Epson 7900CTP

[Steve_S]

Has anyone seen plate samples or printed samples from the Epson 7900CTP? I am interested in finding out more about it.

 

[Happyprinter]

Are you talking about the VIM System that uses the 7900? If you are then I can give you some feedback as we have been using it for about 7 months.

 

[Steve_S]

This one: Epson Stylus Pro 7900 Computer To Plate System - Epson Professional Imaging - Epson America, Inc

I had never seen it until I was paging through the latest issue of The Big Picture

 

[jsnkiefer]

Saw it @ Graph Expo last week. Supposedly not available until November. It inkjets the image on a metal plate. The plate is then baked for 6 min. to 'harden' the image to the plate. The complete system (printer, RIP, oven) is about $10,000. Since it uses regular Epson ink when you're not making plates you can be printing proofs. Image/registration looks very good. Downsizes are speed and
maximum plate size of 24".
Glunz & Jenson make a suspicuously similar machine, the iCTP 2000/2400/3000 series. Same technology, but can't be used as printer. It's faster and the higher series can output larger plates.

 

[greenplates]

Glunz & Jensen 2000/2400/3000

Glunz & Jensen 2000/2400/3000

Glunz & Jensen has been making their system for about 6 years. They have a great deal of expertise in this technology. They'll give you better image, better registration, longer run lengths, much cheaper plates. It comes down to what you are willing to build your company on. I think years of experience speaks volumes. My suggestion is to have both VIM and Glunz & Jensen produce plates for you from the same file so you can compare side by side. Make it challenging for them. You'll see the difference.

 

[Steve_S]

Glunz & Jensen has been making their system for about 6 years. They have a great deal of expertise in this technology. They'll give you better image, better registration, longer run lengths, much cheaper plates. It comes down to what you are willing to build your company on. I think years of experience speaks volumes. My suggestion is to have both VIM and Glunz & Jensen produce plates for you from the same file so you can compare side by side. Make it challenging for them. You'll see the difference.

We received demo plates from VIM last year. Unless their technology has accelerated, we were not impressed. I will contact Glunz & Jensen for a demo. If I am not mistaken, they made the Quicksetter Poly Imagesetters that Heidelberg sold.

 

[jdaghir]

I saw it at Graph Expo also. Halftone screening had that inkjet dither look to it which always seems a little grainy to me in comparison to traditional AM screening. Epson told me they are working on a stochastic screening option that should result in smoother halftones but it isn't ready for release yet. Rip was Fiery based I think but I didn't get a chance to play with it. They were printing process color on a Ryobi 3302 with the plates at the booth. Looked pretty good although I thought the fleshtones were grainy. Registration was dead-on but that's not all that difficult on a 12x18 sheet. Spoke with the press operator (he wasn't affiliated with Epson, he was just a hired gun) and he said that in his opinion the plates ran like conventional metal plates and the plate to plate registration was very good. Plates are supposed to be good for around 20,000 impressions so comparable to poly plates but not conventional metal plates. As I understand it the difference between this and the G&J system is that G&J uses a special ink on conventional plates while the Epson system uses conventional inks on special plates. I'm not familiar with the VIM system. The advantage of the Epson system is that for $10k you get a system that can be used as both a platemaker and a proofer/wide format printer. Disadvantage is that the plates might cost more. I think it might be a good fit for some niche applications like a smaller shop that mostly runs poly plates on a 12x18 format but occasionally needs a metal plate for a larger format press. But I suspect that if you need to make very many plates a faster and more automated poly, violet or thermal system would be a better choice.

 

[Steve_S]

Good Info - Thanks! We are a smaller shop that runs poly from a DPM2340. We run all 2 color Quickmasters for offset but may look into a used 14x20 4 color press. We are watching some of the newer technology because of all the service cuts Presstek is making and are concerned about where we will be if the DPM service gets sketchy. We have no tech left in our area - closest is 70 miles away in Denver, so on a "snowy day" scenario we are down with no plates. That's not good.

We have a Quicksetter in storage that we picked up for nothing from a shop closing down, so in a worst case scenario we could bring that up. Just watching what is out there. Plus, we would eventually like to get away from chemical based plate making.

 

[greenplates]

VIM / Epson

VIM / Epson

I believe the VIM and Epson system is one in the same. It just now goes under the Epson name.

 

[itek]

We have tried both

We have tried both

I come from a Vendor, and have sold both but we are based in Europe so can't help you directly.

The Epson product is a VIM plate, they are trialing. It is also similar to an Indian product called Technova.
We found the VIM /EPson direct plate to be difficult to run on press, users need lots of water at start up and it will ink up when stopped.. and can not be easily cleaned. Virtually all plate cleaners our customers tried were fatal to the plate. So far we ahve not had any of our customers do over 3,000 impressions... I know they claim 20,000 but that's a tad enthusisatic if you ask me.
Also, there is no registration system to speak of, so single and 2 colour non critical work is fine, but decent close register work becomes a challenge in fact 4 colour is easier.. But if you make 20" or larger plates then you will have your work cut out, keeping them WET and in register.
As another poster says, the EPson/Vim plates are expensive.. we found, the G&J plates at $1.10 per sq ft (Eqv) for 6 gauge, and $1.20 per sq ft (eqv) for 8 gauge. I see poly plates at $1.56 per sq ft for the ABDick system ? But the VIM/Epson plates were $2 per sqft going to $4per sq ft making it expensive for everyday work.

