London Repro House Buys First Dainippon System

Dainippon Screen has completed the first installation of its Platerite 8100 at newly formed trade repro company, PDF Graphics in London.

Dainippon Screen has completed the first installation of its Platerite 8100 at newly formed trade repro company, PDF Graphics in London.

In an unusual step, two independent companies Richwood Graphics and Repro Graphics joined forces under the banner name of PDF Graphics to buy the plate setting technology, investing in its first thermal B1 computer-to-plate (CTP) system with the Platerite 8100 and the Trueflow workflow software.

The company said an increase in its workload for general commercial print customers and the carton and packaging market, necessitated a systems upgrade.

"Previously we were operating a film setter with hardware RIP and we felt it was an appropriate time to either invest in a new RIP or keep up with digital work systems and select a plate setter - the plate setter won," commented PDF Graphics' owner Richard Homewood.

"On researching the market we found that all of the systems were very similar.

However, the Platerite 8100 offered us the most affordable package, and with our previous experience in Dainippon equipment we knew they could provide us with a good service and proven track record," he said.

Since installing the system PDF Graphics believes it has noticed substantial improvements in production and faster turnaround times.

With the company's busiest period being from May to November, the CTP system has provided the capacity to handle a larger workload and meet tighter deadlines.

Currently the company is using about 600 Kodak Electra Excel plates each month, but estimates an increase to 1,000 plates per month during periods of peak production.

"The Platerite 8100 is saving us incredible amounts of time and we are really noticing the benefits of this.

Jobs that would take a day to complete using the film setter now take about 40 minutes.

There is no comparison to the Platerite 8100, which consistently produces high quality work.

Plate production is 100% every time," continued Homewood.

Dainippon believes the system is suited for presses in the B3 to B1 range, handling plate sizes ranging from 450 x 370 mm (17.7" x 14.5") to 1,160 x 940 mm (45.6" x 37").

The Platerite 8100 is said to produce up to eight plates an hour at 2,400dpi and is capable of easy daylight operation.

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