I know I'm not the only small shop using the HP5100 / poly laserplate workflow for most of their small press work. The last shipment of plates I ordered (which are labelled Genie 5000 brand) were a mess. Many plates in the box had random sensitized areas, the plates had terrible toning issues. They were barely usable, and made any job be 10x harder and last 10x longer than it should. I had the supplier send me some replacements, but the plates that arrived (labelled on box as Genie 5000-2) were clearly a different material. They are thinner (4 thousands of an inch as opposed to 5 thousands) and more opaque than the old plates. I also can't get them to print at all, they scum up almost immediately using my tried and true inks and chemistry.
I ordered some "Run 10,000" plates from a different supplier thinking maybe they would be similar to the old plates I used to get, but my order got backordered. I just got off the phone with the supplier, and learned a couple things. 1) A single overseas manufacturer makes laserplates for seemingly every brand that still exists. 2) the issues I was having were widespread with these plates for a while 3) The genie 5000 poly plates I've been getting for years are now discontinued by the manufacturer, and only the thinner plates are being supplied. These plates are obviously inferior to the old plates. They only rated for 5,000 impressions as opposed to 10,000 (which means the real world numbers are much lower). They are thinner and will stretch more on press, so registration will be even more of a nightmare. 4) Most importantly, I just can't get them to work at all.
So now I'm at a spot where the workflow I have been using in my shop for the past 15 years has seemingly vanished before my eyes. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do.
Does anyone have a supplier for reliable poly laster plates anymore?
Does anyone have any tips on getting these new, thin plates to run. They are called Diamond MXP plates by some suppliers, Genie 5000-2 by others. For reference, I am running Crestline dampeners, 7-1 mix of pro-3 or similar universal fount solution, sometimes using ARS-X fountain additive for scumming problems.
Is there alternative platemaking solutions out there that make sense for tiny shops running tabloid presses? I realize the 5100 printers are getting old, and the toner cartridges are pretty much no longer available, and when they are they are long past their expiration date. I guess this way of printing is dying in a lot of ways. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I ordered some "Run 10,000" plates from a different supplier thinking maybe they would be similar to the old plates I used to get, but my order got backordered. I just got off the phone with the supplier, and learned a couple things. 1) A single overseas manufacturer makes laserplates for seemingly every brand that still exists. 2) the issues I was having were widespread with these plates for a while 3) The genie 5000 poly plates I've been getting for years are now discontinued by the manufacturer, and only the thinner plates are being supplied. These plates are obviously inferior to the old plates. They only rated for 5,000 impressions as opposed to 10,000 (which means the real world numbers are much lower). They are thinner and will stretch more on press, so registration will be even more of a nightmare. 4) Most importantly, I just can't get them to work at all.
So now I'm at a spot where the workflow I have been using in my shop for the past 15 years has seemingly vanished before my eyes. I'm kind of at a loss as to what to do.
Does anyone have a supplier for reliable poly laster plates anymore?
Does anyone have any tips on getting these new, thin plates to run. They are called Diamond MXP plates by some suppliers, Genie 5000-2 by others. For reference, I am running Crestline dampeners, 7-1 mix of pro-3 or similar universal fount solution, sometimes using ARS-X fountain additive for scumming problems.
Is there alternative platemaking solutions out there that make sense for tiny shops running tabloid presses? I realize the 5100 printers are getting old, and the toner cartridges are pretty much no longer available, and when they are they are long past their expiration date. I guess this way of printing is dying in a lot of ways. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
