The Dish on Plates
June 2001
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While some suppliers continue to pursue digital platemaking, others remain focused on conventional exposure and processing.
by Kate Tomlinson, Assistant Editor
THE WORLD IS digital. Digital phones, digital cable, and DVDs (digital video discs) are today's reality—will digital plates make way into every pressroom next? More and more suppliers are working to make digital plates commonplace. But how long will it be before every printer has adopted this approach?
The future of digital plates
"Without a doubt, once digital platemaking systems come full circle, they will be able to offer printers something they can always use more of—time," says Paul Zeinert, manager of technical services at Anderson & Vreeland.
While some suppliers continue making strides toward the "ultimate" in digital equipment, Zeinert says A&V has spent the last several years focusing on getting water-wash plate processing systems up to par with solvent-based systems. He reports A&V has come a long way, but still has some drawbacks to contend with. "Throwing a water-based plate system into the grind has several advantages, mostly concerning the environmental issues that go along with using solvents. We are trying to deal with ways to avoid rusting, as most equipment is not stainless steel. Finding additional artificial light sources [to eventually replace UV] is also coming into play," he concludes.
While Zeinert believes digital platemaking is close to achieving widespread adoption, Jim Kadlec, president of Advanced Prepress Graphics, disagrees. Kadlec believes digital plates will dominate in the future, but not for at least another 10 years. "Twenty years ago IBM laughed at Bill Gates when he mentioned every home and office with its own computer. Look at them now—he was right. I think it is going to be the same with digital plates." Kadlec maintains the amount of time digital platemaking saves must justify the effort before usage can hit majority levels.
Other industry insiders see a need for both conventional and digital technology, emphasizing printers must decide what is important and necessary for their own situation. "I do believe digital technology is here to stay and [it] will become the standard for platemaking in the future," says Mike Butler, account integration manager at Southern Graphic Systems. "For the time being, printers and prepress shops will continue using both technologies where they make the most sense."
Pamela Arnold, product manager at NAPP Systems, believes digital plate usage will come around based on several key industry motivators: "There are several elements driving the movement toward digital: environmental—the need to reduce silver in a plant; existing electronic technology—more customers are able to produce their own art and are not capable of transferring it to film; and globalization—the desire for international corporations to streamline the workflow with single-location graphics production," she comments. "At this time, however, the cost of the equipment still exceeds the payback for most printers and the real future is in direct-to-plate rather than computer-to-plate."
by Kate Tomlinson, Assistant Editor
THE WORLD IS digital. Digital phones, digital cable, and DVDs (digital video discs) are today's reality—will digital plates make way into every pressroom next? More and more suppliers are working to make digital plates commonplace. But how long will it be before every printer has adopted this approach?
The future of digital plates
"Without a doubt, once digital platemaking systems come full circle, they will be able to offer printers something they can always use more of—time," says Paul Zeinert, manager of technical services at Anderson & Vreeland.
While some suppliers continue making strides toward the "ultimate" in digital equipment, Zeinert says A&V has spent the last several years focusing on getting water-wash plate processing systems up to par with solvent-based systems. He reports A&V has come a long way, but still has some drawbacks to contend with. "Throwing a water-based plate system into the grind has several advantages, mostly concerning the environmental issues that go along with using solvents. We are trying to deal with ways to avoid rusting, as most equipment is not stainless steel. Finding additional artificial light sources [to eventually replace UV] is also coming into play," he concludes.
While Zeinert believes digital platemaking is close to achieving widespread adoption, Jim Kadlec, president of Advanced Prepress Graphics, disagrees. Kadlec believes digital plates will dominate in the future, but not for at least another 10 years. "Twenty years ago IBM laughed at Bill Gates when he mentioned every home and office with its own computer. Look at them now—he was right. I think it is going to be the same with digital plates." Kadlec maintains the amount of time digital platemaking saves must justify the effort before usage can hit majority levels.
Other industry insiders see a need for both conventional and digital technology, emphasizing printers must decide what is important and necessary for their own situation. "I do believe digital technology is here to stay and [it] will become the standard for platemaking in the future," says Mike Butler, account integration manager at Southern Graphic Systems. "For the time being, printers and prepress shops will continue using both technologies where they make the most sense."
Pamela Arnold, product manager at NAPP Systems, believes digital plate usage will come around based on several key industry motivators: "There are several elements driving the movement toward digital: environmental—the need to reduce silver in a plant; existing electronic technology—more customers are able to produce their own art and are not capable of transferring it to film; and globalization—the desire for international corporations to streamline the workflow with single-location graphics production," she comments. "At this time, however, the cost of the equipment still exceeds the payback for most printers and the real future is in direct-to-plate rather than computer-to-plate."
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