Kodak Sonora XP

[Farabomb]

Is anyone out in the wild using this plate? A shop that we use just tested it and seem to be having good results. I'd like to know any issues because the boss is considering at least testing them.

We have had horrible experiences with Kodak in the past but since the $$$ holds more weight than history I guess we have to give it a try.

[Farabomb]

Well I think I have an idea why nobody is running this plate. I just head back from Kodak about running a test here. In their infinite wisdom and quest to go bankrupt they will not do tests in any shops not running a Kodak or Screen branded platemaker. If you have a Fuji PTR, nope, AGFA, nope, A ECRM Desert CAT like me, nope.

That is quite stupid if you ask me. The Fuji PTR is a screen device but because it says Fuji they won't allow you to test their plate. If I were in their position I would let everyone and anyone test just to get the product out there and in more shops. Keep circling the drain big K.

[David]

got a Creo Lotem running Agfa plates, what's the big deal?
live and let plate, itzwhatisay

[Joe]

Farabomb,

interesting response about these plates over at the GUA forums:

Your press operators need to be totally on board first, it needs some changes in work practices on their part. The type of work you do also needs to suit the plate.

We changed to Sonora XP beginning of January this year after doing some preliminary trials last year, the press operators had reservations, but the decision was made on a cost saving basis.

If you are not using the plates immediately, you need to keep them in safelight or darkness until they are used, I found repacking them into plate boxes worked well, we use bulk packs, but had enough plate boxes around to be able to use them.

If you are doing fast turnaround book work where the press operators want to change plates and keep printing, they will not be satisfied, as it is necessary to perform blanket washes between formes for best performance. Any ink transferred to the plates before on press processing will significantly slow down the process. The rubber rings on the load rollers on our SM74s pick up a small amount of ink from the plate when unloading, this transfers to the next plate and causes issues.

If a significant amount of your work does not print to the edges of the plates, ie. if your press sheets are regularly smaller than the press size (we run a lot of 650mm press sheets on the 740 presses) you will get a build up of emulsion on the edges of the rollers. This gets very hard and requires the rollers to be removed from the press to clean it off properly. One of our press operators claimed this build up was so bad it caused excessive pressure on bearings and was the cause of one bearing failure.

The plates mark quite easily with handling, we had to replace the bar flag on the platesetter because it was scratching the back of the plates and this was enough to cause marks on the front of the next plate in the stacker.

Some Pantone inks will not adequately lift the emulsion from the none printing areas.

The plates do work, and print as well as the Trillians, but are not suited to every environment. After 2,500 Sonora plates, we recommissioned or processor and went back to Trillians as the Sonora were not a good fit for us, we did make a concerted effort and had experts from Kodak and Heidelberg on the shop floor assisting us for about 2 weeks during the changeover.

The entire process of changing over was quite harrowing, trying to troubleshoot issues with the plates as well as keep prepress running caused a lot of stress, it didn't help that the formula for the emulsion had been changed since our initial trial, the first batch we received were very slow to start up and the press operators were having to run an extended predamp on every set.

To make matters even worse, the Trillian plates that had been held in Perth Western Australia for us were trucked to Melbourne in the middle of summer, then the same plates trucked back to us when we changed back, the summer heat here had caused heat damage to the Trillians and we started getting problems with image retention in none image areas.

In Summary, the Sonora XP is a viable option in the right situation, it eliminates the need for processor, chemicals, plumbing etc, but doesn't suit all applications.

As always YMMV

[Farabomb]

Since Kodak won't let us even test them we are on to testing the Fuji Ecomaxx, AGFA Azura TS, and 2 types of brown box plates I refer to as the "TJ Max" plates. Yea, they are cheaper but I have a feeling they are cheap for a reason.