Kodak Trillian SP Plate-wear

[SHRDLU]

We have been using Kodak Trillian SP plates for about two months and are seeing platewear on press. Anything from 40,000 to 80,000 impressions. We were previously using Kodak Thermal News Gold. The attraction of going to the Trillian was no pre-heat and reduced chemistry however this has been more than offset by the increase in plate useage. We have trialled turning the pre-heat back on with some improvement but this really negates the reason to stay with Trillian. We have all-but made the decision to return to Therman News where we never saw plate wear up to 400,000. Has anyone else had this expereince?

 

[Dan Roll]

Is the wear in the image area or the background? I am not sure of the their nomenclature, but some of the current Kodak plate products are using the old Horsell Ellectra image emulsion and this type of emulsion is very sensitive to ethylene chemistry in the fountain solution or plate cleaners. EB (butyl ellosolve, 2-butoxy ethanol), DB (diethylene glycol monobutyl ether, 2-(2-butoxyethanol), EG (ethylene glycol), EP (ethylene glycol monopropyl ether) are the primary ethylene products used in fountain solutions and you might want to check for these if you are losing the image area.

 

[dub]

The Trillian plate boasts of having a high level of chemical resistance.. there is a video on YouTube that shows a test where many different types of chemicals were dropped on a Trillian plate with most of them doing nothing to the image. I have been thinking about doing a trial with Trillian as we currently use Kodak Sword plates, for us the chemistry usage is where the savings would come in and the increased resolution capabilities, but if wear becomes an issue.. then that sort of ruins things for most users. Can you tell us what type of ink, press and substrates you are seeing the 40-80k wear on?

 

[SHRDLU]

We are newspaper publisher using a Geoman Double Width press, DIC inks and we have seen plate wear on a range of substrates including 44gsm, 55 and 60. The wear is in image mostly but also in non image areas of the plate.

Also we are not the only print site seeing the wear, there are at least 3 others in our group experiencing similar problems.

 

[Derek@Kodak]

Kodak Trillian SP Plate-wear

SHRDLU,

The plate wear you're seeing is certainly not something typical for our product, and I don't have any reports of similar issues outside your group and outside of Australia. The majority of our Trillian customers so far are commercial and heatset printers, so this may be something related to your specific newspaper press conditions which we'll certainly help find and resolve. In speaking to my colleagues in your region, there is a plan in place to address the issues that you are having. Please send me a private message if you are unhappy with the technical and sales support you are receiving from the Kodak team or need more direct information on what's being done to investigate and resolve this.

Sincerely,
Derek@Kodak

 

[SHRDLU]

You are correct Derek Kodak are looking at the problem since we first reported at the beginning of October. We still have the problem currenlty and part of the solution is to return to a our previous plate type until the problem can be solved. Your response begs the question though are Australian Newspapers the only newspapers using Kodak Trillian?

 

[SHRDLU]

Update

Update

Just an update on this issue. We have now ceased using Trillian plate and have reverted to Kodak Thermal News gold. We do not have any more platewear issues.
Thanks.

 

[gordo]

Just an update on this issue. We have now ceased using Trillian plate and have reverted to Kodak Thermal News gold. We do not have any more platewear issues.
Thanks.

Does that mean that Kodak was unable to resolve the problem?

best, gordo

 

[SHRDLU]

I believe they are still working on it.

 

[gordo]

I believe they are still working on it.

But you've bailed out. Or will you go back if they solve the problem?

gordo

 

[pworlledge]

But you've bailed out. Or will you go back if they solve the problem?

gordo

I see his first post concerning the problem on 12-16-2010. I see his post concerning the change back to Gold in April 2011. I find it hard to see where he "bailed". I've been through this kind of thing with plates before. It appears he gave them 4 to 5 months to fix the issue. How long does one go on and lose money while Kodak comes up with a solution? I disagree with the "bail" verbage.

 

[gordo]

I see his first post concerning the problem on 12-16-2010. I see his post concerning the change back to Gold in April 2011. I find it hard to see where he "bailed". I've been through this kind of thing with plates before. It appears he gave them 4 to 5 months to fix the issue. How long does one go on and lose money while Kodak comes up with a solution? I disagree with the "bail" verbage.

OK, How's this: But you've stopped using them. Or will you go back if they solve the problem?

gordo