Thermal technology is the road to CTP development for China's national conditions
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First, the popularization of CTP technology
CTP technology is developing rapidly in developed countries such as Europe, America, and Japan, and the development of various CTP technologies and equipment is splendid.
However, the popularization and promotion of CTP technology in China is still slow, and traditional plate making is still the basic way. The development speed of China's offset CTP is very different from that of developed countries such as Europe, America and Japan, and it is far from the speed of people's prediction.
Why is CTP technology popular in China? The main reasons are as follows:
First, the cost of the plate is too high. No matter which CTP plate is used, it costs 60-90 yuan per square meter, which is more than double the price of the traditional PS version. At present, the price of CTP plates of Kodak, Fujifilm and Agfa's three international brands is about: the thermal plate is about 60 yuan / square meter, the purple laser photosensitive plate is about 80 yuan / square meter, and the domestic brand CTP The price of the plate is about 5 yuan lower than the square meter. The plate is a consumable, and the high price is a heavy burden on the low-priced printing market.
Second, the equipment investment threshold is high, the price of various imported CTP equipment is about two or three million yuan, and the newly introduced CTP equipment that can use the ordinary PS version is not only high in price (about 250,000 euros or more), but also requires performance on the PS version. Higher. The relatively high technical threshold for imported CTP equipment and plates has allowed CTP to remain in the oligopolistic market for a long time, limiting its promotion and application in China.
At present, domestic small and medium-sized printing enterprises account for the vast majority. Under the conditions of low labor costs and low labor costs in the printing industry, high equipment investment thresholds and high plate prices have made their application of CTP technology prohibitive. However, the advantages of CTP technology will be fully demonstrated as equipment and plate costs continue to decrease and labor costs continue to increase, especially as digital workflows become more prevalent. The promotion and application of CTP technology in China, although slower than developed countries, will continue to be promoted and applied with solid footsteps and irreversible development trends.
What kind of CTP technology should be developed to suit China's national conditions and accelerate the application of CTP technology in China? Through technical analysis of the domestic printing market, we believe that thermal technology can become the vanguard of the popularization of CTP technology in China in the short term. The reasons are as follows:
1. Development advantages of thermal CTP plates
Domestic plate companies continue to enrich CTP plate products, and Lekai 2G has introduced a full range of CTP plate products such as heat-sensitive, violet laser and silver salt to the market. Sichuan torchlight uses thermal CTP plate as its main product. Although the affiliate company Xintu Company was established only one year ago, it has not been underestimated in the plate market due to its cost performance advantage. It not only has high recognition in the domestic market, but also exports to many countries and regions. In addition, Wenzhou Korda's CTP plate made an important contribution to localization. The CTP plates that the above manufacturers have already sold on the market are mainly thermal plates. The price of plates that have previously severely hampered the development of CTP has been alleviated by the increase in localized production and market entrants. A more classic formula is that if you use the PS version, even if it includes film costs, the cost is about 60 yuan / square meter. If the price of CTP plate can be lower than this balance point, then the cost will no longer hinder its development. stumbling block. It can be said that the price of the plate is close to the balance point will become the market acceptance of promoting CTP.
Thermal CTP has many advantages that photosensitive CTP can't replace. The convenience of use and the stability of quality make people say goodbye to darkroom operation, accurate image reproduction, avoid environmental pollution, high printing durability, save paper and ink, and reduce labor intensity. . The reason why thermal CTP is widely accepted is inseparable from its own excellent characteristics and the high quality of its products.
At the annual meeting of the National PS Edition Industry Association in 2007, Shanghai Dajin Photosensitive Materials Co., Ltd. and Beijing Normal University Applied Research Institute have launched self-developed thermal CTP photosensitive adhesives. The two thermal CTP adhesives passed. Try it in the market and succeed. At present, there are nearly 100 PS plate production lines in China. Most PS plate manufacturers do not produce photosensitive glue. These PS plate production lines have been slightly improved, and the process can be adjusted to produce thermal CTP plates. The marketing of thermal CTP adhesives will greatly promote the popularization of thermal CTP plates. These plates can meet at least the needs of the domestic mid-range market. With the popularization of thermal CTP plates in the next one or two years, the price of thermal CTP plates will drop significantly.
2. Thermal CTP equipment development advantages
At the printing exhibitions in recent years, we have seen CTP equipment introduced by several domestic manufacturers. Hangzhou Cray, Shenzhen Dazu, Beijing's Zhou Jin Technology, Diversified and Tianrui Precision Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd. all exhibited their own CTP equipment. Most of these good performances at the show are thermal CTP devices. It should be said that the starting point for the manufacture of domestic CTP equipment is not low. According to reports, Corey's technology comes from the HighWater company acquired by Printware, while the technology of the big family is inextricably linked with the Canadian company Escher-Grad. The appearance of the domestic thermal CTP platesetter caused a certain sensation.
In addition, according to reports, Lekai Erjiao has actively established partnerships with CTP equipment manufacturers to prepare aircraft carriers for CTP equipment with large investment; and Tianrui, which has been acquired by Leopard, to produce large-format CTP equipment. Jingyi; Zhou Jin Technology Co., Ltd. with thermal CTP equipment as its main product, which will be cooperated with China Printing Institute of Printing Science and Technology. These domestic CTPs have many commonalities, except that they all claim that the product positioning is mainly for small and medium-sized printing enterprises, and try to remove some of the flashy functions. In addition, some reliable domestic suppliers are selected for the equipment components, which makes the domestic CTP begin to be popular. The price of low CTP equipment, the current price of domestic CTP equipment is in the million yuan class, the overall price of a set of equipment for the Leiba CTP external drum thermal plate direct plate making system is only more than 500,000 yuan, which has considerable price. Competitiveness. Even with imported CTP equipment, the overall price of thermal CTP equipment is much lower than that of photosensitive CTP equipment, presenting a competitive advantage of thermal CTP technology.
It should be acknowledged that there is still a big gap between the domestic CTP equipment manufacturing level and the international advanced level. At present, the domestic CTP equipment needs to solve the processing precision and stability problems of the equipment itself, and it needs to solve the problems of software, consumables and auxiliary equipment. At the end of 2006, the reduction of import tariffs on CTP equipment related accessories brought unprecedented opportunities for the development of domestic CTP equipment. Domestic CTP manufacturers will actively seize this rare development opportunity, increase investment, identify their own product positioning, achieve mass production as soon as possible, and occupy the necessary market share.
Second, the conclusion
At present, the world's CTP technology is developing rapidly, and various CTP systems have been competing in the market. Among them, thermal CTP is developing at a faster rate, and more than 60% of the total CTP installed capacity is a thermal plate-making machine. If CTP technology was a hot topic in the printing industry a few years ago, the thermal CTP technology has become dominant today, especially in the commercial printing and packaging printing market, which requires high quality and precision. It is an indisputable fact that plate-making technology has become mainstream.
In China, thermal CTP technology has been widely recognized. Domestic thermal CTP equipment manufacturers and plate manufacturers are also catching up, and in terms of product quality, especially in the quality of plates, domestic companies are not losing to international brands in some varieties. At present, the application threshold of thermal CTP technology is getting lower and lower, and the domestic thermal CTP equipment and plate will greatly promote the popularization of CTP technology in China. Thermal CTP technology will become the road to CTP development in China.