WhatTheyThink

Premium Commentary & Analysis

PISCES Auction: Inkjet CTP Solution Goes On the Block, Presstek Among Bidders

PISCES was founded in 1998 by Bruce Harrison,

Monday, November 17, 2003

PISCES was founded in 1998 by Bruce Harrison, formerly president of IRIS Graphics, Polaroid Graphics, and Optronics, along with a team of executives that had previously worked with him. Their goal was to bring affordable, ink jet computer to plate solutions to the small and medium size commercial printers and newspapers. These two market sectors offered large market potential but their requirements – especially price – hadn’t been addressed by traditional technologies.

As it could use much less expensive hardware, inkjet appeared attractive for CTP. Over the years, entrepreneurs, inventors, and others had explored the possibility including Polychrome (now KPG).

What happened

PISCES explored various alternatives, including using blank, uncoated aluminum plates. After a number of technical false starts and dead-ends, their current product uses conventional UV plates, imaged on a modified off-the-shelf Epson printer, (currently the Epson Stylus Color 3000/7600) PISCES software, and a proprietary chemically-based ink technology to image the plates. In theory, the system should be able to image all conventional UV plates (except photopolymer); in practice it only works with a few.


Continue reading your article
with a WhatTheyThink membership.

WhatTheyThink Annual Membership

Less than $4/week.

Get unlimited access to in-depth commentary and analysis covering the latest trends, emerging technologies, operational strategies, and key events across every segment of today's printing industry.

Stay informed. Stay competitive. Stay ahead.
WhatTheyThink Day Pass

$5 for 24 hours

Unlimited access to all of WhatTheyThink. Get your Day Pass

Already a member?
Sign In

About WhatTheyThink

WhatTheyThink is the global printing industry's go-to information source with both print and digital offerings, including WhatTheyThink.com, WhatTheyThink Email Newsletters, and the WhatTheyThink magazine. Our mission is to inform, educate, and inspire the industry. We provide cogent news and analysis about trends, technologies, operations, and events in all the markets that comprise today's printing and sign industries including commercial, in-plant, mailing, finishing, sign, display, textile, industrial, finishing, labels, packaging, marketing technology, software and workflow.

Recent Articles from WhatTheyThink

Around the Web: Of Books and Bots

Around the Web: Of Books and Bots

New book “Empire of Ink” is a look at the history and mythology of the American newspaper. A hacked smart lightbulb provides access to banned books. A digital archive reassembles Leonardo da Vinci’s long-cut-apart notebooks. Michelangelo’s secret underground hiding place—complete with the artist’s graffiti. Marie Antoinette may have been history’s first influencer. A worn copy of a 1912 pulp magazine featuring Tarzan sold at auction for $58,560. New book, “The Graphene Handbook - Making Sense of Graphene at Its Inflection Point.” Visa is integrating its payment network into ChatGPT, which should be fun. A humanoid robot plans to climb Everest. A designer who specializes in chairs without legs. Did a flying monk see Halley’s Comet…twice? The British geologist whose goal was to eat as many different animals as he possibly could. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More

Publishing Establishments—2010–2023

Publishing Establishments—2010–2023

According to the latest, recently released edition of County Business Patterns, in 2023 there were 32,332 establishments in NAICS 511 (Publishing Industries [except Internet]). This represents an increase of 15% since 2010. In macro news, the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index is at record lows. Read More

Finishing: Production Inkjet's Next Frontier

Finishing: Production Inkjet's Next Frontier

As production inkjet has advanced, a new primary factor limiting productivity has emerged: finishing. How are PSPs adapting their investment and automation strategies? New research shows many can gain a competitive advantage by focusing on finishing. Read More

HanGlobal Launches New LabStar 330mini at Flexo & Labels Expo 2026

HanGlobal Launches New LabStar 330mini at Flexo & Labels Expo 2026

Discover HanGlobal's newly launched LabStar 330mini digital label press! Get the full show roundup to see how this ultra-integrated, high-performance inkjet solution captured the crowd's attention and redefined narrow-web printing. Read More

Around the Web: Of Food and Feynman

Around the Web: Of Food and Feynman

A book designer who specializes in spine design. The Chinese postal service is using humanoid robots to sort packages. An amusingly overproduced Day Display. Allen Ginsberg’s spoken-word poetry recitation album is being reissued. The winners of this year’s World Food Photography Awards. A retired geneticist launched the online Museum of Plugs & Sockets. A viral warning about a new gas station scam is actually a hoax. What is the world’s longest domestic flight? Aw, et tu, graphene: Skeleton Technologies launches graphene-based GrapheneUPS for AI data centers. What is the quietest spot in the U.S.? Researchers finally cracked Richard Feynman’s “Restaurant Problem.” Malaysia’s kek lapis Sarawak is perhaps the world’s most complex cake. Welcome to WhatTheyThink’s weekly miscellany. Read More