First Dainippon Screen Truepress Sale At Drupa

Dainippon Screen has secured Kemtek Imaging Systems of South Africa as the first worldwide customer for its new generation Truepress 344.

Dainippon Screen has secured Kemtek Imaging Systems of South Africa as the first worldwide customer for its new generation Truepress 344.

Kemtek is the company's South African distributor for the full range of Screen CTP, workflow, scanners, and digital press products.

It made the decision as a direct result of seeing the performance of the automated four-colour A3+ digital offset press in action at Drupa 2004.

"Kemtek has been selling short-run and variable data digital print solutions for six years.

We see the Screen Truepress 344 as the ideal complementary device for a substantial number of our customers who are seeking digital printing capable of 500-10,000 print runs.

When we first heard about the concept we agreed that a professional production machine featuring the latest in high-speed digital imaging technology combined with process-less plate material would satisfy a clear market need.

Seeing the Truepress in action on the Screen stand we had no hesitation in placing an order," said Gavin van Rensburg, director of imaging equipment at Kemtek.

With a claimed maximum printing speed of 7,000 A3+ sheets per hour, the four colour Truepress 344 produces a 500 sheet single sided job from start to finish in less than 15 minutes (size range 9x14 to 34x47) said Dainippon Screen.

A make-ready time of only five minutes is achieved by using a combination of 830mm MALD (multi-array laser diode) imaging with a new process-less plate technology from Konica Minolta.

The Truepress 344 employs the conventional offset process to ensure optimum quality on a wide range of substrates and plates can be imaged at a high 2,400dpi resolution using traditional screening claimed Dainippon Screen.

"In a market where short print deadlines increase demands on the production process, Kemtek, in common with many Screen distributors worldwide, had identified strong customer requirements for the Truepress concept about four or five years ago," said Dainippon Screen international sales manager Mark Sherman.

"Over the past 12 months discussions became more detailed and frequent as information on the Truepress 344 became available.

Seeing this high quality production machine in action at Drupa, Kemtek confirms with this order that our technology both meets and exceeds expectation.

Kemtekïs excellent track record in sales and customer support assures us that the Truepress will be very successful in this market," he added.

Dainippon Screen said that consistency of print quality with the machine is maintained during the print run by scanning every sixth impression - ink or water to plate supply deviations are automatically corrected.

Greater accuracy and stability is achieved in the print process than with the conventional method of scanning the control strip.

Options such as the company's in-line dryer and on-line water-based coater and drying unit enable further reductions in turnaround times.

The Truepress 344 is aimed at the B1 and B2 printer who needs the flexibility to produce smaller format, economical print runs, with a quality that Dainippon Screen said is comparable to their existing offset presses.

The company also believes that pre-press firms and existing digital print companies can benefit from the ability to print on a wide range of substrates and the opportunity to produce longer print runs more economically than can be achieved with other digital presses.

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