Having said all that... We found the system (due to its price point) great for people looking for a proofer... and wanting the option of running an occasional plate if your normal system broke down.. But we couldn't place it at a print shop that wanted to run their business on it. .. So.. it has a place, and if you are looking to make the occasional plate... OR if you do lots of single colour or non registration critical work then I think its a good solution.

If you really need to do normal commercial printing / platemaking.. you want the G&J system, or a new poly system.
The G&J is Metal plates, and the plates run like normal plates. The quality is much higher than the Epson / Vim system, and indeed higher than probably your old DPM. Run length is no issue due to their special ink, and some of our customers can do upwards of 250,000 which is much higher than G&J say.. But then the G&J system is more expensive... I think the list price in Europe would see it at around $20,000 - $25,000 US..

My suggestion is you ask BOTH G&J and VIM/Epson for plates.. send them both the same file and try them back to back.. but try to run 10,000 impressions and make sure you start and stop like you normally would... make your decisions not based on spec, but how you would use them in day to day life.

 

[KimSaks]

Quicksetter

Quicksetter

We received demo plates from VIM last year. Unless their technology has accelerated, we were not impressed. I will contact Glunz & Jensen for a demo. If I am not mistaken, they made the Quicksetter Poly Imagesetters that Heidelberg sold.

Just FYI The Heidelberg Quicksetter 300E and 400E was made by Exxtra Imaging, A division of RipIt Systems.
There were other versions of poly platesetters by Heidelberg but I am told Heidelberg manufactured them themselves.
Incidently, I understand that Heidelberg is no longer supporting the RipIt versions but if you need assistance in that area you can contact me (below) or Eric Bristow at Pressman's Pride 916-508-3387
We are supporting the full line of RipIt polyester and VM Metal platesetters

Have a great day!
Kim Sakowski

KJSAKS Enterprises, Inc
ph... 702-561-5936
e-mail... [email protected]

 

[prepressing]

Hi ITEK,

RTI Global Inc and its employees would like to take a moment to comment on ITEK’s last post in this forum. We see that you have listed your company as RTI within your PrintPlanet profile. We do not know if this is a mistake or an attempt to mislead customers.

I say this because RTI Global Inc has been in business since 1996. We like to offer unbiased and factual information for our customers so that they can make an informed decision about the products they are purchasing. For customers that are reading this forum we look forward to working with you and look forward to adding helpful information to the PrintPlanet forum.

If you have questions about our products please visit our website for more information:
http://www.rti-rips.com

Thank you,
RTI Global Inc.

 

[Happyprinter]

Just a question for RTI. Is there anyone in the US who is using VIM's plate system, producing plates over 20" , that you could refer me to, that is getting 20M impressions? If so, would you PM me and let me know so as I could contact them to find out how they are doing it. Thanks

 

[Happyprinter]

Still waiting!

 

[prepressing]

Hi Happyprinter,
We do not list personal customer information on the forums, but I have let the technician that we work with at VIM know and he will contact you directly to give you a list of references.

 

[Happyprinter]

I can appreciate you not listing customers on an open forum. But, that's not what I asked. As a distributor of VIM, I am assuming that your company has many customers that use the product, and I would hope that there would be at least one that uses over a 20" plate that would be willing to speak with me about their success with the product. Also, I didn't want you to list it over the forum, just PM me, which would not be on the open forum, so I could speak with them. Again, Thanks

 

[bobrule]

I saw a print off the Epson plates that was a 4 color job (fleshtones) that looked absolutely amazing. They also had a 2 color sample that looked great too. I was amazed that the halftone looked so good especially on the 4 color which was hard considering the guy told me the sample was done on a 2 color press (2 pass).

I first saw this system at graph expo when I was there and been keeping my eye on it since. Its time to replace my DPM. I've been looking for a system that can do both Plates and make proofs and I think this system might be it. I called Epson and they said it ships the end of this month.

Bob.

 

[bobrule]

Oh he also said it was more like 15,000 to 20,000 impressions which is more than enough for me...

bob.

 

[DTG]

We received our machine a couple of days ago and are in the middle of testing it. We have made a setup video for the machine if you are interested in watching. If you have any questions, you can contact Scott or Sal at our office. Thank you

YouTube - Epson 7900 CTP set-up part 1

 

[Glenotto]

Plates run dirty

Plates run dirty

We purchased this 7900 CTP a couple of weeks ago and I think the output images are good but we really have a problem with the plate getting spots and not running clean. We will stop the press and clean them off and then they will appear at other locations on the document. We have tried many different water solutions and we have tried desentitizers but with no success.

Any suggestions?