Fujifilm today announces that it is launching two new plates at Ipex, both of which will sit within its low-chemistry family. The Brillia HD LH-PLE plate and the Brillia HD LH-NI3 plate are both compatible with the company's intelligent FLH-Z 'ZAC' processor and will offer printers more options to make both environmental and cost savings.

Brillia HD LH-PLE
Fujifilm's Brillia HD LH-PLE plate represents the next generation of high speed, high quality thermal plate.  It is targeted at the heatset web market and assures fast productivity in demanding commercial print environments, with the ability to support run lengths of up to 300,000. Manufactured at the Fujifilm plate line in Tilburg with the latest, most robust, aluminium alloy, it is better able to withstand the stresses placed on a plate during long runs, including cracking and splitting, which helps to reduce and eliminate the need for costly remakes and press down time.

Run lengths are achieved without the need for plate baking, but the plate can also be post baked if higher run lengths are necessary, which gives printers complete flexibility to meet every requirement. The Brillia HD LH-PLE is also the latest thermal plate from Fujifilm to work with UV inks on medium print runs without the need for baking. This results in both faster platemaking and quicker make-readies on press.

Processing stages for this new plate are among the fastest on the market and, as the Brillia HD LH-PLE plate is completely interchangeable with Fujifilm's Brillia HD LH-PJE plate, printers can use the same platesetter and processor for both with no changes required. As LH-PLE is compatible with Fujifilm's FLH-Z 'ZAC' processor, it allows printers to drastically reduce developer usage, and ensures long plate life and less processor cleaning.

Brillia HD LH-NI3
The Fujifilm Brillia HD LH-NI3 plate is a third generation bakeable negative thermal plate targeted at very long run lengths for sheet-fed and web offset applications.  While producing superb quality, the LH-NI3 plate has the added advantage of allowing printers to dramatically reduce chemistry consumption when used in combination with Fujifilm's FLH-Z 'ZAC' processor.

Sean Lane, product manager for offset solutions at FUJIFILM UK Ltd, comments: "The introduction of two new low-chemistry plates compatible with our intelligent 'ZAC' processor represents a very exciting opportunity for printers who want to make a difference to the environment and also to their bottom line." He continues, "Our intelligent 'ZAC' microprocessor control system in the FLH-Z processor automates and intelligently controls the optimum delivery of chemistry and water to the plate, and typically this provides up to a 75% reduction in chemistry. We anticipate that by providing this extended choice of plates in our low-chemistry family, a far wider range of printers will be able to take advantage of these benefits."