CTP 36" wide Plate Maker Advice

[Farabomb]

This one.

https://youtu.be/7WPGvgr92og

[Joe]

That is a different from ours. Ours doesn't suck the exposed plate back into the unit and then send it sideways into the processor. The same piece that loads the plate has to come back and unload it after the exposure part.

[Marktonk]

Hi Perdue,

Web presses may have different requirements compared to sheetfed presses. Depending on the web press, not all CtPs can accommodate the requirements or have reduced productivity to accommodate.  So you should look closely at the specifications of the CtP.

Some CtP's devices will punch the plate prior to wrapping around the drum for registration purposes. Depending on your web press plate bends, the holes may lead to plate cracking. By slowing the CtP down by 1/3, the register punch can be turned off but you lose imaging speed.

Does your web press register from the side of the plate? A lot do. Most Sheetfed presses will be center register and not all CtP's can accommodate both center and side register.

You also need to look at the plate clamps on the CtP. Some web presses have very narrow bends and you do not want the plate clamps to be larger than the bend, you can not image through a plate clamp. Depending on the web press, I have seen bends being as small as 6 mm or it can be considerably larger. Some of the CtPs can reduce the plate clamping size but slow down the output by 1/3 to accommodate. This varies depending on the CtP and  even between models of the same manufacture.

When we designed the Suprasetter 106 CtP, we took the above into consideration. We do not require punches to register the plate on the drum therefore we are also running at image speed (plate dependent). If you do want to punch press notches, we do that after the plate has been imaged. The plate punch is activated by the plate chosen, so if you want to punch plates for sheetfed, when the CtP loads the sheetfed plate, it is centered, imaged and then punched. For web, it can be programmed to side register base on the web plate being loaded. You initially program this and then it is automatic.

The plate clamping on the Suprasetter 106 is 6 mm lead and 6 mm trailing so it works well for web and sheetfed and no loss of plate throughput.

If you do need an autoloader, we have some of the most modern loaders with very small footprint.  We have single cassettes (ACL) and a dual cassette (DCL). The autoloader sits behind the CtP and we incorporated the conveyor on top. The front of the Suprasetter is unobstructed so manual plate feed is the same with and with out automation. We can even add a pallet loader (APL) by itself or in conjunction with either.

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions. See link for more information on the Suprasetter 106.

https://www.heidelberg.com/us/en/products/prepress/computer_to_plate/prepress_overview.jsp

Mark Tonkovich
Heidelberg USA

Ive been tasked with finding a new CPT system for our company. We are Currently using an Agfa Acento but it is not wide enough for our recently acquired Web Press. Looking for something New or used.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated