Agfa rolled out an automated plate management system aimed at users of its very large format computer-to-plate platesetters.

The new PlateManager can be used with existing Xcalibur VLFs, Agfa said. PlateManager features a four-cassette design that allows multiple types of plates — up to 50 per bin — to be kept online and ready to go at all times.

Its design makes it possible to have extra cassettes with additional plates on hand, which are kept offline and ready to be loaded into the PlateManager and used on the Xcalibur VLF when needed. PlateManager does not interfere with the manual loading system already built into the Xcalibur VLF.

The Press of Ohio, in Brimfield, was the beta test site for PlateManager. The system’s ability to automate the Xcalibur VLF helped the newspaper streamline to get plates out faster, said Burt Phillips, prepress manager.

“When we first got the Xcalibur VLF we were running about 12 plates an hour. With the addition of the PlateManager, we are now up to about 15 an hour, and we expect to be at 17 plates per hour in the near future,” he said. “We have another platesetter from another vendor, and without automation capabilities, it is only able to give us eight plates per hour.”

Phillips said the newspaper is able to double its plate output with the addition of the Xcalibur unit and its automation capabilities. The automation also frees up operators to examine the plates.

PlateManager can be placed to either the left or right of the platesetter and like the VLF itself, has a small footprint, designed to eliminate the need for an extra bridge or conveyor belt. PlateManager comes with an optional trolley, allowing cassette transportation to and from the system.