TEWKSBURY, MA - The News Journal, located in Wilmington, Delaware, has purchased a complete CTP solution from ECRM Imaging Systems for the production of its newspaper titles. The solution, which consists of two WildCat XL180 platesetters, MAXWorkFlow and complete plate processing and punch/bending lines, will be used to reduce makeready and drive down waste on the newspaper's fleet of presses. "Job changeover times are increasingly critical in today's newspaper publishing environment," states Antoinette Franceschini, VP of Production at The News Journal. "The WildCat XLs will provide perfectly registered plates that clean up faster on press - the end result will be less waste and better color quality for our readers and advertisers.'' The two CTP systems replaced a film-based workflow, which used four ECRM imagesetters linked to a QPS front end. ECRM's MAXWorkFlow will now act as a print spooler and page-pairing system for the new CTP systems, with the option to be upgraded to provide comprehensive digital workflow capabilities. "Workflow is a critical part of any CTP solution," comments Franceschini. "The News Journal is printed in three editions seven days a week, requiring 160 plates per hour at peak production times - we need to manage the flow of pages efficiently if we are to optimize the productivity of our presses" For similar reasons, reliability was also a key feature in the decision to purchase the WildCat XL. "We were impressed with the solid design of the machine - no other manufacturer seemed capable of offering the same level of robustness at such a cost-effective price." The WildCat XL has been specifically designed for intensive, heavy-duty operation in relentless publishing environments. It features a stationary laser head, mounted separately from the imaging bed to provide smooth, vibration-free imaging. This is complemented by the use of a flat vacuum bed, which provides simple, consistent and reliable plate handling and ensures fast load/unload cycles with up to 500 tabloid plates on line from the supply cassette. "In addition to our own titles, we produce a wide variety of work, including the contract printing of other newspaper titles. The WildCat XLs have only been installed for a few weeks but have already proved to be the ideal complement for our existing production facilities. They provide fast, efficient and accurate platemaking with very little operator intervention apart from cassette changes," concludes Franceschini. ECRM Imaging Systems develops, manufactures and markets imagesetters and thermal- and visible-light platesetters known for their high reliability, solid manufacture and aggressive pricing. Its platesetters and proofers have been responsible for lowering price thresholds for entry into CTP technology. The company also provides a range of workflow solutions to support the over 20,000 imagesetters and platesetters it has sold worldwide through dealers, distributors, and OEMs (original equipment manufacturers). Headquartered in Tewksbury, MA, ECRM has offices in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, and Beijing.