At Glunz & Jensen, New Life for an Old Platemaking Idea

By: Mark Fitzgerald At this week's Graph Expo in Chicago, Glunz & Jensen began taking orders for a new platemaker that takes a modern twist on the old idea of creating CTP (computer-to-plate) plates using standard inkjet devices.

After working out some bugs that surfaced during this summer's big drupa equipment show in Germany, G&J believes its new PlateWriter 4200 is ready for the commercial market -- and may soon prove a low-cost platemaker for community newspapers.

"We are definitely looking to get into the newspaper market with this," Hank Clifford, the U.S. vice president and sales manager of the platemaking technology that Denmark-based G&J calls iCTP. Interviewed on the floor at Graph Expo, Clifford said G&J realizes the plates, which are good for 40,000 to 50,000 impressions, may not yet be up to the speed and durability requirements for all kinds of newspaper work. But for now, the company is targeting smaller-circulation papers or metros that may buy multiple units for processing at satellite plants.

G&J's 4200 images directly on grained and anodized aluminum printing plates. There is no pre-sensitized surface, the imaging can be done in full daylight conditions, and the processing is chemical-free.

The machine uses a piezo inkjet array manufactured by Roland, the wide-format printing device maker, to image plates with its Liquid Dot solution. The image is set in a low-temperature heater unit. An optional gum layer can be added.

Screening is a hybrid variation on FM (frequency-modulated) technology, Clifford said. It now takes 16 minutes to image a full-sized plate for commercial work. "We're looking to enhance the speed, but the problem is if you add more (inkjet) heads, you also lose some quality," he said.

The 4200 lists for $35,000 complete with the platesetter, RIP (raster image processor), and gum applicator, Clifford said. He says the relatively low cost is explained by the inexpensive standard Roland inkjet device, its SP-300 model.

"We're the recipient of the millions and dollars that Roland, HP (Hewlett-Packard), and the rest are spending on inkjet," he said.

At drupa, the 4200 had a problem with some solid-color image areas, which appeared too grainy. "We've smoothed that out," Clifford said.

G&J, he said, is deliberately rolling out the 4200 slowly. Units have been sold to two Ohio commercial plants, and will not be ready until the first quarter of next year, Clifford said. "This way, we can use the time to go out there (to the sites) and assess exactly what they need," he said.