By Dean Roper

Consolidation and development in the past 18 months in the computer-to-plate market has made this sector even more intriguing for newspaper publishers.

Consider the following: Autologic came to 2001’s IfraExpo on the heels of its acquisition by Agfa. There was scant information about the new company’s strategy and productions. Today, things are much clearer: Agfa, with a share of 65 percent, remains the market leader. The combined company is also in the process of integrating its respective CTP applications, even as it continues to develop and market both platforms.

At last year’s IfraExpo, Agfa said it had reached a milestone with the sale of its 500th Polaris unit to Colasanto in Italy. Agfa featured its new Polaris X series of platesetters. The new models have the names of Polaris XT, XTV, XC, XCV, XD and XDV. The “T” stands for systems with a trolley, the “C” for a system with a total of three plate cassettes, and all of the larger systems are marked with a “D.” If the system is equipped with a violet laser, the name includes a “V.”

Some of the more noticeable changes are the compact design of the new units and a new optical system, with the main laser being used 100 percent for plate imaging. The company said seven systems are already sold and others are being tested.

Picking the best of each product

The launch of the X series and the creation of a clear interface between Autologic’s PagePair and Plateroom Manager into Agfa’s Intellinet workflow application represents a major portion of the efforts to integrate the two companies, said Bill Gellar, an Agfa newspaper marketing manager. The second phase will address “picking the best of each product from the two companies,” he said.

After announcing its merger in March 2002, Esko-Graphics came to IfraExpo 2002 with a number of significant new products. From the outset of the merger, Barco N.V. (owner of Barco Graphics) held a 49 percent stake in the new company and Kirkbi (owner of Purup-Eskofot) the remaining 51 percent. Today, this has changed dramatically, with Kirkbi holding 80 percent ownership.

The company introduced a violet version of the DMX, exposing violet silver and violet photopolymer plates. The company stressed that this solution could be used by newspapers or commercial printers. Esko-Graphics said its DMX machines already installed without a violet laser can now be retrofitted with one.

At 2001’s IfraExpo, then-Purup Eskofot showed a prototype of its CTP closed loop quality control system for photopolymer. The same system is now a released product. In addition, Esko-Graphics demonstrated version 2.1 of its EskoNet workflow automation software.

Also last spring, Lastra SpA, based in Italy, announced that its U.S. subsidiary, Lastra America Corp., was acquiring Western Lithotech Plate and Supply Co.

“This gives Lastra a good opportunity to enter the newspaper market, not only within Europe, but all over the world with a well-known company like Western Lithotech,” said Carla Bonetti, the director of marketing and communications for Lastra.

Building on regional strengths

With the merger, Bonetti said Lastra hopes to take advantage of the two companies’ regional strengths: Lastra within Europe, South America and Asia, and Western Lithotech in North America.

Western Lithotech is establishing a footprint in Europe, particularly in the U.K. of late. The company has nine DiamondSetter platesetters at three News International print sites, in addition to four other systems at those sites.

With the push to violet in the past year, although Western Lithotech does not have a product of this nature, the company said it will “accept future technologies such as violet or UV conventional plate imaging as they become viable.”

One company that is standing strong on its own is Krause. The company is showing a completely new design of its LS Jet CTP platesetter, which Krause said is capable of producing 300 plates per hour. The new system comes with a completely revised optical system and the customer can choose between two light sources: either the green FD-YAG laser or the violet laser diode.

basysPrint install in Europe

Computer-to-conventional-plate or digital imaging of conventional offset printing plates, is beginning to build momentum as an alternative choice for publishers.

Although the U.S. market is a prime target here as publishers are not content to pay the still high prices for CTP plates, basysPrint of Germany has had some success in Europe and is inching into the U.S. market as well. The company heralds installations in Denmark and Germany. The UV-Setter 57-Z system was introduced last summer in the U.S. and basysPrint eventually landed a crucial order from the Newhouse Group.

On the thermal front, Kodak Polychrome Graphics continues to find its niche, helping to establish this technology in the newspaper sector. The company said it now has more than 100 lines of thermal units running daily production in Europe, 75 percent using the KPG Newsetter.

Creo demonstrated its Trendsetter News 200 thermal platesetter at IfraExpo 2002, imaging 200 plates per hour. The device was shown with a Nela preloaders imaging KPG ThermalNews plates. The company said it is now parlaying its relative success in Italy into orders and installations in France and Greece.