Prepress

TURVILLE TURNS TO SCREEN FOR QUALITY

Friday 04. April 2008 - Since stepping up to a chemical free operation with the installation of Screen's PlateRite 4300E and Trueflow Rite software, High Wycombe based Turville Printing Services has enhanced the quality and service it provides for its customers.

Annette Culley, partner at Turville Printing, says: “We originally functioned with the capability to run B3 format film and had to manually plan B2 plates as required. This sometimes had an impact on the precision of the printed image and could end up costing time and money in remaking plates if mistakes were made.

“As a result of investing in a fully automated CtP system from Screen we are able to produce totally accurate and clean B2 plates at the touch of a button. By reducing the amount of human intervention that was normally required when making plates, the PlateRite 4300E has helped us increase accuracy, consistency and efficiency.”

Turville Printing Services has opted to use Agfa chemistry-free plates with the Screen PlateRite 4300E, which is capable of imaging up to 14 plates per hour, because they allow the operator to clearly see the image on the plate before it goes to press. This helps the company maintain a high level of quality control as plates are transported from the reprographics suite to the company’s two Komori presses.

Through processing chemical-free plates, the new Screen CtP system also cleans up the company’s plate making operation through omitting the use of harmful components. Ms Culley says: “As a chemistry-free operation, we no longer have the headache of disposing of waste safely and, although it is a bit soon to tell about any potential savings in consumables, we believe our chemistry-free operation may save us money in the future. We also predict that, as plate technology moves forwards and plates can be processed faster, our production levels will increase. This will give us the opportunity to service more customers, and, ultimately, improve our profitability.”

Turville Printing Services’ latest investment has also seen the company adopting a brand new workflow with Screen’s Trueflow suite. Ms Culley says the systematic design of the software has made the process of upgrading to a centralised network far easier than originally thought. She says: “When we saw demonstrations of the system it was plain to see that the Trueflow software was more logically designed than other workflow systems we had seen and would be easier to implement into our company. Its ease of use was a real selling point for us.

“Whereby an employee would have to output the film before planning and platemaking, the Trueflow software receives the PDF file where it is automatically trapped, imposed, proofed and sent directly to the platesetter for imaging. It cuts out an entire process, which; as a small company of seven employees; has a huge impact on our business in terms of productivity.”

Turville Printing has been established for over 25 years offering design and lithographic printing to local and national companies, as well as trade platemaking and finishing services.