Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg) and Lüscher AG Maschinenbau (Gretzenbach, Switzerland) have established a collaboration to develop a CtP platesetter with UV technology. Bringing together two cutting-edge technologies like this paves the way for a new member of the Suprasetter family. Heidelberg will offer the machine as a package solution comprising the Suprasetter 106 UV, conventional UV plates from the Saphira consumables range, and the prepress solutions of the Prinect print shop workflow. The Suprasetter 106 UV will be produced at the Heidelberg site in Wiesloch-Walldorf. Lüscher will be presenting the CtP platesetter in an adapted design under the name "XDrum! UV" at drupa in Hall 5, Stand B38. It will be available for customer installation in fall 2012. 

"With a reputation for high-quality technical solutions, Lüscher AG Maschinenbau has been delivering outstanding and state-of-the-art products for the graphic arts industry for over 60 years and is thus the ideal cooperation partner for expanding our prepress portfolio," says Stephan Plenz, member of the Management Board responsible for Equipment at Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG. "The UV technology expands the range of applications covered by our Suprasetter family even further. It is a particularly interesting cost-effective alternative for customers with plate requirements of over 15,000 m2 per year if the UV plate also matches the customer's other requirements." The plate requirements of many print shops are growing as the job structure changes. Shrinking print runs coupled with a growing number of jobs call for cost-efficient plate production, particularly for industrial print shops. 

"Cooperating with Heidelberg, the world's leading supplier of solutions for sheetfed offset printing, enables us to open up a far wider customer base for our UV platesetter technology," says Anton Tanner, COO of Lüscher AG Maschinenbau. "Working together on the development project for the new external drum platesetter with UV technology in recent months has shown that the two companies intermesh perfectly in terms of technology and focus on innovation," says Peter Berner, CTO of Lüscher AG Maschinenbau.