Consumables-General - Plates

The world of flexo plating moves from flat to round. THOUGH IT MIGHT be tough to remember, it was only a few years ago that computer-to-plate (CTP) for flexo was considered a speculative technology. Today, with many hundreds of digital flexo imaging machines installed around the world, it's fair to say that flexo CTP technology is here to stay. And, as is typical of our ever-changing industry, when one technology matures, another is bound to emerge. The new kid on the flexo platemaking block is in-the-round, or ITR imaging. ITR differs from standard digital flexo imaging in that the photopolymer plate material is actually

ROCHESTER, N.Y.—Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Creo Inc. (NASDAQ: CREO, TSX: CRE), a premier supplier of prepress systems used by commercial printers worldwide. Based in Vancouver, Canada, Creo is the world's No. 1 provider of workflow software used by printers to manage efficiently the movement of text, graphics and images from the computer screen to the printing press. By adding Creo to its already impressive line-up of digital and traditional printing products and solutions, Kodak's Graphic Communications Group (GCG) reinforces its status as a leading industry participant able to provide customers with

Today's flexo platemaking systems offer printers a variety of options to match their costs, quality, and speed needs. FOR MORE THAN a few flips of the calendar, flexography has held top billing as the fastest growing printing method for labels and packaging. Boosted by an impressive succession of technological advances, this once red-headed stepchild of the pressroom has become our industry's new darling. Despite a developing threat from digital printing just over the horizon, flexo appears capable of maintaining its favored position, too. Its attractive economics and suitability for a wide range of packaging applications—especially for flexible packaging—are certain to keep flexo's popularity on

Short-run printing is no easy task, but when done right, the rewards can make it all worthwhile. PACKAGE PRINTERS ARE facing a future marked by shorter production runs that may pose challenges for even the best of today's printers. Meeting these challenges head on will require investment in technologies that are geared toward the ultimate in flexibility. Printers will be getting all the help they need from press manufacturers who are making tremendous strides towards maximizing the uptime potential of their new press offerings. "The well-known trend in the market is toward smaller runs for various reasons," observes Terry Trexler, product manager

Plate mounting product manufacturers offer some suggestions and tips to help smooth out the plate mounting process. TRAPPED AIR BUBBLES. Plates lifting during printing. Damaged plates from residue. Constant press adjustments. Low print quality. … Plate mounting has potential to be a nightmare for some press operators, but help is here to overcome some of the stresses brought on by the simple act of plate mounting. packagePRINTING spoke with some plate mounting material manufacturers to find out some tricks and hints, and a few new products that may soothe a frazzled plate mounter. Be gentle to your plates Flexographic plates, although tough, do need

JDF offers three prominent features: the ability to carry a print job from concept through completion, to bridge the communication gap between production and MIS, and to do so with most any precondition. JDF IS AN open-standard, job-ticketing language that provides a foundation for users to build next-generation printing environments that encompass both the content and the business aspects of production workflow. The Job Definition Format is a comprehensive, XML-based file format for end-to-end job ticket specifications, combined with a message description standard, and message interchange protocol. JDF was created to develop an open, extensible, XML-based job ticket standard, as well as a mechanism,

Easy to integrate—and packed with JDF functionality—today's robust RIPs are tagged "revolutionary" and "central" for any workflow. THE RIP OF of today is a master of all trades: color management, advanced screening, JDF-functionality, ticketed workflow, soft proofing finesse—a wide range of performance targets for a new era of prepress automation. Central RIP (raster image processor) for any workflow; revolutionary RIP architecture; JDF-enabled—and proud of it. These descriptions fit the latest trends in RIP technology targeting prepress environments today. Xitron, for example, has been giving high emphasis to its Navigator Harlequin RIP, XiFlow workflow, and Xenith Extreme Adobe RIP—all of which introduced new functionalities at

Progressive package printers are finding new ways to open new levels of communication with their customers and attract new business. Digital workflows—and the Internet—are helping. ADVANCED DIGITAL WORKFLOWS, sporting Internet collaborative tools, are significant time savers for prepress departments—and are targeting the package printing environment with fervor. Gee Ranasinha, director of marketing at Dalim Software, reports one way a package printing operation can differentiate itself from its competition is by offering its customers the advantages of a more digitized workflow and online collaborative services. One such workflow is the DALiM MiSTRAL PACK, which provides converters a complete view of their entire prepress production. It

A symbiotic relationship between packaging prepress professionals and their customers can lead to the right prepress environment. TREND OFFSET PRINTING is a full-service, commercial and publication printing company headquartered in Los Alamitos, Calif. The company—innovative in its approach—offers a clear snapshot into the technological movements impacting the offset CTP environment at this time. For example, let's take a look at some of Trend Offset Printing's recent technology upgrades: • To handle an increasing volume of new customers, it has purchased Creo's Trendsetter AL complete with V-head, and has initiated plans to double the capacity of its existing Creo Trendsetter with the addition of

Presstek to Acquire Precision Lithograining Corp. HUDSON, N.H., June 3 -- Presstek, Inc., a leading manufacturer and marketer of environmentally responsible high tech digital imaging solutions for the graphic arts and laser imaging markets, and Precision Lithograining Corporation ("Precision"), the manufacturer of the industry leading Anthem, Freedom and Aurora chemistry-free printing plates, today announced that the companies have signed an agreement for Presstek to acquire Precision in a cash transaction valued at approximately $13 million. Subject to customary closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2004. The companies are planning to maintain their respective operations, with