March 19, 2008 -- At its Pre-Drupa Event 08 at the company headquarters in Lier (Belgium), Punch Graphix is unveiling a new generation of platesetters for UV plate exposure: the basysPrint UV-Setter 400 and 800 series. This can be seen as the company's response to the growing demand on the market for CTcP systems. Thanks to their modular platform, the UV-Setters are able to guarantee ultimate flexibility at all levels of automation for four- and eight-page applications.

The automation solutions of the UV-Setter 400 and 800 systems are based on the wealth of experience gathered by Punch Graphix in newspaper production. The result is significantly more efficient plate handling and thus enhanced productivity.
In line with individual needs, the user can choose between semi- and fully automatic versions, with single or multiple cassettes, automatic slip sheet removal and press-ready punching. Even a manual solution is possible. Various automation modules can also be retrofitted as upgrades to a system already installed on the customer's premises at any later date.

UV exposure for conventional plates
Like all its predecessor models, the new UV-Setters operate with conventional UV-sensitive plates. The user is able to work with both negative and positive plates. Conventional plate technologies have been proven in practical use over many decades, and demand continues to rise. The plates are light- and temperature-resistant, insensitive to scratches and available worldwide at unbeatable prices.

Cost savings
A basysPrint UV-Setter is the most cost-effective way to implement CtP production. This can be attributed to the overall concept of basysPrint CTcP: The use of conventional UV-sensitive plates, low chemistry and disposal costs, the simple integration of a UV-Setter into existing workflow infrastructures, and customer-specific configuration of the system.

Convenient solution for every application
Manual versions are available, as well as optional semi-automatic systems with automatic plate transport to the processor. The first level of full automation is the SCA version (Single Cassette Automation).
This UV-Setter holds up to 100 plates of a particular format in a storage cassette. Further plate formats can be made available by way of an additional trolley.
The SCA version can be expanded quickly and inexpensively at any time later should the user decide to upgrade to a multi-cassette version.

The MCA version (Multi-Cassette Automation) holds a maximum of 500 plates in up to five different plate formats and automatically supplies the required format for exposure. The SCA and MCA variants incorporate fully automatic slip sheet removal, and optionally also automatic punching.

Being designed with a flatbed, all versions of the UV-Setter 400 and 800 series are able to expose plates of different formats simultaneously.

Thanks to the 1-bit TIFF interface, users can choose freely whether to integrate a UV-Setter into an existing workflow system or to install a dedicated overall solution tailored specifically to individual production requirements.

Consistent results
With a UV-Setter 400 or 800 and conventional UV-sensitive plates, printers can be confident of achieving the maximum possible process and production stability: The square pixels of the basysPrint UV-Setter provide for exact reproduction of the image pixels on the plate, while the optimum ink-water balance achieved by the plate itself guarantees edge-sharp transfer onto the substrate. Unbaked negative plates achieve run lengths of 400,000 and more. With a positive plate, this figure can be boosted to over 1.5 million impressions.

"The new UV-Setters of the 400 and 800 series set new benchmarks for CtP. They are based on the proven basysPrint CTcP technology and implement the manifold strengths of automation for newspaper production," says Wim Deblauwe, CEO of Punch Graphix. "The new models are also ideal digital CtP systems for both small print businesses and larger companies. Cost savings are already to be expected from an annual plate consumption of 4,000 square metres upwards. With the automation solutions, we are reacting to demands expressed above all in larger print enterprises."

The systems are being presented at the Pre-Drupa Event and are available with immediate effect through the worldwide network of Punch Graphix dealers.