Thermal CTP Supports Press Line

Exeter-based Brightsea Press has invested in its first complete and fully automated B2 thermal computer-to-plate (CTP) system.

Exeter-based Brightsea Press has invested in its first complete and fully automated B2 thermal computer-to-plate (CTP) system.

It has replaced its visible light Screen Flatrite 1050 flatbed platesetter with a Screen Platerite 4300 platesetter.

The UK company is a general commercial printer producing a range of material for the Met Office, financial institutions, design agencies, and the wine trade, from annual reports and promotional brochures to direct mail.

Its decision to invest in the B2 Screen Platerite 4300 was in response to advances in technology and the need to support its extensive press line, which includes three Heidelberg Speedmaster SM74s (two five-colour and one two-colour).

"Having established a reputation for accurate and consistent B2 print we felt that the benefits of the presses would be lost without thermal CTP.

We decided the Platerite 4300 was right for us," said John Foster, Brightsea Press works director.

"Quality is improved, we can set up presses more quickly - the plates even appear to ink up faster, and of course make-ready is reduced; a further reason for choosing thermal CTP is that it is more environmentally friendly and generates appreciable cost savings on plates and chemicals," he added.

John Baker founded the company in 1991.

It processes between 1,000-1,500 plates per month, and has 24 employees.

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