Streamlined Artistry

This reliance on scientific consistency doesn't wholly exclude the element of art from platemaking, either. As Chris Estes, product marketer for Xanté Corp. attests, the tools for plate control are just slightly different. He notes, "Although the mechanical/analog methods are rapidly becoming digital, the ability to control the output is the same." Estes argues CTP devices, computers, and lasers are just a more controlled version of the light tables, red litho tape, and dark rooms of the analog process.