Prepress
Fujifilm low-chemistry plate leads to huge savings at Limetree
Friday 06. November 2009 - Significantly reduced environmental impact with a 99% saving in water usage and 90% less chemistry used
Limetree Offset, based in Wickford, Essex, has recently switched to Fujifilms Brillia HD PRO-V plate. The low-chemistry plate has enabled the environmentally conscious company to realise huge savings in terms of water and chemistry consumption, achieving a 99% reduction in the amount of water used and a 90% saving in chemistry usage.
Vic Milton, managing director at Limetree Offset, comments: “Limetree prides itself on offering high quality, environmentally responsible print to its customers and continually looks at ways and means to be greener. We were immediately interested when Fujifilm explained the savings its PRO-V plates could bring, without any compromise to print quality. After testing the plates and seeing the massive amounts of water and chemistry that could be saved, alongside the ability to achieve fantastic quality print, we didnt have to think twice to make the switch to PRO-V.”
The company already has a number of measurements in place which contribute to its FSC certificate, ISO 9001 quality management and ISO 14001 environmental management standards.
Milton explains how the switch to Fujifilms PRO-V plate goes hand-in-hand with the steps Limetree has already taken to lower its carbon footprint: “With our previous plate system, the processor was connected directly to the mains water with every plate having to be washed. As the PRO-V plate needs virtually no water, we now take it from the new water filtration system connected to our press and only have to replace it every 3 months – reducing our water usage by around 99%. We have also reduced our chemistry usage by around 90% – dramatically reducing the amount of waste we dispose of, which is great for the environment, not to mention our profits.”
He continues: “Thanks to Fujifilm, Limetree was able to take a giant leap in reducing its carbon footprint and we can now continue consulting with a number of offsetting companies in an effort to achieve our carbon neutral status.”
Brillia HD PRO-V is the latest Fujifilm plate designed to simplify the pre-press process, as it uses less chemistry, requires less maintenance of the finishing unit and produces less waste than its processed alternatives. In addition, the replenisher normally required to control the pH or conductivity of the bath is no longer needed. Thanks to Fujifilms high sensitivity polymerisation technology, Brillia HD PRO-V also brings unmatched quality, consistency and productivity to plate production, being capable of 1-99% resolutions (with a Fujifilm “HD capable” platesetter), and able to print FM screens.