EZcolor will appear alongside a selection of CRON’s innovative prepress solutions, including 3 CRON H model CTP units, 2 CRON HDI Flexo platesetters and the CRON Blackwood Emerald plate.

The Future of Offset Printing—EZCOLOR Intelligent Printing System
The EZcolor system not only reduces waste and enhances quality, but also brings down the point at which short-run offset becomes profitable, challenging digital print’s established stronghold on efficiency. EZcolor replaces the conventional mechanical ink duct with an ink pumping system controlled via a digital Expert database, which predicts the exact ink demand, giving accurate control over ink volume for specific printing conditions, and requires no manual intervention to ensure color consistency.

Precise pre-inking on each press unit facilitates makeready in under 10 minutes, and color is accurate after just 10 sheets, reducing paper waste while the design of the ink pump nozzle ensures reliability and almost zero ink waste. The EZcolor system allows printers to work continuously without cleaning, and the fast color changeover greatly increases efficiency. These advantages enhance the competitiveness of offset against digital print for short print runs, as well as contributing to environmental sustainability.

CRON H Model—The Best Choice for Prepress
The CRON H model CTP is a fully automatic 3-in-1 system, incorporating plate loading, precision imaging, punching and transport, providing a low cost, easy-to-use and compact unit which is simple to maintain. The exposure engine, using CRON’s market-leading magnetic linear drive platform, provides fault-free imaging up to 9600 dpi. An extremely high quality drum and integrated online punching enables precise registration for a wide range of formats. CRON will exhibit three three models in the H series CTP: 26H (2-page), 46H (8-page) and 60H (VLF),

CRON HDI FLEXO—High Resolution Flexo Plate-Making Machine
Breaking the price barrier for Flexo CTP, CRON brings high-resolution imaging up to 9600dpi across the full range of CRON HDI Digital Flexo imaging units, producing smooth round dots and high fidelity, even at high speeds. CRON HDI Flexo units come in three sizes: 600mm and 900mm for label and small packaging applications, and 1600mm for general packaging work. The 600 and 1600 models will be shown at China Print alongside the Heights 3-in-1 water wash flexo processor.

Eco Pioneer—Emerald Low-Chemistry Plate
CRON Blackwood Emerald-UV low chemistry plates, first shown at drupa 2016, will be running live at the show as well. Plates are washed in a simple soap solution, similar to washing powder, and are press-ready in seconds. As well as providing a high level of environmental responsibility, Emerald plates reduce ink use by up to 30%. Blackwood UV plates bring the qualities of a first-class aluminium base with multi-layer electrochemical graining, together with a coating that has a high sensitivity, excellent plate adhesion and robust performance. The net result provides excellent contrast, perfect ink/water balance and is ideal for commercial printing, as well as delivering significant financial savings on inks, plate chemistry and controlled waste removal.