Pureprint reaps the benefits with Brillia HD LH-PJE plates and FLH-Z processor from Fujifilm
An Uckfield-based printer reduces chemistry usage and downtime, as well as improving its quality and consistency with a Fujifilm "ZAC" processor and Brillia HD LH-PJE plates.
Based in Uckfield, East Sussex, Pureprint Group offers a versatile range of sustainable printing solutions to the corporate, fine art and creative markets. From state-of-the-art technology to new developments in environmentally responsible printing; innovation and a passion for print underpin the Pureprint philosophy.
As Aaron Archer, group technical manager at Pureprint, explains: "As a business, we're committed to delivering the highest levels of quality and service at a price that's right for our customers. As such, we're constantly examining our working processes to ensure we're achieving the best possible results."
Precision is key
In 2007, Pureprint took the decision to look into potential changes to its pre-press set-up. Aaron Archer continues: "We assessed our existing pre-press situation and decided that we could improve this by becoming more precise. We have a colour quality management system in place which constantly monitors our colour and tonal range. If there's any variable in the processor, then our tonal range is affected. It's so important to have consistent control so we can deliver exacting colour to our customers. At the same time, we also saw this as a great opportunity to improve our environmental footprint, looking at how we could reduce both our chemistry and water usage."
After assessing the different solutions on the market, Pureprint decided to install Fujifilm's Brillia HD LH-PJE non-bake UV plates and FLH-Z series intelligent plate processors, comprising of one B1 and one B2 processor.
As Aaron explains: "We were looking for a good plate deal with a consistent, supportive and reliable supplier, something we've found Fujifilm to be on every level. The PJE plates don't need baking, have a good visible image after processing and deliver a fine and consistent image platform. The combination of the plates with the FLH-Z processors met all of our pre-press needs, providing a more precise, environmentally friendly process."
Intelligent processing
Dedicated for use with Fujifilm Brillia HD thermal CTP plates and manufactured by Glunz & Jensen, the FLH-Z units are fitted with the very latest ‘ZAC' intelligent microprocessor control system from Fujifilm, providing a robust, stable, high quality plate processing environment. The ZAC control system determines the optimum replenishment rate, which results in the best possible development conditions irrespective of changes in plate volume or image area. Consequently, plates are always processed under optimum conditions delivering higher quality more consistently.
It's not only the quality and consistency of image that have improved for Pureprint since installing the new system. The company has also made huge savings in the amount of chemistry used and the amount of time spent maintaining the processor.
As Aaron explains: "With our previous processors, we could only process 1,500 plates before the processor baths needed changing. This happened, on average, once a week. However, now we can run over 4,000 plates before the need to clean the processor arises, which means that we only have to change and clean the processors' chemistry once a month."
420 litres less chemistry every month
Pureprint's previous processors used a total of 560 litres of chemistry a month (80 litres per week for the B1 processor and 60 litres for the B2). This has now reduced to only 140 litres a month, a massive 75% reduction and the equivalent to saving over 60 domestic bathfuls of chemistry each year. Combine this with the time saved and you can see why Pureprint is happy with the way things have turned out.
Aaron continues: "Not only have we saved massive amounts of chemistry, we've also saved huge amounts of time. Previously each processor took four hours to change each week, totalling 32 hours per month, which equates to over four working days of down time. Now, as we're only changing the processors once a month, this leads to only eight hours per month in down time. For us, those extra 24 hours are invaluable, allowing us to increase our productivity, which is beneficial not only for us but for our customers too."
Aaron concludes: "We're delighted with what we've achieved. The installation was seamless with the new processors introduced in a staggered fashion so as to avoid any unnecessary downtime and the support we've received from Fujifilm has been excellent at every step of the way. We've been seeing great results from day one and cannot help but be pleased with the huge resource and, ultimately, cost savings we've made since installing the new system."
