ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. — Small to medium-size printing companies looking for cost-effective solutions for high-quality thermal CTP production need look no further than the Screen (USA) booth at Graphics of the Americas. Screen has developed economical four-up and eight-up PlateRite series platesetters to meet the prepress needs of smaller printing operations. The PlateRite 4300E and PlateRite 4300S four-up platesetters are designed to bring superior quality and reliability to the production of plates ranging in size from 12 inches x 14.6 inches (304 mm x 370 mm) to 32.7 inches x 26 inches (830 mm x 660 mm). Similarly, the PlateRite 8300E and PlateRite 8300S are attractive choices for print shops that operate presses that support media sizes from 12 inches x 14.6 inches (304 mm x 370 mm) to 45.6 inches x 37 inches (1,160 mm x 940 mm). Like all PlateRite series platesetters, the PlateRite 4300E features an external drum design. The PlateRite 4300E is designed with a 16-channel laser diode imaging head. The PlateRite 4300E offers image resolutions of 2,400 dpi, 2,438 dpi and 2,540 dpi. The PlateRite 4300S incorporates a 32-channel head, supporting imaging resolutions from 1,200 dpi to 4,000 dpi. At 2,400 dpi, the PlateRite 4300E can output 11 plates per hour, while the PlateRite 4300S can produce 20 plates per hour. The PlateRite 8300E also incorporates a 16-channel laser diode exposure head, as well as offering 2,400 dpi, 2,438 dpi and 2,540 dpi resolutions. The PlateRite 8300S has a 32-channel head capable of imaging resolutions from 1,200 dpi to 4,000 dpi. At 2,400 dpi, the PlateRite 8300E produces eight plates per hour and the PlateRite 8300S produces 13 plates per hour. Printers can upgrade their Screen platesetters in the field as their workload grows. They can move up from a lower-productivity manual machine to a fully automated, high-speed model with the same base unit. Thus, the PlateRite 4300E can be upgraded at the end user facility to a PlateRite 4300S. The same holds true for the PlateRite 8300E. Optional single-cassette and multiple-cassette autoloaders completely automate plate loading and unloading without operator intervention. An automatic processor bridge also is available to extend the automation all the way through to the plate processor. In addition, the option of automatic inline punching ensures perfect register on press for faster press makereadies and better print quality. Front-end systems for the PlateRite 4300E/S and 8300E/S include Trueflow 3, Screen's PDF/JDF-based workflow solution, and the Harlequin-based HQ-510 RIP. The platesetters support Spekta 2 screening, the second generation of Screen's hybrid AM/FM screening technology.