CTP - Computer to Plate
Freie Presse Chemnitz fits digital platemaking for the future with four KODAK GENERATION NEWS Systems
Thursday 30. October 2008 - Eastern Germany's biggest regional daily switches to thermal plate imaging with high-speed CTP systems from Kodak
Freie Presse Chemnitz is currently renewing its entire newspaper printing and production technology as part of a major project – without any serious disruptions to operation. The company is also taking advantage of the project to invest in a new print shop workflow and CTP equipment. After careful consideration, the management opted for four KODAK GENERATION NEWS Systems in the Z speed version and four KODAK MERCURY P-HD Plate Processors. Each of these compact, fully automatic newspaper CTP systems is capable of imaging 270 plates an hour in the format used by the Chemnitz printer.
All the benefits of thermal CTP combined with high output speed
It was the results of extensive benchmark tests on solutions from four system suppliers that tipped the scales in Kodak’s favor. Erik Hofmann, Deputy Technical Director: “Kodak won the race owing to the precision and stability of its imaging and plate technology, its platesetter architecture, and the incredible output speed. We were also impressed by the solution’s overall high level of automation and economy.” The system responsibility guaranteed by Kodak – as the manufacturer of the individual components – for the plates, CTP, and plate processing was another aspect that swayed the decision.
The KODAK GENERATION NEWS Systems will take the place of the CTP equipment purchased in 1999, which image plates sensitive to visible light. Two of the new KODAK platesetters will start production at the Freie Presse printing center, situated on the western edge of Chemnitz, in September and October 2008. In March 2009, before the third and final installation phase for the new manroland XXL newspaper presses is complete, all four KODAK GENERATION NEWS Systems will be up and running, imaging digital KODAK THERMALNEWS GOLD plates. Data will be supplied to the platesetters direct from a ppi printnet Output Management System.
The awesome combined capacity of the four KODAK GENERATION NEWS Systems is not an unnecessary luxury, however. When newspaper production gets going every evening, around 1200 plates have to be imaged in the first ninety minutes – almost half the average total requirement of 2500 plates a day. The new CTP equipment was planned with sufficient capacity reserves to meet this demand.
Each KODAK GENERATION NEWS System has four plate trays capable of holding a total of 1600 single plates – those used by Freie Presse are 346 x 526 mm in size – or 800 panorama plates with slipsheets. The plates are loaded in pairs, imaged, and then fed to a KODAK MERCURY P-HD Plate Processor for high-speed parallel processing. The workflow continues from the CTP lines to new, automatic punch and bending units. Finally, a transport system conveys the plates to stacking trays on the automatic plate loading units at the presses.
Newspapers, ad journals and much more beside
With 19 local editions and a total circulation of more than 300,000 copies sold, Freie Presse is Eastern Germany’s biggest regional daily. In addition to the newspaper itself, the company also prints 18 regional ad journals under the name BLICK, which together add up to a weekly circulation in excess of one million. The production portfolio is rounded off by various contracts, including the teenage magazine SPIESSER (also one million copies). There are plans to significantly expand this business in the future, spurred by new technical and quality advances in the prepress area.