Green Days for Plates

Platemaking is growing more green by the day, with an abundant bounty of no-process and chemistry-free products. This spring flowered into a violet drupa for computer-to-plate users, as Fujifilm and Agfa unveiled chem-free offerings for 405 nanometer (nm) lasers—near the same wavelength used for conventionally processed violet plates. For now, the rest of CTP's green harvest remains decidedly thermal, with one xerographic exception. All of these products embrace a common attribute: traditional plate processors full of harsh chemistry are not required.

The purest form of no-process is just that: Image the plate, then take it directly to the press. Kodak provides such a workflow with Thermal Direct, a plate that uses on-press development to complete the imaging process. After 830-nm thermal exposure within the image area, the plate is mounted on press where the dampening rollers soften the non-image emulsion. The ultra-thin coating is pulled off by the ink rollers and transferred to the printing blanket, then removed by the first few sheets of paper. There's no plate processor, no chemistry, no fuss—and with the unwanted emulsion traveling out of the press with the paper, there's nothing to go down the drain. Launched at Print 05, Thermal Direct plates have been commercially available since the fall of 2006. Manufactured on a grained and anodized aluminum substrate, Thermal Direct yields a run length of 100,000 impressions. If kept in darkness, exposed plates may be stored for up to two weeks before printing. For the newspaper and cold-set web market, Kodak offers a similar on-press development product, the PF-N Non Process Plate.

Fujifilm is sending a clear environmental message with the release of its new Ecomaxx-T on-press development plate. While it will still be known as the Brillia HD PRO-T outside the U.S., the plate now shipping to U.S. customers has an improved emulsion formulation in addition to the new name.

“The Ecomaxx-T includes improvements to our water-soluble, ink tack-driven emulsion,” says Jim Crawford, Fujifilm group manager for consumables. “The T version has even better solubility, so that even small amounts of fountain solution will dissolve the non-image emulsion.” Ecomaxx-T plates are rated for run lengths of up to 100,000 impressions, to fit the needs of most commercial printers.

Fujifilm's Crawford sees more than just green hype driving the adoption of processless and chemistry-free plates. “It's a blend of reasons—it's not strictly because they want to be environmental,” he notes. “Small- to mid-sized shops have a high cost per sq.ft. relative to their sales volume, so they have the most to gain by bypassing the plate processor. Their process flow allows them to easily manage the plate handling out to the press. Out in the industrial parks, many of them are located on a septic tank system or they don't have good access to publicly owned treatment works. So chemistry-free is environmentally conscious, but it also makes good business sense.”

Also under the Ecomaxx moniker, Fuji's Ecomaxx-V (known abroad as the Brillia HD PRO-V) is a new processless plate for violet CTP users. Just introduced at drupa 2008, the Ecomaxx-V is undergoing beta testing before being released to both commercial and newspaper markets. Like the Ecomaxx-T, it utilizes the manufacturer's innovative MultiGrain aluminum substrate; unlike the thermal plate, it will require a one-step gum clean out with an integrated preheat unit. The commercial version of Ecomaxx-V is estimated to provide 150,000 impressions, while the news version should achieve run lengths of up to 200,000.

Along with its no-process simplicity, on-press development also has its challenges. The latent image can be difficult to detect until the plate is “rolled up” on press, making it more difficult to measure dot values prior to the press run. Despite the thermal nature of the imaging process, the current crop of on-press development plates retain some daylight sensitivity, so prolonged exposure to pressroom lights should be avoided.

For example, Kodak warns that exposed Thermal Direct plates should be exposed to no more than one hour of white room light or four hours of yellow light before going on press.

Presstek's new Aurora Pro chemistry-free plates need only a water wash before use on press. “That spent emulsion has to go somewhere, so we'd rather have it in the water processor than on our press,” notes user Royce Feldman, prepress manager of Clear Copy, Boynton Beach, FL. “We clean the water processor every couple of months, and you can see the build-up in that thing. That's got to be an advantage over the plates that clean up on press.” Presstek estimates an average monthly water consumption of only 20 to 30 gallons.

Unlike the smooth plates of the past, Aurora Pro plates feature Presstek's new Pro graining structure, supporting a newly formulated ink receptive layer over a microporous hydrophilic coating. The thermal laser writes to the non-image area of the plate at sub-ablation energy levels to render the emulsion water-soluble. This high-sensitivity, non-ablative thermal plate can be imaged at full speed on most 830-nm thermal CTP devices. It is intended for run lengths up to 25,000 impressions.

“When we made the switch from a film-based workflow to CTP, we were worried about our press chemistry, and about how the new plates would hold water balance,” admits Feldman. “But everything fell into place. There was really nothing that our pressroom felt concerned about.”

