectives.

One, photosensitive or thermal

When it comes to CTP, many people first think of light or heat. In fact, the photosensitivity or the thermal sensitivity is only the difference in the imaging mechanism of the plate, and it does not have special meaning to the end user. What is the most concerned question for end-users? Simply put, quality, cost, and resistance. Each printing company has different customer bases, different types of print products, and different requirements. The focus on quality, cost, and resistance to printing is different. For example, the requirements for book printing, packaging printing, and newspaper printing are completely different. Therefore, we believe that each type of printing manufacturer has its own characteristics and has its own special needs. No technology can meet the needs of all manufacturers. The photosensitive CTP and the thermal CTP, respectively, with its distinctive features, can exactly meet the needs of different types of printing manufacturers, printing manufacturers in considering the introduction of CTP, but also seriously analyze their customer base and printing needs, select the most suitable to their needs Products, this is Agfa's active development of various types of CTP technology, rather than just attack a little reason. Here we come to a specific analysis of the characteristics of the photosensitive printing plate and thermal printing plate, which are the requirements.

We use Agfa's three typical printing plates: Litho star U1tra photosensitive silver salt plate, Thermostar thermal plate, and N91 photopolymerization plate. For example, these three plates have a large number of users in China.

From the perspective of resolution, the Thermostar thermal plate is the highest, up to 3001Pi; the Litho star U1tra silver plated version is second, up to 250 1Pi; the photopolymerization plate N91 is the lowest, 175 1Pi. At present, the vast majority of domestic color printing screens are 175 1Pi, and fine books and partial packaging prints are 200 1Pi. There are almost no printed matter with more than 250 1Pi. Therefore, the silver salt plate and the thermal plate can meet the requirements of current commercial printing and packaging printing in terms of quality. The photopolymerization plate can satisfy most commercial printing and newspaper printing requirements. In terms of resistance to printing, Thermostar Thermal Plates and N 91 Photopolymer Plates have performed very well. After baking, they can reach one million printing, which fully meets the needs of a small number of packaging and commercial promotional materials on the market. The photosensitivity silver salt version has a resistance force of 350,000 prints. Currently, more than 100,000 printed materials on the domestic printing market are very rare and can meet the requirements of most manufacturers.

From the point of view of production speed, photosensitized plates have an absolute advantage because of their low photosensitivity power. Currently, with the development of thermal platesetters, the production speed of thermal plates has also been continuously improved, such as the X-Calibur 45 from Agfa. The production speed can reach 20 off-press printing plates per hour, and the heat-sensitive and light-sensitive production speeds are comparable. However, press printing requirements are not the same as general commercial printing. They require high-speed and large-scale production. Photosensitive systems have a great advantage in this field. For example, Agfa's P01aris series platesetter can reach 85 to 235 pieces per hour. The productivity of the P version (single-sided version of 570 x 360 mm, 1016 dpi) is absolutely unmatched by the thermal system.

Cost has always been the focus of printing manufacturers. At present, compared with the price of plate materials, the thermal plate and the photosensitive plate are basically the same. However, cost calculations should also include operating costs. At present, the laser heads of CTP equipment will account for a large proportion of the cost. The life and working stability of the laser head directly affect the cost level. In this regard, the photosensitive version of the violet laser has absolute Advantage. Violet laser is the mature technology at present, not only in the field of CTP, but also in civilian equipment such as DVD, which is also more stable than the thermal laser head. In addition, it is very important that the photosensitivity power of the violet laser light-sensitive plate is very small, and the power of the laser head is also very small. In actual work, only the laser head is operated during exposure, and the laser head is turned on when the device is turned on without printing plate exposure. Does not work. The thermal plate laser power is relatively large. In practice, as long as the device is turned on, regardless of whether the plate is exposed, the laser head must work and consume the working life. Assuming that the thermal laser head and the photosensitive laser head have the same working life, the actual lifetime of the laser head will be several times more than the thermal sensitivity. In fact, since 2000, Agfa first launched the violet laser CTP on DrMPa, the laser heads of the violet laser CTP currently installed worldwide have not been replaced. The thermal CTP generally requires replacement of the laser head within one to two years of use.

Through the above analysis, we can see that photosensitivity and thermal sensitivity have their own merits. There is no question of who will replace who or who is the future development trend, but each of the features of photosensitivity and thermal sensitivity has the most appropriate application. Here we take a look at how different types of printing manufacturers should choose.

Commercial printing companies based mainly on books and periodicals print at less than 350,000 impressions, with less than 250 dpi of screens, and require the lowest operating costs. Nthostar U1tra photosensitive silver salt should be the best choice.

Packaging printing manufacturers, mainly packaging and printing, need to print about 1 million printing, and require UV ink printing, the preferred thermal version Themostar.

For newspaper printing and periodical magazines, the light-sensitive silver salt plate and the photosensitive photopolymerization plate are most suitable.

Second, Agfa direct plate machine family

Agfa, with its years of experience in the pre-press field and its deep understanding of user needs, has developed different CTP models for different users, enabling users to enjoy the most appropriate product at the least cost and gain maximum benefit.

In the newspaper market, we provide the Polaris series plate making machine, which adopts a photosensitive plate and a flat table design. It has high production speed and good stability, and is well received by users. This series of platesetters has now assumed important roles in newspapers such as Yangcheng Evening News, Shenzhen Special Zone Daily, Wenhui Xinmin United Newspaper Group, Hubei Daily, and Zhejiang Daily.

The Galileo VS platesetter is the latest violet laser product designed specifically for commercial printing. Its high quality, high performance and fully automatic production mode provide users with good results.

As a leader in the CTP industry, Agfa has once again injected new technologies into the CTP field. At this year's IPEX, Agfa launched the X-Calibur 45, a thermal platesetter for commercial printing and packaging printing. X-Calibur45 also known as HD-CTP, high-definition CTP, the use of band laser and grating light valve (GLV) technology, 240 laser beam exposure on the external thermal plate at the same time, the output speed reached a record of each Hours 20 off the printing plate.

In the area of ​​large-format packaging printing, Agfa's X-Calibur VLF series can be called the giant of a platemaking machine. The maximum output plate size is 2030mm x 1475mm, which meets the requirements of the largest format press.

For the small-format printing market, Agfa’s Palladio is the latest weapon. Four open format, violet laser technology, platform design, once introduced. It is very popular with the market.

The above platemaking machines are just a few typical models in the large family of Agfa direct plate-making machines. It is adhering to everything for the sake of users, designing the product that best meets the needs of users, Agfa only developed so many models to meet the special requirements of each user.