AC Print, a general commercial printer based in Brixham, Devon, producing work across the UK for well known high street names, has recently switched to Fujifilm’s Brillia HD PRO-V plate. The low-chemistry plate has enabled the company to achieve quality it had never previously experienced, while reducing chemistry usage.
Supplied through one of Fujifilm’s dealers, Avon Graphics Ltd, the low-chemistry plates have been in use for the last few months bringing astonishing results. Andy Payne, director at AC Print explains:
“We use a HighWater Python CTP system and IGP 880 Processor, and had found that with our previous plate choice we experienced an incredible amount of image development problems. It had got to the point where we were very unhappy, and so we began discussions with Avon Graphics who recommended the Fujifilm Brillia HD PRO-V plates.
“Since we started using the PRO-V plates we haven’t looked back. Both Avon Graphics and Fujifilm directly have given us exceptional customer service - I am absolutely delighted with it, nothing is too much trouble. And the plates themselves have made a huge difference to the quality of the work we can produce. We now consistently obtain a much sharper, cleaner image. Since day one we haven’t experienced any issues, and besides the leap in image quality, we are also using a system that is better for the environment. We’re cutting back on the chemical waste we produce, which is not only ‘greener’ for the business but also saves us a considerable amount of money in waste disposal costs. And, because we no longer have to re-image any plates, we’re making considerable time savings as well.”
He continues, “We are so delighted with both the plate choice and the service we receive that we are looking to increase volumes as soon as we can, and will continue working closely with Avon and Fujifilm.”
Brillia HD PRO-V is the latest Fujifilm plate designed to simplify the pre-press process, as it uses less chemistry, requires less maintenance of the finishing unit and produces less waste than its processed alternatives. In addition, the replenisher normally required to control the pH or conductivity of the bath is no longer needed. Thanks to Fujifilm’s ‘high sensitivity polymerisation’ technology, Brillia HD PRO-V also brings unmatched quality, consistency and productivity to plate production, being capable of 1-99% resolutions (with a Fujifilm “HD capable” platesetter), and able to print FM screens.
January 28th 2010
I have been using the Wonder Fount 2 in 1 fountain solution on my press since October 2007 and have found that we have reduced our running costs significantly in all aspects of printing. I am currently running a Speed Master 74 5 Colour. Our reduced cost are as follows:-
I can without doubt recommend the use of Wonder Fount 2 in 1 for reducing the cost of printing in general.
K. Mitchell
Fotorotar AG located in Egg, Switzerland is one of four printing houses in Switzerland certified to produce securities and share certificates. The company also produces periodicals, business reports and books (published in-house) on 27 printing units, of which 18 are in 8-up format, mostly in two-shift operations. The requirement for formproofs is correspondingly high. Until now, single-sided sheets have been mounted manually with waxed glue, and then cut and folded into four-page signatures. Not counting the time taken and the high consumption of materials, there was always a risk of faulty paste-up, particularly in the case of small-format finished products. Since Fotorotar was so open to the idea of printing double-sided proofs in a single pass, the purchase of the Preproofer 960 was a quick decision. The sheets are imposed on three Signa stations, processed on a Heidelberg Metadimension workflow, and then transferred online to DI-Plot for output on the Preproofer 960. As a partner, Digital Information was not unknown to Fotorotar AG: this media service provider in the Zürcher Oberland is one of the first to use Remote Publisher, another tool from the Zurich-based software creator. Based on PDF technology, Remote Publisher allows customers of the printing house to edit predefined templates for business stationery themselves, and then release the jobs for printing over the Internet.
In the year 2000, Ropress in Altstetten, Switzerland became the first printing house in the world to be awarded the FSC certificate. The FSC label is presented by the Forest Stewart Councilship to companies that contribute to ecological and socially responsible forest management. Primarily, the company produces in four-page format and uses KIM PDF as the output workflow for the imposition of finished PDF pages with subsequent 1-bit TIFF file from a Harlequin RIP. The identical data is used for output on the Preproofer 760 and for plate imaging. The Preproofer 760 brings Ropress considerable savings not only in relation to efficient formproof printing: since work began here using the new DI-Plot controlled proof output device, the formproof has at the same time become a contract proof. This is submitted to the customer as an Contract proof. Since the spring of 2004, ISO 12647-2 compliant ICC profiles are stored in DI-Plot. Ropress also uses DI-Plot for calculating ink zone setting values: so-called InkZone files are transferred via Ethernet to the InkZone-Box, converted into the format specific to the printing machine (Heidelberg), and written to the JobCard. The data is input into the CPC system from the printer for automatic ink fountain presetting.
We at Avon Graphics have been providing Graphics Supplies and Solutions for the last three decades. Be it Print Supplies, Graphic Supplies or Litho Print Supplies, we have it all for you, and we also deliver them to you the next day, if possible. Our range of products is extensive, and includes major brand names such as Agfa, Kodak, Fuji.
