Also from October “Printing World” .......Nilpeter DI-3300, now completed and ready to market
“Technology Spotlight”
“New Angles in Direct-to-Plate”
For package printers using older offset presses, the quickest route to computer-to-plate is likely through a platesetter, which necessitates manual removal and remounting of the plate after imaging. But those who have invested in newer presses, with quick-change features such as slide-out cassettes, can consider the efficiencies of direct-to-plate imaging.
Presstek has aligned with a number of press suppliers in recent years in order to bring direct-to-plate and computer-to-plate technologies to market. The company first teamed up with Heidelberg in 1991 to introduce thermal, no-process plate imaging done directly on Heidelberg's GTO press.
The outcome of Presstek's alliance with Nilpeter was recently on display at Labelexpo '98. The DI-3300 direct-to-plate offset imaging system, designed by Presstek for Nilpeter's M-3300 platform press, can image plates with 1270 dpi resolution in approximately five and a half minutes. The system can accommodate 15ý to 30ý repeats, at up to 175 line screens.
Nilpeter's DI-3300 represents "a step back" from all-out direct-to-plate, explains Presstek Product Marketing Manager Sandy Fuhs, filling an intermediate need for a stand-alone CTP device that provides nearly all the advantages of complete direct-to-plate. Cassettes containing the plate and blanket cylinders slide off Nilpeter's M-3300 and directly onto the imager. Once each plate is mounted, imaged, and slid back on to the press, it is immediately in register. The imaging system can also transfer ink key data directly to the press, Fuhs notes.
According to Nilpeter Digital Service Engineer Soren Ringbo, the DI-3300 uses 16 laser diodes to image Presstek PEARLwet plates for printing with dampeners, or PEARLdry plates for waterless printing. PEARLwet plates feature an aluminum base and a water-loving top layer which is heated and loosened during the imaging process. The released upper layer is then cleaned off with a solution that is 90 percent water, 10 percent Varn Total. A Windows NT server functions as the RIP for images, while a mouse-driven Job Control menu can speed prep time by providing on-screen image verification, or a list of fingerprinted cassettes with pre-loaded settings.
The DI-3300 direct-to-plate offset imaging system can image plates with 1270 dpi resolution in approximately five and a half minutes.
Neil
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