The capital of Australia's Northern Territory, Darwin-based ZipPrint is a forward thinking commercial printer with a solid reputation for offering a wide range of printed goods. Along with printing and finishing, the company, which has 12 talented employees, also provides creative services and graphic design. The Fats Printing Group is formed by Alice Springs-based sibling firms Asprint and ZipPrint. Mark Teakle, the owner and managing director of the company, has been in the printing business for more than 30 years.
With a CTP, workflow, and plate solution from Kodak, ZipPrint has decided to upgrade its offset plate creation. ZipPrint produces in digital, wide format, and offset printing. "We have two B3 sheetfed offset presses, a 2-color and a 4-color press, for which we previously produced printing plates with a CTP device using plyester-based silver halide plates," said Mark Teakle. The reliability of the device moving ahead, the availability of parts and plate media, its costs, and service support for this system have all become issues, especially given our remote location. Today's technology is out of date. He subsequently searched for a new CTP solution that was high caliber, effective, and reasonable price. ZipPrint selected a semi automatic KODAK ACHIEVE T400 Platesetter with KODAK SONORA Process Free after thorough consideration. A KODAK PRINERGY Evo Workflow subscription package, including KODAKS PREPS Imposition Software, completed the investment.
Improved Efficiency and Sustainability in Prepress and on Press
ZipPrint now uses a cutting edge CTP solution thanks to the conversion to Kodaks high-quality thermal plate imaging and KODAK SONORA Process Free Plates. It has advanced the ease of use and environmental friendliness of plate production to a completely new level while meeting the quality and performance standards of the print service provider. The ACHIEVE T400 Platesetter can easily image SONORA Process Free Plates, which may subsequently be put directly to press. Thus, ZipPrint has done away with the need for chemical plate processing and the associated electricity use as well as activator and stabiliser chemistry. "Since there is no longer any chemistry to deal with, there is no plate processor in need of cleaning and maintenance, which means there are no used-up chemicals or tainted leftover liquids to dispose of, and the plate processor is no longer a hazard."
We have greatly increased the sustainability of our prepress department and our organisation as a whole with our new CTP system and process free plates from KODAK," exclaimed a delighted Mark Teakle. Turnaround times are shorter because jobs may travel from prepress to press more quickly than previously. We gain from increased productivity, print quality, and consistency on press along with less make-ready and paper waste. Additionally, the KODAK SONORA Plates made of metal have a run length capability that is far greater than the polyester based plates we previously utilised.
Teakle is very pleased with the stability, small size, simplicity of use, and low maintenance needs of the KODAK ACHIEVE T400 Platesetter. The thermal imaging head on this external drum platesetter uses Kodak's light valve technology, which offers superior quality and dependability over other vendors CTP devices Gaussian technology.
Kodak has offered us with a cutting edge plate producing solution that fits all of our needs and is distinguished by low cost of ownership, says Mark Teakle in his conclusion. The ACHIEVE Platesetter and SONORA Process Free Plates' full potential will be unlocked for the benefit of our diverse clientele as well as the environment.