Kodak, during last week’s WAN-IFRA World Publishing Expo in Vienna, introduced enhancements to its thermal CTP portfolio for newspaper. Since introducing thermal plate imaging technology 21 years ago, Kodak states it has shipped over 21,000 CTP units worldwide, of which over 2,500 are newspaper CTPs.
At WAN-IFRAl Kodak highlighted a 16 percent laser power improvement for both its Generation News and the Trendsetter News platesetters, allowing newspaper printers to image more plates in a shorter time. Based on the additional laser power, the throughput of the Generation News Platesetter Z-speed version has increased from 258 to 277 Sonora News Process Free Plates per hour. The Trendsetter News Platesetter V-speed version is up from 116 to 129 plates. Kodak intends to make this enhancement commercially available as a standard feature in the first quarter of 2017.
The new speed imaging technology branded by Kodak as “W speed” is another optional addition to the Trendsetter News Platesetter. When used together with the Sonora News Process Free Plate and the Autoloader option, it boosts the throughput of the Trendsetter News Platesetter from 150 to 240 plates per hour, or in the configuration with the Single-Cassette Unit (SCU) from 116 to 150 plates. Kodak also provides integration into existing plate lines with optional single or dual plate rotation. The new W-speed option will be released in Q2 2017.
“These newest enhancements to our CTP solutions are further evidence of Kodak’s faith in the future of newspaper and coldset web offset printing,” said Brad Kruchten, President of Kodak’s Print Systems Division.
Kodak has also announced recently the new, Mobile CTP Control app specifically designed for mobile devices, which lets customers monitor multiple CTP systems and receive immediate feedback on their platemaking process. The new Kodak Mobile CTP Control app will be commercially available early 2017.
Trendsetter News also features a new cooling system that, according to Kodakl improves power savings by an additional 30 percent compared to the initial design, namely down to as low as 770 watts while imaging. The platesetter also comes with a new, shorter unload table which reduces the footprint of the CTP configuration.
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