double coated thermal plate

[ar17]

is there a distinct advantage in using the double coated thermal plate over the regular one? hope to get insights for those who have been using this type of plate. are there long term effects like short laser life for the thermal head or processor rollers wearing out faster? thanks for any info...

 

[J]

What is a double coated thermal plate? Can you describe it, maybe give product names?

J

 

[SteveAgfa]

ar:

Do you mean dual layer, rather than double coat?

Our :Energy Elite positive no-bake plate is an example of a dual layer technology.

AGFA.com - :Energy Elite

The top layer is thermally-sensitive, and the bottom layer is more chemically
robust to stand up to a broad range of press conditions. The plate is certified
to work in traditional 830 nm thermal platesetters, and performs at rated
engine speed. And, as you can see on the web page above, it is a PIA/GATF
Intertech Award winner of 2007.

I hope this helps.

 

[ar17]

double coated thermal plate

Yes Sir.
guess it's called dual layer and not double coated.
will this mean i'll get better print with this one? some products other than agfa is being introduced to our plant, any big reason to shift to this one over the regular thermal plates?
thanks for the info...

Ar17

ar:

Do you mean dual layer, rather than double coat?

Our :Energy Elite positive no-bake plate is an example of a dual layer technology.

AGFA.com - :Energy Elite

The top layer is thermally-sensitive, and the bottom layer is more chemically
robust to stand up to a broad range of press conditions. The plate is certified
to work in traditional 830 nm thermal platesetters, and performs at rated
engine speed. And, as you can see on the web page above, it is a PIA/GATF
Intertech Award winner of 2007.

I hope this helps.

 

[SteveAgfa]

AR:

Digital plate technology is still quite proprietary,
and one size doesn't fit all. Get references for
similar applications, and then run some tests
to see if a different technology delivers benefit.

Regards.

 

[KevinC@EFI]

AR:

Digital plate technology is still quite proprietary,
and one size doesn't fit all. Get references for
similar applications, and then run some tests
to see if a different technology delivers benefit.

Regards.

I'll agree with Steve here - dual layer coating is a means to an end, but in and of itself it doesn't really have any relevance to the printed result.

Typically using dual layers allows much greater design flexibility in creating a plate though - you can separate the imaging characteristics (speed, resolution, etc.: top layer, usually) from the printing characteristics (chemical and mechanical resistance, etc.: bottom layer usually). Otherwise you need to design a single mixture that has both in one - possible, but more difficult.

Some dual-layer plates also just use the top layer as an oxygen barrier, so that the plates don't age due to air/moisture exposure.

So - although dual-layer plates these days typically have higher performance specifications (mostly in chemical resistance), you should focus on comparing those performance specs by themselves more than how it's achieved in the plate design.

Kevin.

 

[gordo]

Is dual layer coating a trend for plate design? Has it always been there but not really talked about. Is it used more for certain plate types (e.g. violet or thermal) or market segments (e.g. newspaper or sheetfed, long or short run). What percentage of plates currently sold are dual layer coating and will that percentage increase? Should we expect that future plate designs be based on a dual layer coating approach?

best, gordon p

 

[KevinC@EFI]

Is dual layer coating a trend for plate design? Has it always been there but not really talked about. Is it used more for certain plate types (e.g. violet or thermal) or market segments (e.g. newspaper or sheetfed, long or short run). What percentage of plates currently sold are dual layer coating and will that percentage increase? Should we expect that future plate designs be based on a dual layer coating approach?

best, gordon p

Good questions, Gordo - although it's hard to say for certain, here are my opinions at least:

As far as I'm aware, Kodak, Fuji, and Agfa are the only companies capable of dual-layer plate manufacturing (or at least we're the only ones doing so today). It has been used for quite some time now, in plates such as Sword Excel, ThermalNews, VioletNews, and also our new Trillian SP plate (and more).

The benefits can be varied depending on the technology, but often it's used to achieve better chemical resistance by separating the imaging/printing layers. For example, this is how Trillian SP achieves it's almost "bullet-proof" chemical resistance (even acetone won't touch it).

As far as percentage of plates today that are dual-layer... it's hard to say. Most of the higher-performance products from the big-3 mentioned above are dual-layer. There are drawbacks though - for example the yield in manufacturing is lower because you can have defects in two layers instead of just one (that's all taken care of with automatic inspection systems, but it adds to the cost).

I personally would expect the use of dual layers by the big 3 to rise in the future, but not all of the new technology we're working on uses two layers either. There is more than one way to crack an egg, and that's just one of the easier ways from an R&D perspective (but harder/more costly from a manufacturing perspective).

Kevin.

 

[Armya Inc]

Steve is right, but he didn't mention that the Plate is more compatible with Agfa GLV laser.

We all know the banding Issue with Xcalibure 45 machines.This Plate can provide better

quality (Hide bandings) compare to traditional P970 Plates.

 

[SteveAgfa]

Armya:

I would better characterize Energy Elite as having a relatively wide exposure latitude.

Regards,

 

[Armya Inc]

Armya: I would better characterize Energy Elite as having a relatively wide exposure

Armya: I would better characterize Energy Elite as having a relatively wide exposure

Thanks Steven,

Your Knowledge, experience and willingness to share the information with ex- Agfa Service Engineers like myself is impressing.

Good luck with your career and wish you all the best.


Regards,

 

[PrakashRao]

I agree to what Steve and Kevin mentioned about Dual layer Would like to add that such plates have more UV ink resistance compared to Single Layer coating. This means that they can print Medium run jobs unbaked while printing UV inks.

There are possibly few smaller manufacturers who do produce Dual layer plates.
Regards
Prakash

 

[PrakashRao]

Hi ca u tell me how is the performance of Elite compared to P970

Hi ca u tell me how is the performance of Elite compared to P970

Hi!
If one has to print long run jobs using Elite / P970 on wood free paper with lots of dust and fluf which one would give longer impressions??
Regards
Prakash

ar:

Do you mean dual layer, rather than double coat?

Our :Energy Elite positive no-bake plate is an example of a dual layer technology.

AGFA.com - :Energy Elite

The top layer is thermally-sensitive, and the bottom layer is more chemically
robust to stand up to a broad range of press conditions. The plate is certified
to work in traditional 830 nm thermal platesetters, and performs at rated
engine speed. And, as you can see on the web page above, it is a PIA/GATF
Intertech Award winner of 2007.

I hope this helps.

 

[Andre Jonker]

Hey
Is the fuji brillia pje a dual layer coating?

 

[SteveAgfa]

Prakash:

RE:

<snip>
If one has to print long run jobs using Elite / P970 on wood free paper
with lots of dust and fluf which one would give longer impressions??
<snip>

A baked P970 is often the plate of choice for long-run applications.
It typically runs for over 1 million impressions on high-speed webs.

 

[PrakashRao]

Thanks Steve