CTP Goes Chem-free in Kankakee

Serving central Illinois' Kankakee, Will, Iroquois, Ford, Grundy and Livingston counties, Small Newspapers' The Daily Journal in Kankakee has converted its prepress to Agfa's Advantage N-SL platesetter and N92-VCF (violet chem-free) plates.

"The small footprint and automated capabilities are helping us meet the growing demands of this market," Production Director Kevin Norden said in a statement, adding that energy savings have led to environmental benefits and cost savings.

Advantage N was designed to provide small to mid-size newspapers and coldset web printers with output speed and reliability. The N-SL model images up to 100 plates per hour, features automatic plate loading from a 100-plate stack loader, and offers online processing. Advantage N platesetters combine attributes of previous generations of Agfa imagers in four models: Advantage N-M and Advantage N-SA, and the automatic plate loading Advantage N-SL and the Advantage N-DL. The N-SL is designed to handle Agfa Graphics' N91-V and new chemistry-free N92-VCF plates.

The N92-VCF offer consistency because all processing variables of platemaking have been removed, according to Agfa, giving strong image contrast without on-press contamination.