Operation Digital Output
Technology Perspective
Stepping Up To The Plate
An interview with Citiplate's Charles Cusumano, Jr. reveals some unique perspectives regarding plate types and their relationship to workflow.
Q. What kind of plates are out there for package printing environments?
A. In the conventional photopolymer aluminum plates arena there are older, solvent-based plates, as well as the newer, more environmentally friendly aqueous-based types. Within the aqueous class, there are also single- and dual-photopolymer emulsion-coated conventional plates. With the explosion of CTP, there are also many new types of plates and emulsions that are not conventional at all. These expose with lasers of different wavelengths. None of those new CTP plates exposes with UV, nor processes anything like a conventional plate. And prices vary widely. Some new CTP plates, for example, are priced as much as 30 percent to 70 percent higher than conventional plates.
