Polyester Plate Printer Choices for Mac

[SheShe55]

We are researching for a different way to make Polyester Plates for our offset presses.
We’ve been using Xante PlateMaker 3 and PM4 for close to 25 years on Myriad II plates and the quality is just not there anymore. Cannot control the scatter anymore. Not sure if updating our Mac OS System last January is causing the issue with the drivers or printers are just worn out.
We’ve used our 20+ year old Xante Ilumina 502V for plates in a pinch, but have a hard time controlling the density, even though the output is beautiful and the plates hold up longer before breaking down.
We’ve considered purchasing a Xante EnPress, but have seen some negative remarks in discussions about the platemaking feature, which is ultimately the most important issue currently.
Someone suggested we get an HP LaserJet 5000, but seems it’s no longer produced either.
Do mostly single color 500-10,000 runs, from simple business cards and forms to booklets with a lot of photos. We produce between 15-30 plates a day.
We’ve been in business for 31 years and are strictly a Mac based operation, don’t even have a PC in the building.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

https://printplanet.com/threads/poly-plate-option-for-heidelberg-print-master.293490/post-312841

You can just remote into the PC/interface using VNC or Teamviewer. No need to get hot and bothered about it running on a Mac vs PC. The RIP for our Speedsetter has no internet access, only intranet.

As a side note we had a PlateMaker 5 and we threw that thing away. The quality and reliability of this machine versus the PlateMaker series is night and day. Love it. Similar machines exist for what it's worth and you can DM me if you need more information.

 

[WeberPrinting]

I have a Xante EnPress and made Myriad II Plates with it. For best quality, I printed from InDesign to iQueue. The drag a PDF over, doesn't always result in as good of quality as using the Xante Printer Drivers. I didn't have any issues with plates failing, they usually ran up to 18,000 impressions. The most important part is the Fountain Solution that you use! I tested several and felt that using BURNSHINE SM #3459 FOUNTAIN SOLUTION from Valley Litho Supply is the best solution for this plate. Always mix with distilled water. Keeping dampening sleeves clean was also important. I made templates for each printing press that included size to cut the plate to right on the template. My self-made templates were much like a traditional "masking sheet" the yellow outlined sheet with gripper margins and positioning rules. I previously used an HPLaserJet5000N for making plates which also gave a very good result, however I believe the EnPress was slightly sharper. On the HPLJ5000N it is important to configure the fuser for rough to have the plate go though at slower speeds. They are available in rebuilt state and a real bargain. I bought a second one as a backup before getting the EnPress. I ran my print jobs on Davidson 500 - 601 - 700 and Multilith 1250. I even managed to use the Myriad 2 Plates on a Chief 20 for 11x17 printing using a metal plate for under packing. The EnPress will give you a lot of printing ability in itself beside platemaking. I feel it is awesome for envelope printing and carbonless printing with serial numbering etc. It runs best with Excel One Carbonless and Western Envelope Side Seem envelopes. I recommend a new EnPress if you have the budget for it, or buy a rebuilt/refurbished LaserJet5000N.

 

[SheShe55]

I have a Xante EnPress and made Myriad II Plates with it. For best quality, I printed from InDesign to iQueue. The drag a PDF over, doesn't always result in as good of quality as using the Xante Printer Drivers. I didn't have any issues with plates failing, they usually ran up to 18,000 impressions. The most important part is the Fountain Solution that you use! I tested several and felt that using BURNSHINE SM #3459 FOUNTAIN SOLUTION from Valley Litho Supply is the best solution for this plate. Always mix with distilled water. Keeping dampening sleeves clean was also important. I made templates for each printing press that included size to cut the plate to right on the template. My self-made templates were much like a traditional "masking sheet" the yellow outlined sheet with gripper margins and positioning rules. I previously used an HPLaserJet5000N for making plates which also gave a very good result, however I believe the EnPress was slightly sharper. On the HPLJ5000N it is important to configure the fuser for rough to have the plate go though at slower speeds. They are available in rebuilt state and a real bargain. I bought a second one as a backup before getting the EnPress. I ran my print jobs on Davidson 500 - 601 - 700 and Multilith 1250. I even managed to use the Myriad 2 Plates on a Chief 20 for 11x17 printing using a metal plate for under packing. The EnPress will give you a lot of printing ability in itself beside platemaking. I feel it is awesome for envelope printing and carbonless printing with serial numbering etc. It runs best with Excel One Carbonless and Western Envelope Side Seem envelopes. I recommend a new EnPress if you have the budget for it, or buy a rebuilt/refurbished LaserJet5000N.

THANK YOU!. We have looked into the EnPress strictly for the plates, but don't need the other amenities if offers. We have a new Canon V800 handling all of our digital work and 3 – 2 color offset presses handling the lion's share of the workload.
I think we're going to look for the refurbished HPLJ5000N! Have a blessed day!

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

THANK YOU!. We have looked into the EnPress strictly for the plates, but don't need the other amenities if offers. We have a new Canon V800 handling all of our digital work and 3 – 2 color offset presses handling the lion's share of the workload.
I think we're going to look for the refurbished HPLJ5000N! Have a blessed day!

Did you take a look at Silvermaster plates? I'm really surprised you're preferring the quality of plates off of a crappy copier versus developed plates...

Edit: We used a Platemaker 5 for a bit (I think the same as your HP machine you are referencing), and the quality is night and day..

 

[SheShe55]

Did you take a look at Silvermaster plates? I'm really surprised you're preferring the quality of plates off of a crappy copier versus developed plates...

Edit: We used a Platemaker 5 for a bit (I think the same as your HP machine you are referencing), and the quality is night and day..

We are not using a copier, but PlateMaker 3 and 4 and up until last January, they made beautiful plates. Not sure what happened with Myriad 2 plates or if gremlins suddenly reside in platemakers, but the quantity and really gone down hill.

 

[PricelineNegotiator]

We are not using a copier, but PlateMaker 3 and 4 and up until last January, they made beautiful plates. Not sure what happened with Myriad 2 plates or if gremlins suddenly reside in platemakers, but the quantity and really gone down hill.

Yes, I've used the system before and am surprised that you enjoy these plates. The print quality is horrible. You should contact the person in my quoted post and do a trial using their plates.