Plate question for a newby

[y2kflhr]

Hi, I am in the process of starting up a prepress and plate department, some of the equipment is already been aquired with other purchases, we have a trendsetter 5067 with a 20w head and a kodak 125n processor, we are looking at kodak sword plates and the fuji LHPJ plate, we run no uv and under 200k impressions. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

[DCurry]

Both are good plates, but you should also take a look at the Agfa AzuraTS plate. Having used all 3, the Agfa has been my favorite so far. No chemicals to deal with other than the gum. Not sure if that would work with your processor or not, but you could probably work an Agfa cleanout unit in with the plate price.

[t-pat]

The Kodak Trillian is a good plate with forgiving chemicals as well. Many of us Kodak people run those. We had Sword plates here before my time and all I hear is how much of a pain the processor was. Can't speak from personal experience though.

I don't think you'll hear a complaint about the Fuji LHPJ either.

[DCurry]

I used a Sword processor for about a year and it was fine - no issues to speak of.

[Joe]

The processor was OK for the sword plates. But we had a lot of issues with the plates. Prone to hotspots, i.e....vacuum has to be perfect. Also lots of ablation dust from them. Trillians were much better. We currently use the Fuji LHPJ and they are wonderful. I've never used the Agfa AzuraTS. I hear they are great. But we had an absolutely horrid experience with AGFA Amigo TS plates.

[MCpwr]

I have used both plates and have had good experiences with the two. With both manufacturers, regular maintenance of the plate processor is key, especially with the Sword plates. I have run these plates on 2 different Trendsetters and a Magnus. We currently are using the Fuji LHPJ and the LHPL. With both plates we have been able to get over 400k impressions on our UV presses depending on the paper and ink. The condition of the press and the type of fountain solution you use is a big factor in the performance of both plates.

[t-pat]

The processor was OK for the sword plates. But we had a lot of issues with the plates. Prone to hotspots, i.e....vacuum has to be perfect. Also lots of ablation dust from them. Trillians were much better. We currently use the Fuji LHPJ and they are wonderful. I've never used the Agfa AzuraTS. I hear they are great. But we had an absolutely horrid experience with AGFA Amigo TS plates.

x2 on the amigo - hated them and went with Azura in the shop that was at.