CTP - Computer to Plate

Commercial Printers Choose Southern Lithoplate Integra 830 PTM Printing Plates

Tuesday 18. September 2012 - Southern Lithoplate, Inc. (SLP) has announced that the new- generation Integra 830 PTM, SLP's advanced positive-working, no-prebake thermal CtP plate, is emerging as "The Alternative" for commercial printers.

Exceeding Expectations
ColorCraft of Virginia, Inc., a 40-employee firm located in Sterling, Va., is known for devising award-winning solutions to challenging projects. ColorCraft has catered to the printing needs of government agencies, educational institutions, associations, health care providers and midsize businesses since 1986.
“Our largest runs are 250,000 impressions, and we have had no quality or performance issues whatsoever with the SLP Integra plate,” said Chip Peyton, president. “This is our company’s first SLP product. We very rarely introduce new products into our workflow. The SLP plate exceeded our expectations, and that is why it is a permanent part of our workflow.”
Colorful annual reports, brochures, promotional pieces and posters are among ColorCraft’s many commercial jobs printed on a mix of full-size and small-format sheetfed presses and digital presses. Sales in 2012 are on track for $8 million.
“The Integra plate has great dot structure with no soft fringe, which is a must when printing with 10-micron and 20-micron stochastic screening on a daily basis,” Peyton said. “We run less water on both of our six-color Heidelberg presses due to the Integra’s superior grain structure. The linearization of this plate from skid to skid is the most consistent of any plate we have ever used.”
Quality, Value & Performance
Like several printing operations that recently switched to the Integra plate, Chroma Graphics, Inc. in Upper Marlboro, Md., was looking to decrease costs, increase profits and further differentiate itself from the competition. The $10 million company was drawn to the Integra’s value and reliability.
“I truly feel that the Integra is the best plate on the market for price and reliability,” said Rusty Coolidge, president. “It is a durable, long-run plate. Our run lengths are longer than many sheetfed printers. The dot structure on the plate is solid and doesn’t just wear away while running on press.”
Chroma Graphics runs to a very high quality standard. Started in 1989, Chroma Graphics began as a prepress operation before launching into its present identity as a full-service commercial sheetfed printer. Occupying a 50,000-square-foot-facility staffed by 51 employees, the company produces a wide variety of multicolor brochures, marketing pieces and catalogs. Its penchant for the newest equipment with the greatest capabilities is fueled by the desire to offer the best print quality possible to corporate clients, ad agencies, graphic design firms and corporate clients located throughout the Washington, D.C., region and nationwide.
“We had used and tested many different plates over the years before finally going to SLP products,” Coolidge said. “We actually ran a blind test in our pressroom, comparing ink pull up, dot structure and printability. The Integra plates came out ahead.”
Future is Positive
Colorgraphx in Clearwater, Fla., already knew the value of SLP solutions when the 8-year- old company converted to Integra plates.
“SLP is a true partner with Colorgraphx,” said George Stulpin, president. “They have really worked to help us reduce costs and print the best quality we can from SLP plates. We switched to Integra plates because, for us, the future lies in positive plates. Eliminating the oven from the processing workflow was the direction we wanted to go.”
Colorgraphx employs 16 people and prints books, magazines, marketing materials and other general commercial products. Production runs range from 1,000 to 100,000 sheets.
“Our present platemaking process is even more cost-effective than it was,” Stulpin noted. “And the plate fits our needs in terms of print quality. It holds a sharp dot.”