CTP - Computer to Plate
JAMAICAS XPRESS LITHO USES ECRM CTP TO SAVE ONE MILLION JAMAICAN DOLLARS A MONTH
Friday 19. December 2008 - Violet computer-to-plate technology has been widely recognized for its total cost benefits, but for one Jamaican printer the bottom-line impact has been clearly obvious.
After installing the ECRM MAKO 8x platesetter in April 2007, their monthly platemaking costs have dropped by $1 million Jamaican dollars, and department staffing requirements have been reallocated from 18 to just 3. But this kind of success is nothing new to Founder and Owner Trevor West. Today, his firm’s revenue stands at $200 million Jamaican dollars (US $2.7 million), fully one thousand times their first-year sales.
Transcending Film
Wise technology choices underscore Xpress Litho’s growth, productivity and profitability. In making the decision to shed film-based prepress and convert to computer-to-plate technology, West and his team immersed themselves in every detail. Action swiftly followed.
“In 2006, we studied the costs of our film-based prepress and staffing,” says West. “Film is very labor-intense as a prepress method and also very expensive. Excluding plates and chemistry, for the month of March that year, we spent $1.3 million Jamaican dollars and needed a staff of 18 in our prepress department.”
West and his team then analyzed CTP systems and consumables on the market. When all the facts were in, ECRM’s MAKO 8x platesetter and Agfa LAPV Silver plates were chosen as the hands-down, winning combination. Covering all press formats for 2, 4, 6 and 8-page signatures, with resolutions from 1800 dpi to 3556 dpi, the ECRM MAKO 8x platesetter boasts the lowest operating cost in the industry.
30% Productivity Boost
“In its first month of operation, the MAKO 8x produced 30% more plates. And our clear saving with the ECRM MAKO 8x platesetter comes to one million Jamaican dollars a month!” At that rate, West explains, the ECRM MAKO 8x will repay its cost in about 18 months. “You might say that’s why we don’t have ‘prepress’ anymore,” says West. “Jobs now go digitally from the art department to our MAKO 8x, and then the processed plates go straight to the pressroom.”
Add in Reliability
In addition to its huge productivity advantage at Xpress Litho, the CTP combination of the MAKO 8x and Agfas LAPV Silver plates has also proven highly reliable. West notes, “In over a year of operation, we’ve not had one single plate break down on press. We are very happy with ECRM and we’ve just taken action to acquire another.”