Agfa Gevaert  market trends  CTP 
With CTP vendors now pushing systems to B2 printers Wayne Robinson examines the experience of Rostone Print, which put in Australia’s first Agfa Palladio 18 months ago. Computer to plate systems have had a long period of gestation since their introduction at drupa 1990. Nothing much happened between then and the next drupa five years later, but by the time drupa 2000 came along every B1 printer worth his salt was seriously considering putting one in, and since then many have. It would be a rare occurrence indeed for a 40” long perfector to go in today without CTP. Now the manufacturers are targeting B2 printers, with a plethora of systems available. As costs have come down considerably, workflow software is easy to use, and plate technology is now proven, CTP systems are at or near the top of the agenda of every go-ahead B2 printer, especially as the print buyers in many cases are demanding it of the smaller printers. However while most are yet to make the move a few have been in there for some time, including Sydney-based Rostone Print.

Rostone Print is a relatively new outfit, but has come a long way in the 12 years since partners Dave Newall and Tony Wiseman began the company with one photocopier. The company now boats a pair of five-colour Komori 26” Lithrone presses, with both finishing and prepress in-house, and has 23 staff producing a range of quality commercial work.

It also became one of the first B2 printers to go CTP, when it put in Australia’s first Agfa Palladio at the beginning of 2002, in fact it was not only the first in Australia but one of the first in the world. The Palladio has been designed by Agfa to be a fully automated four-up system that requires minimal attention from operators. It uses violet visible light lasers, which are less expensive than thermal. Palladio features automated plate loading and handling, a special media cassette keeps 50 plates online, so there is no need for manual loading. It also has automatic slip sheet removal, and it is flatbed design for horizontal storage of plates, which Agfa says ensures maximum reliability.

So why did Rostone take the plunge and go where no-one had gone before, and what has its experience been. Joint owner Dave Newall says, “We could see the writing on the wall, it was clearly the way to go, and we wanted to be one of the first in order to gain a competitive edge, rather than coming in later when everyone had one.”

Rostone was already making its plates in-house with an imagesetter and plate exposure system, with a set for one of its presses, which at the time comprised a five-colour and a four-colour, taking around 60-80 minutes. The company spent six months researching the market before opting for the Palladio. Newall says, “It seemed the right unit for us; it was easy to run, had low running costs, high throughput, came from a committed supplier, and produced high quality plates.”

Installation was, according to Newall, straightforward, with the first plates coming off at the end of the first day. There was a steep learning curve for Rostone’s prepress staff. Newell says, “Our guys were used to film, but going direct to plate meant different considerations had to be taken into account, for instance the grip and lays had to be put in, which didn’t always happen at the start, and we had plates punched upside down a few times, but to be fair the staff did learn quickly, and soon enough they were getting it right every time.”

Rostone initially decided to keep its imagesetter in case the CTP broke down, but within two months the company was so convinced of its reliability that it sold the imagesetter. Newall says, “In fact the Palladio has only gone down once since we’ve had it, and that was due to operator error.” The person responsible for platemaking had to go, as his job was now being handled by the Palladio.

Since the early days Rostone has been making between 60 and 70 plates a day on the Palladio, using Agfa Lithostar plates. The company operates a 12 hour shift system.

Newall says the Palladio has delivered real benefits to his company, which he quantifies as increased efficiency and increased quality. These in turn have given Rostone a more competitive edge in both margins achievable and in quality attained. A set of plates for a full colour job now takes Rostone around 16 minutes, a fifth of the time when compared with the previous imagesetter film and planning system. Newall says, “It also means that if we have to replace a plate, for instance if it has a scratch on, we can do it in about three minutes, which means we lose next to no downtime.”

The increase in quality comes, according to Newall, because the plate is now made from first generation dot. He also says, “We don’t run anything below 175lpi now, and obviously our customers are very pleased with the resulting job at that resolution.”

The company doesn’t yet have CIP3, that will come with the next press, but it does run Agfa’s Apogee workflow software. Newall says, “That is first class. It is a PDF workflow, it is quite powerful, and it has room to grow. In addition we appreciate the fact that Agfa has stuck with Apogee, while one or two others have chopped and changed. “

So 18 months on would Rostone recommend B2 CTP in general and the Agfa Palladio in particular. “Yes on both counts,” says Newall, “Providing you are willing to embrace digital workflow, the benefits are significant and there to be realised.”