Shown for the first time at drupa 2008, Presstek has also upgraded its small-format chemistry-free line up. Freedom Pro is a two-up metal plate intended for use with Presstek's new fiber laser Vector FL52 CTP System. These products round out a portfolio that also includes Anthem Pro (thermal ablative) and PearlDry (waterless) chemistry-free plates.

After more than 2,000 installations worldwide, Agfa has refreshed its product line up with the new :Azura TS chemistry-free plate. The Thermal Speed (TS) upgrade allows :Azura plates to be imaged at full speed on most platesetters and run for up to 100,000 impressions. Based on Agfa's ThermoFuse latex emulsion technology, these new plates maintain the requirement for a clean-out gum processor before mounting.

The environmental benefits of chemistry-free platemaking can be a big advantage to smaller print shops, especially those located in environmentally sensitive areas. “Our company still has to report to the EPA, but we no longer have to report about our silver effluents since we switched to chemistry-free CTP,” explains Scott Morton, co-owner of La Plume Printing, Lawrence, MA. “With our :Azura plate processor, all we need to do is feed it air and electricity, then periodically change out the gum. It's a very green machine.”

Agfa unveiled another update at drupa 2008: the :Azura V is a violet photopolymer chemistry-free plate that was first launched in the newspaper market as the :N92-V Chem-Free Violet Plate. :Azura V is not yet commercially available in North America, although beta testing at newspaper sites is currently underway. Agfa's environmentally friendly plate line up also includes its original ThermoFuse plate, the low-process :Amigo, as well as the :ThermoLite Plus for direct-imaging presses.

Heidelberg's Saphira Chemfree Thermal Plate uses a thermal coalescence emulsion that fuses to the plate during exposure, requiring a mild detergent to rinse off the unfused material prior to the press run.

“When the plate comes out, you have a traditional gummed plate,” explains Don Rogers, consumables product manager for Heidelberg. “There's no requirement for yellow-light conditions or concerns about a short lifespan, like some of the products that develop on press.”

According to Rogers, Heidelberg is working on two new products for release in the first quarter of 2009. “One will be a next-generation Saphira Chemfree Thermal Plate with speed improvements to image at the full speed of our Suprasetters; the other will be the Saphira Chemfree Violet Plate for our Prosetter line.”

Southern Lithoplate has stated it is working on no-process plates for both thermal and violet platesetters, but no release date has as yet been announced.

At drupa, Mitsubishi Imaging also announced plans to release two chemistry-free plates. The first to come to market will be the Thermal Digiplate, described as a no-process, chemistry-free flexible plate on a paper substrate. Combining attributes of Mitsubishi's patented technologies for thermal printer paper and silver haloid diffusion transfer, it features a thermal fusing imaging process that is completely dry and produces no chemical waste. Expected to become available in late October, in time for Graph Expo in Chicago (Oct. 26-29), Thermal Digiplate will be paired with a low-cost 1200-dpi platesetter to produce up to 60 plates per hour in up to 18.1×20.8´´ sizes.

Mitsubishi's Polymer Digiplate also will be shown at Graph Expo in anticipation of a 2009 release. This new product will feature a chemistry-free, high-resolution photopolymer emulsion on a polyester substrate that is suitable for process color applications. Requiring only a water rinse, Polymer Digiplate is being developed for several light sources, including violet lasers.

Xanté serves the small-format marketplace with its eco-friendly Aspen plates, manufactured in the firm's own factory in Asia. Imaged electrophotographically with the Xanté Impressia platesetter, Aspen plates use a grained, anodized aluminum substrate that is recyclable after use. The daylight-loading Impressia can image the plates at up to 175 lines per inch (greater than most duplicators can hold), and the plate is rated for over 25,000 impressions.

“We are placing Impressias running Aspen plates in quick-print shops that are located in suburban strip malls, but also within government offices, on cruise ships and in schools,” reveals Arthur Verwey, VP worldwide marketing for Xanté. “It doesn't use any chemicals at all, so you can put it on your desk if you want to.”

Verwey feels these no-process, chemistry-free plates are perfect for any small-format or GTO-size press. “There's no need to change fountain solutions or press chemistry,” he claims. “We have companies using these plates with security inks; there are no limitations on the type of work you can do.”

Print service providers who are not yet ready to take the bold step into chemistry-free or no-process plates can still improve their green credentials. Agfa says that users of its Energy Elite thermal plate are finding extremely long chemistry life, reducing chemical usage per plate by as much as 80% or more when compared to competitive products. Kodak's new Electra XD thermal plate eliminates the preheat oven and offers cleaner processing with less developer consumption, reducing its total environmental impact.