The new direction of short-run color printing - On-machine direct plate printing system DTP

(Direct-to-Press Systems Are Short-Run Color Powerhouses) Although people feel that direct-printing DTP technology seems to be a new development technology, in fact, this short-run color printing system has been developed for more than 10 years. Now. Those in the industry who understand DTP technology believe that its predecessor should come from the development of gravure cylinder digital imaging systems in gravure printing, which first began in Europe in the early 1980s and was subsequently further developed in the United States in 1985. However, most people think that the Heidelberg Heidelberg GTO-DI, which was first introduced at the 1991 British IPEX show and the Chicago Print'91 show, is the first DTP system for commercial printing. Hudson, NH has developed the core technology of the GTO-DI on-machine plate printing system DTP, or Direct Imaging Technology (Presstek has registered a trademark) based on Presstek's technology. The key to the Presstek system is its ablation process for processing plate technology. On the printing press, the printing plate image forming apparatus ablates the ink repellent layer in the uppermost layer of the multi-layered printing plate to obtain an image area that can accept anhydrous ink after scraping off the ablated residue. GTO-DI has adopted Presstek's early discharge-type imaging heads and ablatable plate technology in the design of its two-, four-, and five-color GTO offset presses. The print size is 14×20 inch octaves with horizontal feed. However, the early 1016 dpi resolution discharge-imaging technology was unsatisfactory in terms of print quality. In 1993, Presstek made up for the shortcomings of its discharge ablation imaging technology, developed the "PEARL" laser imaging head, and was subsequently sold on a new model of the GTO-DI press, and updated and improved existing GTO printing in the field. machine. Thanks to the great success achieved in previous years, Heidelberg stopped the sales of GTO-DI in 1996. At the drupa exhibition in 1995, it launched the new Speedmaster Quickmaster DI46-4 press. The Quickmaster DI press attracted a large number of visitors every day during Drupa's exhibition and was motivated by this rush of enthusiasm. Heidelberg received as much as possible more than 400 orders for this new type of direct imaging press, and hastily Accelerate the production of new systems. However, the early design of this DI system, especially the automatic plate cleaning device with Heidelberg's own design, delayed the delivery of the Quickmaster DI printer, leaving it to market until early 1996. The unique design of the Quickmaster DI press is a large impression cylinder and 4 satellite units. Each unit consists of a laser imaging head, a set of ink rollers and plates, and a blanket cylinder. The plate-making process uses a roll of Presstek plate material, which automatically finishes the plate from the unwinding to the surface of the plate cylinder, performs in-flight imaging and subsequent waterless printing. After the printing is completed, the used printing plate is taken up on another roller in the drum, and the next new printing plate is automatically made. Its design structure is actually based on the “satellite” press prototype platform used by Presstek in developing its direct imaging process. Using a discharge ablation imaging head and a satellite structure that had been formed by Presstek in 1988, Heidelberg has produced the world's first direct imaging sheet-fed press. In the few years since the press was introduced, the Quickmaster DI press has undergone several rounds of improvements, including software upgrades, shortened RIP time and plate imaging/cleaning time, and added four ink zones (a total of 12 inks District) to strengthen the ink control. With PEARL dry plates from Presstek, a 181/8 x 133/8-inch longitudinal plate can be imaged in 1270 dpi resolution for only 6 minutes. It also enables high-resolution platemaking up to 2540dpi, reaching a maximum printing speed of 10,000 sheets per hour. Screen USA first introduced the TruePress 544 press at IPEX '98 in the UK and Graph Expo'99 in Chicago. Relying on the company's already mature optical systems in proofers and digital recorders, as well as Screen's control software technology, RIP technology, and plate processing system, Screen described the TruePress 544 press as a "digital printing system for offset printing." Its print quality is "close to offset printing." The TruePress 544 press features a 18.1 x 14.3 inch print format that enables 1500 dpi and 3000 dpi resolutions (150 and 175 lpi, respectively) on a flexible polyester plate. The printing, unloading, developing and fixing processes can be done automatically on the press. Unlike Quickmaster DI presses, TruePress 544 presses use traditional wetting systems and printing processes, as well as color printing inks. Four-color printing speeds can be up to 4,000 sheets per hour, or 8,000 sheets per hour in two-color printing. The digital front-end DFE of the TruePress 544 press consists of a Windows NT controller and Adobe Postscript 3 RIP. The system is compatible with Postscript, PDF1.3, TIFF or CIP3 PPF data using Screen Taiga SPACE and the upcoming Trueflow workflow. DFE can realize the plan of printing and printing, the soft proofing of data before RIP, the preview of printing data, the control of ink coverage and color, and the automatic adjustment of ink key and the monitoring of printing progress according to the printing plate data. At Drupa 2000, Screen USA also announced the forthcoming TruePress 744 direct imaging press with four open specifications. Although the model is still in development, the TruePress 744 will have the same imaging technology as the TruePress 544, capable of four-color printing on 28.7-by-20.4-inch press sheets, resolutions of up to 1200 dpi and 2400 dpi, and print speeds of up to 8,000 sheets per hour. It also allows 2/2-sided printing configurations. In addition to four-color printing presses, TruePress 744 will also introduce two-color and six-color printing presses. Last year's Drupa 2000 and Graph Expo trade show became a watershed for the development of direct imaging press technology. Presstek introduced its third-generation imaging technology and renamed it ProFire. Its feature is the use of electronic technology to form a modular laser imaging head. Presstek also announced that it will provide direct imaging technology for Xerox's new series of DTP systems. Xerox's Docucolor 233 DI-4 press is an eight-color, four-color