CTP - Computer to Plate
Frank Gumpert Says Goodbye to Overtime with Suprasetter 74 CtP Device
Wednesday 11. March 2009 - Frank Gumpert Printing of Annapolis, Md. has accelerated its plating capabilities and vastly improved its operating efficiency and plating accuracy since it replaced an aging, manual-feed platesetter with a highly automated Suprasetter 74 SCL with Printready workflow and Meta Dimension RIP, all from Heidelberg.
“The beauty of our new CtP device lies in the quality of the internal punching that gives us automatic registration and dot-for-dot accuracy on press,” said company President Jeff Ostenso. “Theres no more waiting for plates, and remakes are a breeze thanks to the quick and efficient PDF workflow.” The longtime Heidelberg customer defines the return on its investment in wholly practical terms: “One of our senior prepress operators used to spend around 20 percent of his time loading plates, but thats a thing of the past now,” Ostenso explained. “Thanks to the automated cassette loading on the new platesetter, we can deploy that operator more productively and economically to RIPping and managing files.” The company still makes between 600 and 700 plates each week, “but we do it in less time and with significant net savings in man hours and overtime,” Ostenso said. Those savings are amplified and secured through integration of the new Suprasetter in the Prinect Printready prepress workflow. The company uses Saphira Chemfree plates, which “hold a great dot,” Ostenso said, and it also operates POLAR 92 and POLAR 115 EMC paper cutters.
Established in 1955, Frank Gumpert Printing provides a primarily East Coast/Mid-Atlantic clientele with a wide variety of commercially printed products. The company employs 60 people between its 25,000-square-foot Annapolis facility and Baltimore sales office.