CTP plate production

In the 21st century, there are two main topics in the lithographic printing industry: one is the CTP (direct-to-print plate) printing without a negative plate, and the other is a DI that extends the CTP capability directly onto the printing press to form the image imprint on the platemaking cylinder. That is, integrating the platemaking machine with the printing press. Some people predict that there will be no CTP and only DI machines after 20 years, that is, when the old generation of typographers gradually faded, CTP imaging technology is not expensive either. Why do you need to make plates on a typographic machine? There is the following reasoning support:

l. Bright room conditions for plate making.

2. No need to change media, reduce time and cost of media, and be more environmentally friendly:

3. The price of the imaging unit is more reasonable, and it is not burdened by multiple sets of printing units.

4, print distribution information, can automatically open the ink key opening technology.

5. Strong internet acceptance.

6. Normalized print file format.

7. It is best to have a variable print ink jet or other technical connection to create additional features.

At present, CTP is produced offline. A CTP platemaking machine can be used by multiple printers, and traditional typographic printers can work with CTP plates. In the era of DI, the original printing press was equipped with an image forming system and network file processing capabilities. The Times are slowly changing. In the future, press operators must also have plate making capabilities. Otherwise, if the DI machine is operated by two groups of people, it will be too much trouble!

The rapid development of CTP and DI

Both the CTP computer direct plate output and the DI machine platemaking technology are based on digital printing technology. At the same time, they all skip the film and directly make the imprint on the plate. The difference is in the CTP foot offline offline plate making. DI is the relative position of Online on the printing press. What is the difference between the two? CTP can use DI's plate making mode, that is, plate making in the bright room without using darkroom equipment or plates without development (a few DIs are required. (Development), etc., on the other hand, CTP can also use visible light to image in a closed space, or it can be developed or even preheated before developing.

CTP Technology 1990 published, DI Technology 1991 published in Chicago Print, CTP rapid growth in 2001, 65% of European printing plants use CTP, Agfa CTP - growth of 85%, can be said explosive growth. At the same time, DI presses were also launched by many printing presses such as Heidelberg, KBA, Ryobi, Screen, Sakurai, Adast, Manroland, Komori, and Presstek. In particular, QM46DI was available in Heidelberg, which sold a total of more than 1,600 SM- The 74D1 machine has sold more than 600 printing units in three years, showing good results. KBA’s 74 Karat has four or fifty sales results based on different technologies. The screens are based on different technologies. There are more than one hundred in Japan, and they are sold all over the world. At present, DI is compared with the world’s more than ten thousand CTPs. There is a gap between them, but careful calculation of the amount of equipment sales is similar, we may be curious that such a prosperous DI abroad, to Taiwan are all defeated by the CTP's joint printing! This is how it all happened? This is the focus of this article.

CTP concludes prepress digitalization work respects original presses

CTP must rely on two conditions, one is the digital workflow, and the other is the digital color proofing. Only if the two conditions are fully mature, can we accept the CTP plate output, and then print the proofs to the printing, then DI printing. Isn't it just these two conditions? The answer is also necessary. What's the difference?

CTP as small as A3 five boot, use polyester plate silver version, up to 1600mm Big Mac VLF four chrysanthemum full CTP, can supply the printing plate, DI will have a fixed printing size, fixed machine using DI made printing plate There is no way to make plates for others. CTP plate output, the use of the object is not pick, Screen full version of the PR-8000 type, previously can only do full, full chrysanthemum and chrysanthemum half CTP plate, but some customers say "We have A3 small machine 520mm version, Also hope to use CTP version, the screen will reduce the minimum size to A3!

A printing plate produced by a CTP device can supply two, three, and five printing machines. As long as the production capacity is available, there is no suitable and unfavorable external condition, and you want to use the CTP version or you do not want to use the CTP version. Back to using the PS version, all have the flexibility to use. In general, the CTP plates can't be baked except for the silver salt plate. Most of them are the same as the original traditional PS plates. All the typographic machines can print without exception. That is, “summarizing the digitized prepress work, you will be able to export the printing plate, while respecting all the original typographic machines, without changing or purchasing new printing machines”.

