One Processless Plate Handles 63,000 Impressions

LPC Printing has switched to Fujifilm's Brillia HD Pro-T thermal processless plate.

The company, based in Hampshire (UK) is a corporate printer and produces four-colour work for various multi-national companies through a number of print agencies.

It also has a number of direct customers including Norwich Union and Beaulieu Motor Museum.

LPC was keen to move to processless platemaking as it wanted to completely get rid of chemistry and the waste that a processor produces and it wanted to speed up production.

Nick Lee, managing director, LPC Printing, says: "We were previously using another supplier for conventional plates and when we decided to look at processless, we spoke to all three key manufacturers.

Out of all the products we trialled, Fuji's Brillia HD Pro-T was the only product that ticked all the boxes." He added: "The environmental issue was paramount but there were other important benefits with the Fuji plate.

The latent image was clearer and the plate was pristine every time.

Also a key issue was productivity.

The Fuji Pro-T plate was the only processless product that didn't impinge on this, ensuring that the platesetter's maximum output was not reduced.

We are now outputting 30 plates an hour on our recently installed Heidelberg Suprasetter." LPC Printing uses in excess of 3,000 plates a month on its Heidelberg 10-colour Speedmaster 74 and its five-colour Speedmaster 74 presses and prints at 200 line screen.

The company's average print run is 5,000 impressions but that varies by up to a quarter of a million.

The longest print run so far achieved with the Brillia HD PRO-T is 63,000 impressions on one set of plates.

Lee explained: "Overall the move to processless has been seamless, with the entire switch taking less than a week, and we have only experienced benefits from our new way of working.

The Fuji plate has been integral to this, enabling us to reach our environmental goals without impacting our productivity." LPC Printing was established in 1964, has 60 staff and operates a 24-hour, seven-day shift pattern.

It also uses a Heidelberg Printready workflow system to manage its jobs.

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