Recommendations for the use of metal CTP plates in fast print shops and small commercial printing departments have been proposed for a long time. Scitex's 1994 Dopod device was designed specifically for the GTO press market. It also includes the Presstek PEARL setter, High Water's Platinum and Purup-Eskofot's platemaking machines. However, these products have not yet been widely used in the market, but have just picked up.
This is because the printing company's investment in the platesetter is a very important choice. More importantly, this kind of operation does not form an appropriate digital process flow and does not really appreciate the advantages of using CTP technology. In the past eight years, the total number of metal platesetters in North America is only about 100, while the number of four- or eight-port machines has reached about 2,500.
Polyester version CTP
The investment in small format polyester CTP technology brings different effects. The two main manufacturers of polyester plates are Mitsubishi Paper Mills (abbreviated as MPM) and Agfa, which use different solutions to develop products. MPM has entered the platemaking market in large quantities, while Agfa uses an imagesetter to expose plates. If you take into account this part of the printing market printing urgently, these two methods are to avoid the use of metal plate CTP digital process.
Although in the past five years, the use of polyester version of CTP technology has become a trend in North America. Users in the United States account for about 60% of the world. More than just fast print shops, printing companies account for far more than fast print shops.
Many polyester CTP platesetters are currently installed privately, but it is estimated that there are currently less than 1,000 platesetters in North America, including polyester platesetters. So far, CTP technology used by fast print shops has also been subject to many restrictions.
Will a wider choice of this phenomenon change? The answer is yes. Fast printing shops are gradually being driven by customers, and the digitization of opening is simpler and easier to implement, which greatly simplifies the conversion of digital process flow. The digital printing process of fast printing shops is now growing at a rate of 20% per year.
However, CTP technology is only one of the options for small-scale printing companies. Small-scale printing companies have many options for electronic devices and direct imaging devices. However, the higher investment prices of these alternatives have discouraged independent small businesses and discouraged purchases. Just as promised by the Pisces (Nashua, NH) inkjet platemaking machine, lower-priced printers have better investment prospects, but this technology is still under study.
As an improved technology, polyester version CTP has a lower investment (about $35,000), cheap printing plate and simple operating environment requirements, which makes it the best for independent printing companies to enter the digital field. select.