direct-imaging press. It uses a Presstek ProFire imaging platemaking device and Ryobi's five-cylinder V-shaped "satellite" press. It is said that its built-in drum design uses a large impression cylinder and a pair of double plate cylinders and a blanket cylinder (in each Two printing plates can be made on the plate cylinder at a time, which can save the floor area of ​​the printing machine. Xerox's Docucolor 233 DI-4 press has a maximum print size of 13.39 x 18.11 inches. It takes only 2 minutes to process 1270 dpi resolution on Pressel's PERAL dry, waterless version, and only 5 minutes at 2540 dpi resolution (up to 200 lpi). The press is equipped with Xerox DigiPath software and Postscript-compatible RIP, with automatic button-controlled automatic plate and plate making, ink key setting, automatic cleaning of the ink roller, blanket cylinder, and impression cylinder. The Docucolor 233 DI printer and the Docucolor 400 DI-5 printer manufactured by Ryobi in Japan are four-color and five-color direct image printers, respectively. They still use Presstek's ProFire imaging system and built-in automatic plate-up devices and combine them in the press. There is a 37 PEARL dry waterless version in each built-in plate cylinder, which can automatically complete the plate-making and plate-making process within 20 seconds. After printing, it is re-wound into the cylinder. The DI printing machine has a maximum printing size of 15 x 20.5 inches, a plate making speed of 2 minutes at a resolution of 1270 dpi, and a plate making time of 5 minutes at a level of 2540 dpi (up to 200 lpi). The Docucolor 400 series printers are said to have a print speed of up to 12,000 sheets/hour. They also feature temperature-controlled ink rollers, an automatic blanket cleaning device, and an image console for registering and color adjustment. The available duplex printing configurations are now available in 4/1, 2/2, and 2/3 color formats. The Docucolor 400 printer is said to be compatible with standard workflows and Xerox DigiPath software. With a double-sided printing device, it is capable of plate-making in the printing process and capable of printing a wide variety of printed materials. The adoption of the octal open format for the small-size direct image printing press was based on the consideration of the status quo of the DI printer at the time, but it was limited to printing only single sheets, four-page booklets, etc., and performed over eight pages on an eight-opening printing press. Document printing is often impractical. As a result, quad-port direct imaging presses are considered by some DI printer manufacturers and printers seeking to improve short-run printing capabilities as a solution to these problems. The first to enter the four-way direct imaging printing market is Omnitrade Industrial of Charlotte, NC. Together with Presstek in late 1995, they jointly produced the first industrialized direct image four-offset offset printing system production line. This is a direct imaging Omni-Adast printer based on the Adast two-, four-, and five-color color presses in the Czech Republic (Czech Republic), and it was exhibited at a global print show in 1996. In 1997, it was put into mass production. Today, in Arvada, Adast America Colo has established a direct sales, service, and technical support system for manufacturers. It can provide four-color and five-color 705C DI series printers, that is, double-sided printing and single-side printing. And configuration. The Adast DI press uses Presstek's PEARL server and Harleguin RIP developed on Windows NT. It is said to use a 19 x 26-inch Presstek watermarkless version, which requires 5 to 13 minutes of plate making. The length of the specific time depends on the resolution of the selected plate, and may have different precisions such as 1016, 1270, 2032 to 2540 dpi. Heidelberg announced its newly developed Speedmaster 74 DI at IPEX '97 and produced the SM74 DI press in 1999. The printer is available in four-color, five-color and six-color (optionally equipped with a reverse printing device and a coating device). The plate format is 20 x 29 inches. It can be automatically mounted in 5 minutes without thermal treatment. Version. With the CreoScitex laser head and SQUARE imaging software, on-press printing at 2400 dpi (225 lpi) resolution takes only 3 minutes. The SM74 DI is compatible with Postscript 3, PDF, and CreoScitex Prinergy workflows. Another early entry into the four-split DTP press market was the 74 Karat press from Karat Digital Press. It is produced by a joint venture between German press manufacturer KBA and Scitex. However, Scitex announced that it will resell its shares of the Karat Digital Press joint venture to KBA in March of this year, so that KBA will take full responsibility for the manufacturing, sales and technical support of the 74 Karat printers. In May 2000 before Drupa last year, the 74 Karat press went into production. It has a high degree of automation and a simple design structure, using a large impression cylinder, using two times to complete the color printing paper, and to ensure accurate registration. The Karat digital offset press is equipped with two laser imaging heads using CreoScitex Lotem 800V CTP system technology. The 74 Karat presses use a PEARL dry, waterless version of Presstek, an automatic plate-making device with 30 plates, and a plate-making time at a resolution of 2540 dpi in resolution from 1540 dpi up to 200 lines in high-precision imaging. It only takes 6 minutes. Last year, the market also launched a four-open (20 x 29 inch) specification Oliver 474EPII DI press from Sakurai Graphic Systems. The original plan was to design a four-color printing machine for double-sided printing. Later, the Oliver 474 was equipped with ProFire's imaging head and Presstek's thermal printing plate, which was transformed into an on-press digital printing machine. However, the machine can also use traditional printing plates for printing. The system includes CIP3 workstations, automatic plate change and ink density control, and built-in print presets. After the introduction of the four-color press at the end of last year, it is expected to continue to introduce Oliver 474EPII DI five-color and six-color offset presses. There is also a four-open direct image offset printing machine that prints a 20 x 29 inch Akiyama DI type J-Print multicolor printer specially developed for the book printing market. Similarly, Presstek's on-board imaging and digital plate technologies are designed into the J-Print press. The printer is designed to use a repetitive bypass path for printing through top and bottom