10 Colour CTP

[ajr]

We are looking at a SM 10col B2, think we might have to upgrade our CTP. What do you suggest go with Heidelberg or someone else. Thinking if we get a Heidelberg CTP and workflow it would intergrate really well.

Thanks

AjR

 

[Ritter]

I wouldn't base the press on the platesetter or vice versa personally. If you are leaning Heidelberg I've used both the HDM Prosetter (violet) and the Suprasetter (thermal, process-lite) and find the Suprasetter much more preferable. From the workflow perspective my personal feeling is that Prinect is the bar that everyone else should be striving to meet. It isn't perfect but is incredibly powerful and connected. HDM has seen the light and Prinect has the real throughput, connectivity and reliability that many vendors are only talking about.

 

[maxon]

The decision has nothing to do with CTP and/or workflow being compatible with the SM or not. You may only want to purchase a workflow able to output CIP3 data towards the Prinect Prepress Interface and nothing more. We've done just that on a SM102 using Ultimate's Inkready software and works brilliant. Our CTP (not a Heidelberg) outputs plates for 5 offset machines, one of them happens to be a SM102, so what.
In theory the CTP machine itself doesn't need to be 'compatible' with the workflow as long as it has a 1-bit tiff frontend computer to accept separations produced by whatever rip or workflow. It's best to have the ctp and workflow delivered by the same supplier just to ensure it's a clean, tested, guaranteed configuration with good quality support. If it happens to be your local Heidelberg dealer it's fine. There's a long list of criteria for choosing violet or thermal, or workflows, or platesetters. Violet is not better than thermal or viceversa, there's an endless list of workflow configurations and flavours available on the market etc. Define your needs exactly.

 

[marktonk]

maxon,

You make a point if what you want to do is preset inks but what Ritter is referring to goes much more beyond that. As an example, above and beyond ink presetting, we can preset many more functions to our presses depending on the feeder and press. In fact, we can have multiple printing characteristics curves for different ink/paper combinations that make ink preset tings more exact. We can preset side guides, Spray powder length, delivery air setting, etc. In total, there can be over 25 presetting to a properly equipped press. These also can be saved back into the master JDF and recalled for reprints. The more you can preset, the faster your makeready. How does this happen? The press operator opens up the job at the press console and all of this is performed automatically. Where does the data come from, it starts with our MIS and into Prepress than press and can be collected back in real time to perform a cost analysis. The CtP can make a difference in that ours reports back into the JDF via JMF how many plates were imaged for this job, proofs are also reported back. The press can also send back how long was the makeready, how many sheets for makeready, how long the good sheets took and how many were ran, wash up, etc. This is the power of Prinect. One client coined it the "Print Shops Operating System". And there is allot more functionality than I have time to describe. The best bet would be to get a demo. I do agree with you that you need to define your needs exactly but also need to look at all the possibilities with automated efficiency.

Regards,

Mark