Violet comes of age
Last month saw the four-yearly print industry get-together at Drupa in Düsseldorf. One theme emerged loud and clear amongst the clamour: violet CTP has arrived.
Most in the industry would agree that Drupa 2000 was the ‘CTP Drupa', and many would argue that the one before that was also dominated by it. So what was news at Drupa 2004?
CTP was. Again. Or, more specifically, violet CTP was. The focus in platesetters is now on what might be called second-generation units, where the experience gained in the installation and support of older units using yellow or green lasers has been used to improve the design and manufacture of all-new models that use violet light sources.
Imaging plates with violet light has been on the agenda since Drupa 2000, with products announced by Fujifilm and others at Ipex in 2002. Fujifilm's successful Luxel V-9600 CTP and Vx-6000 CTP B1 and B2 multi-laser violet platesetters have been shipping for more than 18 months, proving both the technology and its benefits. Violet CTP brings increased reliability and lower cost of ownership without compromising quality. A violet platesetter has only one or two lasers to align, calibrate or repair, compared to dozens in a thermal device. Its components are also cheaper and more reliable - the typical life of a violet laser is 4000 hours or four years of average use, compared to two years for thermal diodes. This enables Fujifilm to include replacement of the laser in its service contracts, a substantial plus for owners.
As larger and mid-sized printers were the earlier adopters of filmless working, the remaining battleground for vendors is the B2 sector, the smaller printers whose budgets and staffing levels have not previously made the move to CTP as compelling.
Small but perfectly formed
Fujifilm's entry into this highly competitive arena took the form of the Luxel V-6, a high specification B2 violet platesetter capable of imaging up to 20 plates an hour at 2540 dpi and up to 35 an hour at 1200 dpi. Based on the experience gained in the manufacture and installation of the successful Luxel V and Vx 9600 and Vx-6000 violet CTP models, the Luxel V-6 is designed for extremely low cost of ownership, offers all the inherent advantages of violet CTP and is suitable for both AM and FM screening. More information on how the Luxel V-6 is built for quality and reliability at Fujifilm's award-winning UK factory can be seen in the article 'Made in the UK.'
CTP means an all-digital workflow, and this is one of the development hot spots right now, especially support for JDF (the Job Definition Format) for the integration of production data from prepress through print to the finishing room. Fujifilm demonstrated its support for JDF via the Fuji Rampage Pathway component of its modular Fuji Rampage Open Workflow offering, but also had a number of other announcements to make regarding workflow.
Chief amongst these was the introduction of Fuji Rampage Liso, a multi-phase hybrid screening option. Complementing Fuji Rampage Segundo, the existing second-order FM screening technology, Liso combines the benefits of stochastic (FM) screening with those of conventional halftone screening. Mid-tones in images are screened conventionally, but highlight and shadow extremes are created using fixed size dots whose distribution is controlled in a pseudo-random fashion. This means that the screened images behave on press just like conventionally screened images but with the ability to resolve finer details 2004and textures and without the moiré and rosettes of conventional screening or the graininess and difficult press demands of first generation FM techniques.
Version 9.4 of the Fuji Rampage Open Workflow was also introduced at Drupa. New features in this release include Certified PDF, a set of Acrobat 6.0 tools that allows file originators to generate PDF files which conform to the PDF X-1a standard. A number of common file content problems are detected and rectified in the process and the certified file is automatically processed for output. Support for Thin EPS in/Fat Vector PDF output, JDF template-based imposition of both raster and vector PDF files and a soft-proofing overlay are all now included. A new version of the Internet-based remote proofing software, Fuji Rampage Remote, was launched, as was Rampage Cegway Remote, which provides similar capabilities for Scitex/Creo Brisque users.
To complement this, Fujifilm announced a range of proofing solutions at the show, combining the best of currently available hardware and software together with new Fujifilm media. A range of Epson inkjet proofers covering imaging widths from 17 to 44 inches is supported by Fujifilm ColorManager colour management software and complemented by a new range of special Fujifilm inkjet papers.
Fujifilm ColorManager is based on proprietary colour management software and offers a closed-loop proofing system. The user's press can be profiled as part of the installation by Fujifilm or library profiles may be used for a range of proofing applications. In combination with the new papers, which are available in gloss, semi-gloss and matt finishes, the Fujifilm proofing solutions meet the need for both contract and imposition proofs.
Is processless here?
After approving the proof, it's time to make the plates. Much has been said about processless plates, but Fujifilm's view is that the technology has yet to meet customers' expectations. Fujifilm is working on a genuinely processless plate technology that will not require any post-processing steps and which will be compatible with existing CTP engines, unlike alternatives that require the addition of gum or which need higher-powered lasers to expose correctly.
Cost, image quality, run-length and performance on press are also issues with current processless offerings. The Fujifilm product under development relies on technology already embodied in currently available plates: a non-thermal ‘intelligent' polymer used in the Brillia LH-NN plate opens up future possibilities for processless imaging anywhere in the spectrum, from infra-red to violet light sources.
Drupa 2004 showed that violet CTP has come of age and, according to industry pundits such as Seybold, signals the start of violet dominance in CTP. It's now delivering the quality, reliability and productivity advantages that were only promises at the last Drupa.
Summary
- Violet CTP main talking point at Drupa
