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CTP for everyone: Lüscher delivers direct imaging for all printing methods

Gretzenbach, Switzerland, May 2010. – Lüscher, the Swiss CTP specialist, has expanded its portfolio. It now includes hybrid platesetters of a new and revolutionary design. The newly-developed XPose! Flex and Multi DX lines offer very attractive solutions for many printers, especially those who employ multiple printing methods.

The XPose! Flex lets a printer use a single CTP system for producing plates and screens for a variety of printing methods: flexography, letterpress, offset, and rotary screen printing. The versatility of the XPose! Flex is complemented by the unprecedented technology of the Multi DX.

Like the XPose! Flex product line, the Multi DX can image a variety of plates and screens through the use of a combination of different types of laser diodes. With its flat-bed construction, this exceptionally compact machine takes flexibility one step further: It can image anything from a postage stamp to a maximum size of 800 x 600 mm. In particular, the Multi DX can image plates based on rigid materials (steel or aluminum) up to 50mm thick. It is thus especially suited for use in combination with the imaging of both printing plates and screens for screen-printing - a level of flexibility that no CTP system has achieved until now.
Because of the unique design of these CTP systems, Lüscher calls them SWISS CTX, Computer-to-Xposure - where the “X” stands for any desired type of plate or substrate.

The new, compact CTX system
There are three types of devices within the Multi DX product line:
- Multi DXUV with blue UV laser diodes (405 nm)
- Multi DXIR with infrared thermal laser diodes (940 nm)
- Multi DXHybird with a combination of blue UV diodes and IR
thermal diodes
The Multi DXUV can image dry offset plates (as well as the time-tested conventional UV plates). It can also handle the Gallus Screeny material (for rotary screen printing) as well as flat screen-printing screens. The Multi DXUV is just as well suited for label printers and those who print objects (tubes, bottles, and CDs for example) as it is for technical screen-printing.
Because of its new technology, the Multi DXIR makes possible the production of digital letterpress plates, digital flexo plates, and digital varnish plates (all using ablation layers). Ablation films can also be imaged.

The Multi DXHybrid combines both types of lasers, which makes it a perfect choice for label printers, who generally use more than one printing method.
Because of its high-precision engineering and its standard resolution of 2400 dpi, the Multi DX can also be applied in many other industries that use photo-sensitive coatings (such as solar panel technology, flat-screen displays and the production of electronics).

All of this is accomplished by a single device. The diversity of imaging options provided by the new CTX system is truly unique.

The customer can choose among various configurations of the Multi DX models. They can be equipped with as few as 8 or as many as 64 laser diodes, depending on the application and the type of diode. The modularity of the units makes it easy to update and refit them. The machine can grow along with the user’s requirements, providing the customer with a lot of flexibility and security of investment.

Diverse application opportunities – exceptional cost-effectiveness

Plates can be imaged much faster digitally than with conventional processes. Because the Multi DX can be equipped with custom pin-register blocks, very accurate register can be achieved which significantly reduces both job-changeover times and start-up waste. Finally, the quality of the plate itself is significantly improved, resulting in better reproduction, increased color gamut and an overall improvement in print quality.

Of course, there is still the question of the cost-effectiveness of such an investment. For many specialized printers, an important factor is the fact that often only a limited volume of a given type of plate is produced. Many plants using multiple printing methods find they can’t manage the high capital cost of CTP, because the relatively small volume of plates makes it impossible to justify the investment.

This is particularly true if you need to buy a separate platesetter for each different printing method! At the same time, companies find themselves under increasing pressure to invest in digital technology, in order to make the production process more standardized and the company more competitive.

Lüscher’s Nelson Schneider says of the new Multi DX: “The return on investment calculations we have done so far have shown a pay-back period of well under two years, depending on the device configuration and the volume of plates. For a screen printer who produces 40 screens a day, the machine can even pay for itself in as little as 11 months.”

Companies that are interested in the new, flexible CTP and CTX systems from Lüscher can see them from May 18-25 at the Ipex printing trade fair in Birmingham (UK), Hall 9, Stand D359. Also shown at Ipex will be the company’s flagship CTP model, the Xpose! UV 260 offset platesetter with 64 laser diodes, along with its compact plate deloader. The XPose! UV product line is already among the best-selling CTP systems in the world, with more than 450 installations. In addition, Ipex will also be the premiere of the XPose! 4FLEX 230. Only a month after Ipex, the new Lüscher Multi DX will have its official world premiere at the FESPA trade fair in Munich (June 22-26).

In either case (May in Birmingham or June in Munich), there are many good reasons for printers to stop by and visit the Lüscher exhibit.