CTP - Computer to Plate
TechNova underscores its commitment to CtP with total solutions
Tuesday 30. December 2008 - TechNova Imaging Systems hosted an impressive all India road show in Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore and Delhi, during which it underlined its commitment to CtP technology. Be it: thermal, violet or inkjet CtP.
Mr Pranav Parikh, Chairman and Managing Director of TechNova, presented a detailed genesis of CtP technology in India. During this presentation, which was attended by the who’s who of the Indian print industry, he discussed the pros and cons of violet and thermal CtP technologies from the point of view of a commercial printer.
TechNova announced its alliance with UK-based FFEI whose CtP platesetters have been installed at thousands of printers worldwide. These platesetters enable high quality, fast turnaround and less waste in the production of magazines, brochures, newspapers and packaging. TechNova will sell FFEI violet photopolymer platesetters under brand names, VioStar FV4 & VioStar FA8. TechNova also announced a tie up with the UK prepress firm, HighWater Designs which deals in pre-media equipment and has sold almost 1500 plus CtP devices. In addition to FFEI, TechNova will also sell HighWater violet photopolymer platesetters under brand names, VioStar HC 8 & VioStar HP4. VioStar HC 8 will offer a maximum plate size of 1080mmx850mm. It can output up to 16 plates an hour in 8-up mode and 28 in 2-up operation. VioStar HP 4 will offer a maximum plate size of 745mmx615mm.
All the above platesetters can be bundled with Height Design processors. For TechNova, this completes the product chain and adheres to their motto of being “a total solutions provider”.
Mr. Parikh emphasised: “TechNova is now providing end-to-end solutions, which includes plates, chemicals, inks and platesetters. This has become a must for the Indian print industry, which is witnessing a very exciting growth period.”
As Deepak Chawla, General Manager, Marketing (Offset Plates & Chemicals), TechNova pointed out: “Today, TechNova is providing a complete solution of fully compatible pre-press equipments, plates, chemicals and inks. It is our passion to provide the best solutions for Indian printers.”
New Plate production line
Another highlight of the presentation was the official Indian announcement of TechNova’s high-speed, fully integrated and automated digital plate manufacturing line, which will bring plate production to 36 million sqm each year. The new line is housed in a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly plant, which will produce the full range of violet and thermal plates from Agfa’s stable, including the chemistry-free variety.
As Mr Parikh explained: “With the commissioning of the new plant, the capacity of Indian plate manufacturers will be ahead of the total projected consumption in the country for all varieties of plates for several years, assuming even an optimistic continued growth rate of 15% per year.”
Better than the best
One of the themes that repeatedly came up was the quality of Indian plates. Mr Parikh pointed out: “There is virtually no technology gap between the advanced countries and India in the field of offset plates and chemicals. The time lag between introduction of a new plate by Agfa globally and by TechNova in India, ranges from six to 12 months which is normally the time taken to customise the product and stabilise it for Indian conditions.”
TechNova had launched its VioStar range of violet CtP plates at Drupa. Both VioStar N for newspapers and VioStar C for commercial and packaging printers, were a huge success.
Mr. Parikh added: “During field-trials, newspapers have reported achieving run-lengths of 250,000 impressions (without baking). We were also pleasantly surprised that commercial printers have reported resolutions similar to thermal plates. We believe that the packaging printers will report run-lengths exceeding thermal plates. Due to the lower cost of ownership of violet platesetters and local availability of violet plates, one can expect accelerated pace of conversion from analog to CtP in all segments of the Indian industry.”