Page 20 - Print 21 magazine Jul-Aug 2021

Sustainable Print
Going green with
processless plates
Printers looking to boost their eco- credentials with clients should be looking at the new generation of processless plates, reports Wayne Robinson.
It is testimony to the power of innovation that few people in
the modern print industry will remember the way platerooms were just 30 years ago, essentially
a chemistry student’s heaven.
Today’s printing plates, almost all
from Agfa, Fujifilm and Kodak, are an awfully long way from that era – in fact the new generation don’t need processing at all, with the action taking place on the press itself.
Processless plates have now been around for the best part of two decades, but initial take up was slow. The view was that process-free plates didn’t cut the mustard when it came to longer runs. Today, however, with longer runs a distant memory for most printers, and two decades of technological advancement, processless plates are becoming de rigueur, especially for those printers – and that is most
of them – who want to spruik their eco-credentials to an increasingly eco- savvy print buying pool.
As well as the environmental benefits, though, processless plates offer plenty more to
20 Print21 JULY/AUGUST 2021
printers; no need for a processing line or processor, and no need
to buy chemistry or dispose of
it. Conventional plate use in commercial print is declining, although in newspapers and heatset web they continue to be used. UV plates are also on the rise, and they compete with processless for growing market share at the expense of conventional. Reducing the number of processes between exposure and the press, of course, reduces time and the opportunity for mistakes.
There are several different versions of processless plates, with low chem, which essentially means an off-press gum applied, and processless, which means out of the exposure unit and onto the press where the press chemistry takes care of everything.
Processless plates can produce
a higher number of wasted sheets before getting to sellable print, which is a drawback for short
run work given the high price of paper. Detractors also point to the plate image contrast and daylight
resistance of processless plates, which they say is still a hurdle for some customers.
Processless plates may also need
a set way of starting up the press, as the coating needs to be removed by the ink and/or fountain solution, and this too can be a barrier to take-up of processless. However, the processless plate manufacturers all point out this is no longer the case, and the market seems to be following. Kodak, for instance, estimates that two-thirds of its market is now processless.
Fujifilm Superia ZE
Fujifiulm says its Superia ZE represents the best combination of latent image visibility, quality, durability, versatility, run length and on-press performance currently available on the market. Furthermore, with Superia ZE available as part of Fujifilm’s Platesense programme, Fujifilm is making the benefits of processless technology more accessible to mainstream commercial printers