July 1999 Issue
From Image to Panorama
Variation in web inspection systems lets converters see just what they want to see. By Susan Friedman Whether package printers' fiercest print nemesis is skip-out, smudges, streaks, register or color, the web inspection market is teeming with improved approaches to sending defects packing, whether the budget is basic or no-holds-barred. In the narrow-web market, Brian Tithecott, marketing manager for Focus Automation Systems, reports strong sales to pharmaceutical, health and beauty, and prime label printers with a need for high quality, and in the case of pharmaceutical printers, perfection in each impression. "Wide-web printers," he notes in comparison, "are looking at inspection to improve yields.
Plotting Along
Imagesetters stay active in lieu of—or alongside—computer-to-plate. By Susan Friedman Make no mistake, the imagesetter is alive and kicking. Aggressive advances in computer-to-plate (CTP) haven't proved fatal to imagesetter usage or upgrades, and suppliers haven't let up on steady releases of both hardware and software improvements. Hardware, software review Each basic imagesetter design offers a fit for a certain segment of package printers. "Capstan-driven devices are better for dimensional stability over long images, and drum devices offer superior repeatability," states Pierre Ferland, marketing director, Alan Graphic Systems. Several color separations can be grouped on a single piece of film only in a drum device,
Same Press, Separate Routes
Three European printers show the diverse usage avenues one versatile press—the Arsoma EM 410—can take. By Susan Friedman Landscapes, languages, driving on M-roads vs. the autobahn—all are differences one would expect to encounter when visiting England and Switzerland. But three label printers operating in these countries reveal further contrasts. On the surface, they are like-minded: Each is wrestling with constrictive price pressures, and none want to get so caught up in productivity that they lose sight of quality level goals. Contrasts crop up in their growth strategies, which may involve new or existing customers, specialization or diversification, innovation or investment. The Arsoma EM 410
