PCOM Cuts Chemistry with New CTP

When the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM) added a Screen PlateRite 4000 to its in-plant seven years ago, it was happy to leave film behind and enter the computer-to-plate world.

That world, though, was not entirely problem free.

“It was starting to get expensive to eliminate the chemicals,” remarks Dean Gray, director of Materials Management. Plus, having to handle hazardous waste did not exactly make the in-plant an environmentally friendly place.

The in-plant recently tackled this issue head-on by switching to chemistry-free Agfa :Azura plates. A new :Azura C85 processor has been installed, and the shop made an almost seamless transition to the new plates.

One of its first jobs was an alumni newsletter that required nearly 100 plates. Gray says his staff had no problem producing it. The fact that plate-burning time has increased from three to about six minutes has not proved to be a significant concern, he adds.

The new processor, he says, is about a third the size of the old one. This has opened up more space in the shop, as has the elimination of plumbing, since :Azura plates need no water, only gumming.

The in-plant is using the :Azura plates on its three presses, a five-color Heidelberg Speedmaster 72, a four-color Ryobi 3400 and a one-color Ryobi 2800 with a T-head. The plates can run 100,000 impressions, Gray says, but his shop won’t likely run jobs longer than 40,000.

Going chemistry free and becoming more environmentally compliant was a great move for PCOM’s in-plant, Gray says—and it will save a lot of money in disposal costs.

“It’s been costing me about $6,000 a year to ship the waste product from the plate processor to North Carolina for proper disposal,” he says.

He estimates the savings in chemistry costs alone will pay for the new processor in about a year.