CTP - Computer to Plate
Southern Lithoplate Kept Busy with 11 Installations at Years End
Thursday 24. January 2008 - Demonstrating the Markets Confidence in Southern Lithoplate as the Preferred CtP Supplier to the North American Newspaper Market
Completing 2007, Southern Lithoplate, Inc. was installing a variety of prepress systems and related products at 11 of its customer partners production facilities.
These eleven newspaper-printing operations implemented the diverse range of products that are offered by the Southern Lithoplate CtP Alliance Solution, including VIPER 830 lithoplates.
Associated Publishers Inc. (API), a six-member newspaper cooperative based in Huntingdon, Tenn., faced a number of considerations when the organization made the decision to overhaul its prepress operations. API ultimately settled on an integrated digital workflow from the CtP Alliance Solution because it provided the benefits of computer-to-plate (CtP) production, low cost of ownership and the efficiency of working with a reliable partner.
“We want to give our readers better-looking newspapers and be able to save time and money in the process,” said Victor Parkins, Chairman of API. “The individual products that make up the Southern Lithoplate package, the reliability of the vendor and accessibility of service when it is needed all came together in choosing a new prepress system.”
The six weekly newspapers within API share a single Goss newspaper press located in Huntingdon. They require approximately 1,500 plates per month. With the move to CtP,
Screens PlateRite News 2000LE thermal platesetter will accommodate all of the newspapers plate needs, outputting VIPER 830 lithoplates. The PlateRite News 2000LE produces 26 plates per hour when using 35 x 23.2-inch plates. It can be upgraded to higher output capacity at the users facility.
“We felt that thermal imaging provided the fastest and most reliable technology, with the highest uptime,” Parkins said. “We have bought analog plates and other consumables from Southern Lithoplate for many years. We have confidence in their products and service.” Previously, each API newspaper had its own film-based plate-making operation.
“The imagesetters at the different locations were getting old and were prone to breaking down,” Parkins said. “The newspaper industry is moving toward 100-percent digital workflows. Rather than purchasing six separate imagesetters, going direct-to-plate was the most cost-effective solution.”
The member newspapers, which are located within a 60-mile radius of each other, submit job files remotely to the PlateRite News 2000LE via Screens Trueflow Rite News servers.
Trueflow Rite News features PDF-based RIP operation, trapping and other automated workflow functions necessary for accurate plate production.
“It is surprising how simple the process is,” Parkins said. “The built-in preflight system prevents the transfer of incomplete files or missing fonts.”
Once the imaged plates are processed by the Proteck 105 plate processor, they go onto press.
“Working with film, you sometimes have problems with registration, especially when you have four negatives to produce color,” Parkins said. “With the platesetter, the registration is right the first time.”
Minnesota daily seeks greater quality
For the Albert Lea Tribune in Albert Lea, Minn., the transition to a CtP workflow was a crucial step in the newspapers goal of computerizing its press line.
“We eventually want to be able to send digital data from prepress directly to the press,” said Alan Nygaard, production director.
A member of Boone Newspapers, Inc., the Albert Lea Tribune installed the PlateRite News 2000S to image high-quality VIPER 830 plates. The platesetter handles plate sizes from 11.5 x 18.1 inches to 38.5 x 26.9 inches and is capable of outputting 84 broadsheet plates or 41 doublewide plates per hour.
ProImage Americas NewsWay workflow software drives the platesetter. The newspaper company chose the Proteck 105 to process plates and a NELA three-point register punch/bender with inline plate transport system.
“The installation went very smoothly,” Nygaard said. “Everyone involved was knowledgeable of the products and worked well together.”
During one production shift six days a week, a 10-unit Web Leader newspaper press prints the 7,300 circulation Albert Lea Tribune and a 5,600 circulation sister paper, the Austin Daily Herald. On the commercial printing side, the organization prints 25 weekly newspapers, four shoppers and assorted monthly publications. On average, the pressroom utilizes 3,000 plates per month.
“Ensuring high quality in our printed products was our main concern,” Nygaard said. “We compared several different prepress systems before making a final decision. The PlateRite device offered the best fit in terms of capacity, maintenance and serviceability. It produces a sharp dot on the VIPER plates. The price and reliability of the NELA unit made it a good addition to the production line. The ProImage workflow is simple enough for operators to understand, and we can easily train our staff to use it.”
Newspapers from coast to coast advance prepress automation
Three daily newspapers in the Gannett Co., Inc. chain worked with Southern Lithoplate to devise the optimal prepress production line. They incorporated VIPER 830 plates as part of their integrated workflows:
The Great Falls Tribune in Great Falls, Mont., installed two PlateRite News 2000S devices, in addition to a Glunz & Jensen MK III plate processor with stacker and an MK III Supreme processor without a stacker. The newspaper chose a punch/bender from Burgess Industries Inc.
The Statesman Journal in Salem, Ore., added two PlateRite News 2000S platesetters. To develop plates, the newspaper opted for two MK III Supreme processors. The Statesman Journal installed a Burgess punch/bender as well.
Similarly, the Wausau Daily Herald in Wausau, Wis., acquired two PlateRite News 2000S platesetters, two MK III Supreme processors and a Burgess punch/bender.
The Norman, Okla.-based Norman Transcript found that a different system configuration met its needs. Owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc., the 118-year-old daily newspaper covers Cleveland and McClain counties in the southern suburbs of Oklahoma City. It adopted the PlateRite News 2000S, Proteck 105 processor with a stacker and NELA inline plate transport system.
Another Community Newspaper Holdings property, the Oneonta Star in Oneonta, N.Y., installed a Proteck 105 processor equipped with a stacker.
The Durham Herald-Sun installed two PlateRite News 2000S units along with two Glunz & Jensen MK III Supreme processors and the Presteligence NewsXtreme workflow system. The
Herald-Sun, a Durham, N.C.-based member of the Paxton Media Group, serves the western counties of the Research Triangle area that surround the city of Durham and the town of Chapel Hill, including Durham, Orange, Person, Granville and Chatham counties.
Southwest Offset Printing Co., Inc. added the MK III plate processor to its existing workflow. Located in Gardena, Calif., the full-service printing facility specializes in daily, weekly and monthly publications. Southwest Offset has a strong regional presence in both southern and northern California.
The Record Searchlight, the daily newspaper of Redding, Calif., owned by E.W. Scripps Co., selected two CA Systems plate processors.
The Dauphine Herald, a weekly community newspaper located in Dauphin, Manitoba, turned to the CtP Alliance Solution for the PlateRite News 2000LE, Proteck 105 processor and Polkadots Softwares IntroFlo workflow application.