DI emphasizes prepress and print collection

The DI printing machine is basically a composite CTP plate making and printing function in one, that is, investors must buy a new DI printing machine from the printing press manufacturer in order to have a way to do on-machine plate making work. In addition to the DI machine Screen True Press, Manroland DICO Web, Heidelberg SM74DI and Komori ProjectD four, all other use of non-horizontal printing technology, and SM-74DI and Project D are both CTP machine plate making and printing Versions can be used outside, while others must only use DI one way, that is, when the RIP does not come out or any problems with the DI, it is impossible to obtain external printing plate support.

The DI machines are all on the way to simplify the operation of the operator, such as the use of inkless ink balance without the use of horizontal printing, the use of Anilox micro-cavity ink supply roller without ink tank keys, if water is used, sensing device is used to detect the moisture distribution, if Ink keys use CIP3 or Type 4 to obtain the print pattern distribution in digits, which is automatically converted to ink key opening information.

Most DI machines need to be expensive to invest in multiple sets of plate imaging devices. Another, even more problematic, problem is that the DI plate is concentrated in a company's patented product. The A3 is $10, which is more expensive than the CTP A version, which is four times larger than the US $8. Consumption over a long period of time cannot reduce costs. Therefore, Screen's true press uses a cheaper SDP, polyester plate silver salt version, but an imaging system also takes a long time, while on-board development is also time consuming. Now more DI uses moist water or special ink development methods.

The DI machine emphasizes network reception capabilities, and the Department of Machines does not need pre-press equipment support to have the advantage of getting it, but the disadvantages must also be considered.

MAN Roland's DICo Web has different ideas

On the DI machine plate printing machine, in addition to a few thin package printing plates, DI printing plates using aluminum substrates are also required to have printing plate replacement action. It takes four or five minutes to replace the time is not as good as the sun PS plate or CTP plate Put it on, anyway, now the nail setting system is also very accurate! Why take another four or five minutes to make a plate on the press?

Therefore, Manroland's DICO Web adopts reusable sleeve type plates. After imaging, baking and printing, the pattern can be wiped with solvent. As the blanket cleaning method and timing, the resulting benefits are not. Plate material consumption, but there is no delay in plate material withdrawal and loading of new plates. In contrast, the efficiency of DI printing press can be effectively improved. Under high-speed rotary printing, one or two thousand pieces of work chrysanthemum can be changed to eight colors per hour. Workpieces, while reducing the consumption of aluminum plates, this use of moist water and aluminum alloy sleeve plates, can be reused between 200 to 500 times, creating a different direction of production and thinking, while connecting drying, cooling and origami, The binding project brings in-line production benefits and enables the production capacity of commercial rotary machines to go one step further. In addition to receiving information and completing production, the short-run printing capacity and any leaf rotation or rotation Machines can match, but new technology investment is also very large.

CTP will become universal values ​​DI may not be

Some people also use inkjet imaging CTP, ordinary PSI version to negative imaging UV imaging, do not have to use special expensive CTP plates CTP plate making methods, I believe that - days CTP plate making technology will have more than 95% penetration, showing a Universal value process.

DI is due to the large amount of investment (tens of millions of yuan, several hundred million yuan), and the scope of work, the use of media, etc. are limited, unless there is a specific work in this area to be able to operate smoothly, it is necessary to make DI a very universal With regard to chemical production methods, there is no chance in the currently visible technological scope.

Taiwanese CTP users getting better

In Japan, the Printing and Printing Industry Division has agreed to use the CTP as a development goal, but it is not necessarily very smooth because once it was introduced, it was found that proofing was a very difficult problem to solve. When the digital proofs used were not accepted, they were forced to win. It has already used the proofs on the traditional proofing machine on the output CTP plates. This is not only the long-term project and the cost, but also the cost burden if there is any modification.

