Say Good-bye to Chemicals

THE PAST decade of computer-to-plate development has brought an incredible revolution in printing. By streamlining workflows and eliminating unneeded and costly steps, CTP has allowed printing departments to save time and increase productivity, while improving the quality of the final printed piece.

Despite these advantages, though, conventional CTP still relies on the extraneous and unnecessary steps and costs of processing the plate after imaging.

Eliminating chemistry has a number of benefits. First and foremost is cost savings. Research by J Zarwan Partners (www.johnzarwan.com) shows that chemistry can cost up to 30 percent of the cost of the plate—and hidden costs can bring the total cost of platemaking even higher. These include the time it takes to process the plates. Moreover, processors must be cleaned. Chemistry needs to be stored and waste disposed. Processors and inventory also take up space, which costs money.

A Simpler Process
Any step adds complexity, variation and the potential for error, and chemical processing is no exception. Chemistry and processing need to be constantly monitored and stabilized. A subtle change in any one of the variables associated with chemical processing can change the reproduction characteristics of the plate. In the worst possible case, these variations can be objectionable enough to stop the press for a plate remake.

A reduction in steps reduces the number of variables. A simpler process with fewer steps will always produce more consistent and predictable results than a complex, multi-step process.

Eliminating chemistry saves time, saves steps, removes variability and saves money. But there is an added benefit of a true chemistry-free plate: It is environmentally friendly. There are no chemicals to store, no toxic waste to dispose of. This isn’t just a question of being a good citizen. Chemistry-free means a safer and cleaner work environment, which raises morale and productivity and lowers insurance and health costs.

Types of Chemistry-free Plates
There are a variety of types of chemistry-free or no-process plates. All on the market today are imaged using thermal lasers. Some require gumming; others have only a latent image and are “developed” on-press, with the chemistry disposed of along with the ink and other press-related waste.

An ideal CTP plate system will not put anything hazardous into the environment, nor will it penalize the user with the costs of cleanup or disposal of the waste. By their nature, photo-chemical plates and processing chemicals generate waste products that are considered hazardous under many local, state and federal regulations.

Presstek Anthem PRO plates have no such chemical waste products. There is no waste water effluent to treat and no chemical waste to collect and haul away for disposal. There is no contamination of press chemistry. A clean plate goes on the press. Anthem PRO plates require only a water wash, with no gumming, baking or chemical processing—either before or after mounting on the press.

Optimized to run on Presstek’s Dimension Excel platesetter, Anthem PRO plates provide a streamlined workflow, high-quality printed results and are inherently friendly to the environment.IPG