Thoughts on introducing CTP technology into domestic color printing factories
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In Europe and the United States, CTP technology has become the first choice for prepress printing, and the market share continues to expand. Compared with the wide application of CTP in the world, the application of CTP technology in domestic printing enterprises is still limited. With the sharp decline in the price of CTP equipment, the maturity and price reduction of CTP plates, many domestic printing companies began to accept CTP equipment and technology. In particular, the second all-in-one exhibition held in Shanghai in June 2006 became the stage for the successful display of CTP, which had a great impact on the promotion of CTP technology in domestic printing enterprises.
First, the advantages of CTP technology
The various advantages of CTP technology in printing have determined that CTP will be an inevitable trend in the development of the printing industry. From the current application situation, the advantages of CTP technology are mainly reflected in the following aspects:
1. Good printing quality
In the CTP plate making technology, the film is no longer used, but the image is directly displayed on the printing plate by light energy or heat energy. Therefore, the dot on the printing plate is a dot that is directly imaged once, eliminating the film quality characteristics and dust. The quality of the plate making is cleaner and clearer than the normal PS version. Moreover, because of the reduction of processes such as printing, many equipment and operating factors in the plate making process are avoided, and the possibility of human error in the plate making process is greatly reduced. In addition, CTP technology uses a more accurate plate positioning technology, eliminating the error of manual imposition, the repeating positioning accuracy of the completed four-color version is higher, and the brightness error in the printed matter is almost negligible. In summary, the application of CTP technology improves print quality.
2. Shortened production cycle and saved labor costs
The traditional plate making process takes a certain amount of time from the output film to the printing plate. Especially when the number of plates is large, the time required for the imposition and the printing is longer, and the printing machine and the like often appear. The CTP technology can be previewed, electronically printed, and imaged directly on the plate, thus eliminating the need for the discharge film, manual imposition, printing and other processes. It takes only a short one or two minutes to set up a set of four-color version. It only takes about ten minutes to output a set of four-color version, which saves a lot of output time compared with the traditional plate-making process, and avoids printing plates and other printing plates. phenomenon. Moreover, since the intermediate link is reduced in the CTP plate making process, the operator required for the intermediate link is also reduced, and a large labor cost is saved. In addition, it can greatly shorten the printing preparation time and reduce the cost of preprinted paper and ink.
3. Can carry out network transfer, network confirmation and on-demand printing
As a widely used communication tool, the Internet connects printers with customers and suppliers to complete sales, distribute prints, manage print production and order consumables. Many printers now have network connections and use e-mail for business contacts. CTP technology fully adopts the digital process flow, which provides conditions for online printing, online confirmation and off-site printing. Moreover, CTP can realize "RIP once, multiple output". After forming a dot array, data can be stored on the hard disk and the output can be called multiple times.
4. Achieve environmentally friendly plate making
The no-rinse thermal plate used in thermal CTP technology can be operated in a bright room without chemical rinsing. Compared with the traditional plate making process, the developing syrup is no longer used, thereby avoiding the generation of toxic substances such as waste water, protecting the environment, and solving the contradiction between plate making and environmental protection. From the current development of photosensitive CTP technology and plate materials, the use of chemical-free technology for printing plates is also constantly improving.
Second, the factors that should be considered when introducing CTP technology
Although the CTP technology has many advantages over the traditional plate making process, the application of the unit with high requirements for timeliness, such as the newspaper printing factory, has been successful. However, when the current color printing factory is ready to introduce CTP technology, it should also consider the special requirements and its actual conditions in its application:
1. The first investment of CTP equipment
At this stage, the quotations of CTP equipment of various manufacturers are between 1.6 million and 2.4 million yuan. However, the whole system is bought more than these costs. It also needs some related equipment, such as bending and punching equipment, testing instruments, etc., plus tariffs and value-added tax. The whole set will cost about 3 million yuan. The best traditional plate-making equipment requires only a few hundred thousand yuan, and the purchase of CTP equipment is about several times higher.
2. Consumables are expensive
Plate prices have always been the biggest bottleneck in the popularity of CTP technology. At present, there are few domestic manufacturers that can supply high-quality CTP plates. The domestically used CTP plates are almost entirely imported, so although the price of plates is falling, the price is still much higher than the traditional plates. As another important part of the CTP process, the effect of digital proofing is not completely convincing. The expensive price of color ink and paper used in digital proofing makes the cost of digital proofing a burden.
3. Related supporting facilities issues
Due to the higher and larger requirements of the CTP equipment, in order to ensure a good working environment, it is necessary to provide a large enough and well-distributed space; one advantage of CTP is that network transmission, building a secure and independent Internet network environment is sufficient An important condition for the performance of CTP; due to the requirements of plate output, it is necessary to realize the production of electronic plates, while avoiding the burden of increasing the process server, it should be equipped with a large version, layout detection and proofing system. In short, in order to be able to cooperate with CTP, the general principle is that all require digitization.
4. Talent issues
In the traditional operation process, the output personnel only need to output the film, and all the work after that is completed by the subsequent links. However, before the CTP is output, it is necessary to make a large version of the layout and set up auxiliary information for printing to form a complete electronic printing plate. This requires the typesetting staff to understand the comprehensive printing requirements, the output personnel must be aware of the subsequent printing and binding technology, but also must master the skills of network use and the modification of electronic documents. Therefore, after the introduction of CTP technology, typesetting and exporting personnel must extend the knowledge to the printing level and the network level. In fact, there are not many talents who are proficient in all technical knowledge from typesetting to printing, and the existing technical personnel education and training institutions cannot fully meet the actual needs. CTP technology completely adopts digital workflow, and the shortage of technical talents will become more and more prominent.
5. Printing resistance of CTP plates
Although in the promotion of CTP's resistance to printing, each manufacturer claims to have a high of 20,000 to 300,000 impressions, but in practice it is found that this is not the case. Because CTP plates are often prone to drop off after printing tens of thousands of prints, CTP plate printing often stops and other versions, sometimes even one or two thousand impressions.
6. Process reliability issues
CTP technology is a new technology, the process is still unstable, and problems such as dot loss caused by operation methods or parameter settings during use are still unavoidable. In addition, since the CTP directly uses the plate output, the plate should be transported in the CTP machine. If the CTP device is not properly arranged, the maintenance and maintenance are insufficient, the plate quality will be damaged and reduced, and the plate will be printed. Problems such as the decline in power.
7. Problems with digital proofing
After adopting CTP technology, since no film is produced, the traditional proofing method can no longer be used, and only the digital proofing method can be used. The materials and techniques used in digital proofing are fundamentally different from those in printing and traditional proofing, which makes the reliability of digital proofing still different from traditional proofing. In addition, if you want to ensure the effect of digital proofing, you must perform color management operations, and the application of color management in domestic printing plants is generally not mature enough.
8. Production management issues
The CTP process is quite different from the traditional prepress process, so new requirements are imposed on the production management of CTP. The first is the training and management of technicians; the second is the management of electronic documents. Since the CTP process directly outputs electronic documents to the plates, electronic documents are the only original materials except for the plates. It is necessary to carry out scientific preservation and management; once again, because the CTP process directly outputs the printing plate, it cannot be modified like film, and the chance of error repair is reduced. Therefore, the concept of electronic printing plate must be established, and strict pre-printing inspection is carried out to ensure Zero error output.
In short, most of China's printing companies have not yet reached the advanced level of foreign countries, and should be able to do their best when preparing to invest in CTP equipment. Of course, in order to maintain competitiveness, domestic companies must also prepare for CTP technology in a timely manner.