Solve the mystery of using CTP plates
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The concept of computer direct plate making (CTP) came from the early 1990s and matured at the beginning of this century. At this year's Durpa exhibition, manufacturers have not released resources to promote it. This shows that the promotion period of CTP has passed and officially stepped. Into the use period. However, according to the author's observations and some unofficial statistics, about half of the manufacturers in Hong Kong and the mainland who have set up factories in Hong Kong are still using traditional film and printing. This version has been used for decades and has been eliminated. When CTP is reused and its usage rate in Europe is as high as 80% or 90%, the traditional method still accounts for 50% usage. It is not suitable for CTP in this environment. Is there still a lot of misunderstanding in the user's mind, so I dare not use it? The main reasons that have been summarized over the years with different industry friends are as follows: First, the CTP version has poor durability; second, the cost is high, such as the printing long head is not even calculated, especially in the Mainland, this can be said to be a The biggest reason why CTP is difficult to promote. I have made some discussions on these reasons. The classification of CTP plates and the choice of platesetters or we look at the classification of CTP plates here. In the past ten years, the laser source used by CTP is constantly changing, and the plates used in CTP are constantly changing. The plates of various wavelengths that have appeared have been formed using two mainstream laser wavelengths. 405nm and 830nm of thermal infrared light, of course, there are some CTP platesetters using special wavelengths on the market, and the biggest disadvantage of buying such CTP platesetters is that there are fewer choices of plates, especially if they are exclusive. The bargaining power when buying a plate is inevitably high. Of course, there are some CTP platesetters that use the traditional PS version. With the continuous expansion of CTP plates, the traditional plate production costs are decreasing, and the cost of plates is getting closer. There is no advantage in the price, the traditional PS version of CTP is gradually disappearing.
As for the choice of violet laser or infrared light, it can be roughly divided into two applications in the market. The plate of 405nm violet laser is now mostly used in high-speed production workshops such as newspaper printing because of the large structure of violet laser plate. The sensitization time is shorter than the thermal version, and the printing durability is longer than that of the thermal version, but the disadvantage is that the resolution is relatively low. According to the specifications of the general plate manufacturer, the violet laser version is 175 lpi, 2-98%, but The thermal infrared plate is 200lpi, 1-99%, or even higher. On the contrary, the printing rate of the general violet laser plate is 100,000 sheets or more, and the printing durability of the heat-sensitive infrared plate is usually only less than 100,000 sheets. It can be seen that the purple laser version is more suitable for newspaper printing or quick printing, and the work with lower printing line requirements, while the commercial printing is 830nm thermal version.
The purple laser plate is divided into silver salt and photopolymerization, and the design of the two plates is different. That is to say, although it is the same purple laser CTP plate-making machine, it wants to switch to silver salt. For photopolymeric plates, two different platesetters are required, which is quite different from the case where the thermal plate processor is almost shareable.
The development direction of CTP plate
In fact, CTP plates have developed well in all aspects in recent years. One is the printing durability, the second is the resolution, the third is the speed, the fourth is the printing condition, and the fifth is the environmental protection. development of.
Here I will talk about environmental protection. As the environmental regulations of the world are becoming more and more strict, although the CTP version of the syrup does not have the toxicity of the traditional PS version. In Hong Kong, there is no clear regulation on the recycling of CTP syrup, not to mention the mainland, but the demand for chemical-free plates will definitely increase, and the plate-making machine, although now The chemical-washed version is not as good as the normal thermal version in terms of speed, and it is sensible to see if the speed of fifteen open versions per hour is sufficient. Relative to the use of ordinary CTP plates, the same CTP platesetter can produce more than 20 sheets per hour, but whether each plant needs this production amount is calculated by itself, and it is not necessary to compare everything with others. The price is another weakness of the environmental protection version. In fact, several world-leading plate manufacturers have environmental protection plates, but the price is tens to hundreds of different than the traditional CTP version, but I believe that With the promotion of environmental protection regulations, the cost of recycling will be added in the future, and the production capacity of the environmental protection version will increase, and the cost will be reduced. The use of the environmental protection version will become more and more.
As for the printing durability, there are different solutions for each version of the factory, but one of the two-layer coatings seems to be preferable. The double-coated material has a double coating, one of which is a photosensitive layer, and the other is a photosensitive layer. The first layer is a specially resistant film. According to the data, ordinary printing can print between 300,000 and 500,000 heads in the case of a non-defective version, and even millions of printed sheets after the stencil version, while UV printing can also print tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of copies. This is one of the solutions for the CTP version.
Going to the Agfa Wuxi plate making workshop to visit the host
As for the other three items, during the data collection, the author had the opportunity to visit an aluminum production base in Agfa in Wuxi, together with its director Herman Comefissen and another product manager in Shenzhen, Mr. Ge Yujun ( Jason), a detailed discussion of some CTP plates, and some of them are worth pondering.
I came to this factory that was officially put into operation in 2004. I learned that this factory was originally producing two kinds of traditional PS plates and CTP plates, and now it is producing CTP plates all the time, and will produce chemical-free flushing next year. The CTP plate shows how the demand for the CTP version has increased over the past few years, and the shift in CTP version demand has also been observed. Later, Herman took me to the production workshop. Like many big company codes, the photos of the workshop were not available, but after the unwind processing of the raw materials for cleaning, degrease, etc., the author Surface graining, surface oxidation (Anodize), coating, drying, inspection, etc. This workshop of about 100 meters is fully automatic even invisible to a worker. From the production line to the cut to size and packaging, it is indeed a very advanced workshop production line. According to Herman, the PS version produced by the factory is produced in accordance with the production standards of the Belgian head office, including the environmental standards used in Europe, and many of the products produced by the factory are also used for export, so the quality and There is no difference in the imported PS version.
Proper use of CTP plates
Back in the office, I exchanged some opinions with Herman on various issues of CTP plates. For example, if the CTP version is not as good as the traditional PS version, etc., in fact, all manufacturers have different print quantity products, of course, as traditional The higher the printing cost, the higher the cost of the plate, but why do many users in Hong Kong or the mainland say that the CTP version is not printed for 30,000 or 40,000, and some say that it is not enough to print thousands to 10,000, according to Herman and According to Jason's experience, the life of the film is often shortened because many printers do not match the CTP version when using the dampening solution. On the other hand, the composition and proportion of alcohol are also very important. There is a lot of alcohol purity in the Mainland, and the user's ratio of alcohol used in the dampening solution corresponding to different manufacturers is strictly controlled. It also has a very important impact, so the choice of the plate manufacturer recommended and the specifications of the dampening solution is an important factor in maintaining the life of the film. As for car wash water, it is also very important. Nowadays, many printing factories use solvents such as fire water and electric oil as car wash water, which also directly reduces the life of the film. Therefore, the correct use of tools is always the most important. Of course, other materials such as paper quality, ink and blankets will also have a large degree of impact. In addition, the environmental conditions in which the plate is stored are also important. If the temperature and humidity of the storage place are out of specification, and the storage date is too long, the plate will change and cause problems during plate making.
As for the resolution and speed, Herman said that in fact, manufacturers have to balance the price, quality and technology of the plates. In fact, many technical requirements can be achieved, only whether the market demand and price can be accepted by the public. Both resolution and speed can be improved, but at this stage the product can be said to be a comprehensive market demand, a product that most printers need and can accept.
Finally, when we explored what is a good plate, the conclusion is that price, print durability, resolution and print conditional fitness are all important. In addition, the stability of the plates is also very important. Since the CTP plates produced by them are fully inspected, each piece of the factory plate can guarantee the smoothness in plate making and printing, so that the customers will not be lost.