The Clarksburg (W. Va.) Exponent-Telegram has become one of a growing number of dailies to adopt computer-to-conventional-plate technology.

In March, the newspaper installed a FasTrak CTP/C 75 platesetter from alfaQuest Technologies.

The FasTrak uses conventional plates and an ultraviolet laser. It’s offered in two models, churning out plates at 75 and 125 plates per hour, respectively.

Dennis Nierman, president of alfaQuest Technologies, poses with a FasTrak CTP/C unit at America East in Hershey, Pa., in March. The unit was shipped to American Press in Lake Charles, La., following the show, where it is now in full production.

The computers in the prepress area that house RIPping and page impositioning software at The Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram.
Photo: The Clarksburg Exponent-Telegram

AlfaQuest first showed a prototype of the platesetter at Nexpo 2002 and a working version was showcased at this year’s America East conference.

The Exponent-Telegram (daily, 16,066) is using the 75-plate-per-hour unit, although Production Director Frank Bolyard said the newspaper is outputting plates at a rate that exceeds that number.

“We always print a double-wide plate,” he said. “When the manufacturers talk about 75 plates an hour, they’re talking about single-wide plates. With the double-wide plates, we’re outputting over 100 an hour through it.”

In addition to the daily, The Exponent-Telegram prints several weekly tabloids and broadsheets, by way of four to five press runs each night. Papers are printed on an eight-unit Goss Urbanite press.

“Most of the jobs are pretty well to full capacity of the press, which is 32 plates,” Bolyard said. Using American Lithotech’s Mach II UV plates, “We’re averaging somewhere between 120-130 plates a night,” he said.

Making the switch

The Exponent-Telegram is the second of what alfaQuest said were a host of FasTrak CTP/C units to be installed this spring. The Tribune-Star in Terre Haute, Ind., was the first to install a FasTrak CTP/C 75 unit.

Bolyard said the newspaper devoted eight days, including training, to migrate from its legacy Konica 9100 filmsetter to CTCP.

The decision to switch to CTCP came after last year’s Nexpo, Bolyard said.

“We were looking at several different models that used the FD-YAG lasers and the visible light lasers,” Bolyard said. “Then when alfaQuest announced at Nexpo last summer that they were coming out with this CTP unit that used conventional plates, it just really made sense.”

Bolyard said that the newspaper would be able to recoup its investment in three years. He also said the platesetter offered advantages beyond using less-expensive conventional plates.

For one thing, the daily was able to keep its double-wide filmsetter as a backup because it can use the same plates on both machines.

“If you go to some other (form of imaging plates), like visible light, then you can’t run the same plates on the press, you can’t mix,” Bolyard said. “You have to run all of the same type of plates on the press because of different water levels and so forth. That was one of the big advantages of going to this. We kept the other filmsetter as a backup. If there are any issues we can just jump back to it.”

Cost considerations

BasysPrint Corp., with its UV-Setter CTcP technology, is currently the only vendor offering a competitive CTP unit that images conventional plates.

The use of conventional plates when adopting CTP can yield savings, but production directors face other costs when weighing whether or not to deploy CTCP technology.

First is the cost of the UV lasers. The cost of a FasTrak CTP/C UV laser averages $47,500, although, unlike FD-YAG lasers, UV laser imaging heads don’t have to be left on all the time. The typical UV laser has a usable life of approximately 10,000 hours. AlfaQuest said service contracts can reduce the cost of laser replacement units.

“We have a very aggressive support contract program. If somebody puts it under our support contract the laser is of course covered,” said Keith Roeske, director of operations for alfaQuest.

Second is the cost of the CTCP units themselves.

The FasTrak CTP/C 75 is priced at $240,000 while its higher-capacity cousin, the CTP/C 125, sells for $300,000.

A full-service support contract on the FasTrak CTP/C costs 14 percent of the list price of the platesetter and covers everything, including the laser. Newspapers can also opt for a warranty on the laser itself.

The FasTrak CTP/C 75 unit that was on display at America East was shipped to American Press in Lake Charles, La., following the show and is currently in production there. American Press is using the same American Litho plates as The Exponent-Telegram and achieving output speeds up to 140 plates per hour.