thermal plate: transit from one place to another

[nshadab]

we are plate processing house...

We have clients from different locations (other than my city as well).

I am seeking a best way to transit plates from one place to another.

1) With in city
2) Out of city

what is the best cost effective packaging material/way to use to transit thermal plates from one place to another.

i am calling all expert to help me in this regard.

Many thanks in advance. Shadab

 

[KevinC@EFI]

we are plate processing house...

We have clients from different locations (other than my city as well).

I am seeking a best way to transit plates from one place to another.

1) With in city
2) Out of city

what is the best cost effective packaging material/way to use to transit thermal plates from one place to another.

i am calling all expert to help me in this regard.

Many thanks in advance. Shadab

I assume you're talking about imaged and processed plates.

India's infrastructure is certainly challenging for any goods - with rough roads, high temperatures and humidity, and so forth. I've seen plates delivered by "bullet cart" (i.e. cart pulled by a bull), bicycle, tuk-tuk, and so forth.

The good news - processed plates shouldn't be affected by heat and humidity if they're properly processed (i.e. protected with finisher).

For transport, many customers re-use the cardboard folders that the plates come in from the supplier. If you put the paper interleaf between plates (face-to-face), and tape the corners so that they don't slide against each other they should be protected fairly well. Make sure to use a cardboard folder that's the same size as the plates, or find a way to keep them from sliding around within the box (like taping them to the bottom, or packing with something that will keep them from moving).

When taping plates though, make sure to use a tape that won't leave a residue on the plate when it's removed.


Kevin.

 

[nshadab]

I assume you're talking about imaged and processed plates.

India's infrastructure is certainly challenging for any goods - with rough roads, high temperatures and humidity, and so forth. I've seen plates delivered by "bullet cart" (i.e. cart pulled by a bull), bicycle, tuk-tuk, and so forth.

The good news - processed plates shouldn't be affected by heat and humidity if they're properly processed (i.e. protected with finisher).

For transport, many customers re-use the cardboard folders that the plates come in from the supplier. If you put the paper interleaf between plates (face-to-face), and tape the corners so that they don't slide against each other they should be protected fairly well. Make sure to use a cardboard folder that's the same size as the plates, or find a way to keep them from sliding around within the box (like taping them to the bottom, or packing with something that will keep them from moving).

When taping plates though, make sure to use a tape that won't leave a residue on the plate when it's removed.


Kevin.

Kevin,

Thanks for update, ofcourse you sketched indian market really well. you are well aware about india.

Yes here we are talking about processed plates, of KODAK 800...processor is G&J RAPTOR.
plates are properly processed and baked as well.

for the city purpose your suggestion is really great, but what about our of city...

I have so many customers from distance 250-400 km, and i have to ship them...
they are ready to pay the courier charges...but i also dont want to invest too much on packaging...and if i include packaging towards them...i am afraid i may not drag them to thermal plates...they say we are cost effective with CONVECTIONAL PLATES/METHODS (NEGATIVE TO PLATE).

you must be aware of indian print industry...they need low cost, then quality comes next to it.

so i was seeking a good cost effective PACKAGING METHOD/MATERIAL, with which i can drag more and more customers to DIGITAL PLATES....

i also request to any owner from plate production house, to put more light on this issue, what you are using and suggest...

many thanks, shadab'

 

[KevinC@EFI]

...for the city purpose your suggestion is really great, but what about our of city...

I have so many customers from distance 250-400 km, and i have to ship them...
they are ready to pay the courier charges...but i also dont want to invest too much on packaging...and if i include packaging towards them...i am afraid i may not drag them to thermal plates...they say we are cost effective with CONVECTIONAL PLATES/METHODS (NEGATIVE TO PLATE).

you must be aware of indian print industry...they need low cost, then quality comes next to it.

so i was seeking a good cost effective PACKAGING METHOD/MATERIAL, with which i can drag more and more customers to DIGITAL PLATES....

In the USA or Europe, you can generally get away with shipping plates in the cardboard folders I described earlier, even by standard shipping methods like UPS, Fedex, etc. The heavier the package, the riskier that becomes of course. A single set of 4 plates in a cardboard folder is usually pretty safe.

In other regions, I can't say for sure - but I would share your concern with doing that by a common carrier in India.

Two pieces of advice:

1) the stronger you make a package look, the worse it will be treated in shipping. You want something that looks fragile, but is actually durable. We tested this years ago with pallets of plates - if we covered the pallet with an unsupported outer box that "wobbled" and crushed easily, the pallet was always treated better and received less damage.

2) I have seen printers build wooden cases to put plates in - simply a thin board on a frame, with a couple hinges and a latch. If you can do so cheap enough, and find a way to re-use / recycle them, it should work. I'd highly suggest building them to fit a cardboard folder INSIDE them though, instead of putting the plates directly in the wodden box.


Are there any printers on the list with real experience or suggestions here?
Kevin.