Some people also mixed CTP and CIP3/4 twins, that without the introduction of CTP there is no digital information flow of CIP, this is not right, using CTF out of film can also have CIP information files as usual! Only CTP is "wind down the wall" .

In Taiwan, DDCP- has a high degree of cooperation with digital proofing clients, and there is also a certain amount of expectation between the supply and demand sides of the DDCP-printing product. Therefore, the gap is not large, and the engineering flexibility of Taiwan's printing industry is broader than that of Japan. Translating accidents is also less. A large-scale printing company introduced thermal CTP a year ago. There are about four sets of 16 CTP plates per hour and 3,800 CTP plates per month. There are still about 7,000 per month compared to the traditional CTF. Shaiban amount. CTP can reduce about three employees. The cost of the plate is currently around 250 yuan, which is about 950,000 yuan. In the case of consumables, it is more expensive than the PS version, but it also saves about 350,000 yuan in the cost of film materials, washing and tubing. At the end of processing 50,000 yuan, personnel 140,000 or so, 3,800 PS plate material to more than 530,000, the cost is cheaper - some of the most important is unmanned automated production, 24 hours as long as the negative film output machine manpower can use CTP Make a plate.

In the aspect of printing plate quality, CTP is better than using PS plate of the negative film. It should be said that the thermal printing plate has no problem at all. This is because the thermal CTP plate must be carefully transported and stored, otherwise it will be heated before use. It also has an impact on the subsequent imprinting imaging and is currently noticed by material suppliers or users.

- A 10-million-yuan CTP output machine costs 6 million yuan more than four million CTFs. If you increase the depreciation of 20 yuan per plate, you need to output 300,000 plates to pay for it. Then you need 80. Monthly (more than 6 and a half years), but to see a faster update of the CTP output machine, only use their brains early to introduce, to deal with faster depreciation, mainly on the CTP quality, efficiency, and more and more confident.

China's CTP Development and Different Tunes in Taiwan

CTP Computer Direct Platemaking ended the previous complicated multi-level artificial plate making process. It not only required all the digital information before printing, but also provided full color management, digital proofing, and large-scale electronic printing, overlapping, and even required CIP3. /CIP4's digital messaging process, Taiwan introduced CTP as early as two years ago in China. In 1996, Dexian Company introduced it. Today, she cannot become an "advanced" ancestor, but has become a "martyr", and Cheng Ren has withdrawn from the market. Mainly due to improper cooperation between software and hardware and the Internet.

Compared to Taiwan's introduction of CTP by a plate-making factory and its heavy use, China has introduced the first CTP in 1998 by the newspaper industry. Currently, there are 22 stats, and Guangdong's Yangcheng Evening News has as many as six, for printing projects. Timely reduction and quality improvement have played a big role, but there are also a lot of decorations. There are 56 printing plants imported, 31 in Guangdong Province, accounting for more than half, Shanghai, 7 in Beijing, and 7 in the Ministry of Technology, accounting for nearly half of the other 25. Other provinces are mostly one, and most of them are used for research and development.

In terms of commercial CTP, most of China's thermal sensation is dominant, Taiwan is geographically distributed, Taipei City and the suburbs have more thermal sensation, and Taichung City and other places are the distribution of visible silver plates. China's newspaper industry is dominated by Agfa's visible silver version, and not all CTPs are used comprehensively. Taiwan is heavily priced because of high prices. Newspaper CTP is not introduced, but 2003 may be the first year of CTP introduction, mainly shortening. Printing process and reduce manpower considerations.

[Post-post news] The United Daily News will introduce 20 CTPs. (This paragraph refers to China's printing in February 2003, a computer-to-plate machine throughout the country's "peak data").

A long list of years of depreciation

Japan's printing industry interviewed CTP's various printing plates and laser light categories. The president said that he wanted to buy a thermal CTP, and that he included hard- and soft-copy management systems, which cost about 110 million yen, NT 300.