Process-free / Chemistry-free plates By Debora Toth as seen in WhatTheyThink.com

September 6, 2006 - For the past two years, the availability and acceptance of processless/chemistry-free plates has been growing faster than ever before. With the introduction of processless plates at Drupa 2004 and Print 05, today’s printers have a number of products to choose to use. The need to focus on productivity and profitability is prompting printers to take a second look at processless/chemistry-free plates to maintain or improve their current production throughput as well as reduce their existing plate processing costs.

"One of the principal attractions of chemistry-free or processless plates is the streamlining of workflow and elimination of variables associated with plate development and processor maintenance," explains John Zarwan, an independent consultant who wrote a report entitled CTP Plate Making: Understanding the Real Costs. The importance of eliminating chemistry and processing was confirmed with the introduction of a number of processless plates at Drupa 2004. Experts point to a number of benefits: reduction of capital expenditures and costs associated with acquiring, managing, and disposing of chemistry, less space consumption, environmental friendliness, and compressed plate production times.

Printers have a variety of choices, however. One of the biggest is the choice between thermal or violet imaging. For many years, thermal imaging was the only option for processless plates. But about five years ago, CTP systems using violet lasers became available, giving violet some momentum. While thermal still dominates in North America, violet is becoming a viable option as more manufacturers make them available. Experts say that violet’s positive features include faster imaging, lower machine costs, and lower cost of ownership while its negative aspects include the need to be handled in yellow safelight or an additional step of some type of wash or clean-out and gumming to make them daylight safe.

Growing availability of processless/chemistry-free plates

Agfa: At IPEX 2006 in April, Agfa offered a technological preview of a working chemistry-free plate for violet laser CtP. Agfa Graphics’ violet chemistry-free plate will use ‘photopolymerization’ as the digital imaging principle. After the violet laser forms the printing image, no chemical process affects or alters it in any way. Prior to a cleanout step, the plate is preheated to stabilize and harden the printing image so that non-image areas can be removed safely using preservative gum. Agfa hopes to have the new violet chemistry-free plates in use by the end of 2007.

Introduced at Drupa 2004 and commercially-available in November 2004, Agfa’s :Azura chemistry-free negative-working thermal plate system can be used for run lengths up to 100,000 impressions on a wide range of commercial printing applications on both sheetfed and web presses. Today it is in operation in more than 600 printing and prepress sites around the world. Originally launched as an Agfa-only solution for Agfa thermal CTP platesetters, :Azura is now in use on a variety of platesetters from other vendors. :Azura is available in 2-up, 4-up and 8-up formats.

For those needing large-format plates, Agfa offers the :Amigo developer-free, thermal plate, part of its ThermoFuse family. ThermoFuse is Agfa's patented imaging technology made popular by the success of the :Azura chemistry-free plate with well over 400 installations worldwide. With :Amigo, Agfa brings the benefits of this advanced technology to higher volume printers, including the VLF market.

Citiplate: Last summer Citiplate announced both a new thermal and violet no-process digital plate formulation designed for plate imaging in leading CTP platesetter brands, at the manufacturers' standard wavelengths, power levels and resolution settings. Citiplate's no-process thermal digital plate formulation images at 830 nm. The no-process violet digital plate formulation features high imaging speed, for use at the lower power levels generated by latest 405 nm violet laser diode platesetters.

Citiplate has also developed a processless RIPit branded digital plate for use with RIPit’s SpeedSetter Violet Metal (VM) CTP systems. Using Citiplate "no-process" violet photopolymer, these processless RIPit brand plates will self-develop on-press, within a few turns of the cylinders.

Fujifilm: IPEX 2006 in April was the worldwide introduction of Fuji’s new range of processless CTP plates in both thermal and violet products. The Brillia HD PRO-T processless thermal plate, announced at PRINT 05, became available at IPEX while the Brillia HD PRO-V violet photopolymer chemistry-free plate, will be available in 2007.

Brillia HD PRO-T processless thermal plate is compatible with most thermal (830nm) platesetters and approved for 1% - 99% at 200lpi conventional, 300lpi hybrid and FM screening. Brillia HD PRO-T is a nonablative plate that carries a latent image with distinct contrast allowing visual inspection after imaging. When used on press, the unique new MultiGrain technology quickly carries ink and fount enabling the plate to be in full print production within a similar number of waste sheets compared with conventional PS or CTP plates. The new MultiGrain technology also contributes to the same ink/water balance as Fuji's existing CTP plates.

The Brillia HD PRO-V is a violet photopolymer, non-ablative, chemistry-free CTP plate designed to achieve 1% - 99% at 200lpi conventional, 300lpi hybrid and FM screening. Brillia HD PRO-V exhibits many of the qualities found in Fujifilm’s existing Brillia LP-NV violet plate, including the ability to print with aggressive UV inks and solvents without baking, long run lengths, and yellow safe light handling.