Presstek, Inc. (NASDAQ: PRST), a leading supplier of digital offset printing solutions to the printing and communications industries, today announced that it is now actively marketing its new Presstek PhD 830 thermal preheat digital plate. Presstek PhD 830 is a single-layer negative-working thermal plate that is compatible with the industry’s leading thermal CTP systems. Presstek PhD 830 provides printers with an alternative versus other preheat plates with the added benefits of significantly less chemical consumption, longer chemical bath life, and wide preheat temperature latitude.
 
“Presstek continues to expand its portfolio of digital printing plates,” said Jeff Jacobson, Presstek’s Chairman, President & CEO. “Presstek PhD 830 provides us with further access to the large installed base of thermal CTP systems in large commercial print and publication shops. With the introduction of PhD 830, the Presstek plate portfolio now includes preheat, no preheat, and chemistry-free plate technologies. Having a broad and competitive plate portfolio is an important element of our strategic growth initiatives, and PhD 830 is a key step toward reaching this goal.”
 
Presstek PhD 830 is a highly accurate and consistent plate that requires less chemistry than competitive plate products. An ablation-free plate, it uses less laser power and runs at the fastest possible imaging speeds, resulting in reduced operating costs. Presstek PhD 830 plates support screen resolutions of 1-99% at 300 lpi and are FM screening certified. The plate is highly resistant to pressroom chemicals and on-press abrasion and is ideal for UV printing applications. This preheat thermal plate supports run lengths of up to 250,000 without post-baking and more than a million with post-baking.
 “This expansion of our thermal plate line positions Presstek as a solid alternative to the three major plate suppliers,” added Joe Demharter, Vice President of Sales for Presstek. “Presstek PhD 830 is a near-drop-in product for many printers using competitive products, plus it has the added benefits of less chemistry usage and a wider preheat latitude. Customers will also benefit from our world-class customer service, fast response times, highly qualified technical support team, and our plate application specialists. Presstek has one of the largest field support organizations in the industry, and we take pride in providing the personalized service that is often lacking when dealing with larger suppliers. We are well positioned to gain share in the high volume North American CTP market.”