Hello All,

I'm looking at updating our Brisque 4.1 workflow.
We are a small shop with a couple Ryobi's and a new 528 Komori.
We switched from CTFilm to Creo CTP (Trendsetter 400 Quantum) about 4 years ago.
Now that Kodak killed Brisque we're looking at upgrading the front end as well as the plates.

We've been using the Western/Lastra/AGFA LT-2 plate without problems.
That plate deal is over and now it's time to move on so I'm looking at the front end upgrade and a new plate deal.

I have 2 issues to look at 1) front ends and 2) process less over process plates.

Of course we’re looking at Prinergy Evo and also Apogee.
I was hoping to find some results of tests to see how different front ends faired.
Can someone point me in the right direction or comment on their experiences?


Thank you,
Mike

I have to say that the EVO is better than ApogeeX. The Agfa workflow is less stable than EVO in my experience. It requires 4 times the hardware to produce half the work. We experience MANY more problems with the ApogeeX workflow than we do with EVO. I have to give Agfa credit in that they are more responsive to problems than Kodak, but it came down to reliability and which product could be trusted to render things correctly.
Either one of them will work, for us, EVO was the better choice.

Hello Mike,

We had to move forward from our Brisque 5 workflow last year. We tested most of the RIPs out there through some very difficult test files and criteria. We went with the Esko-Graphics SCOPE because it was the best trapper and most capable and powerful system tested. We are extremely happy with Esko-Graphics SCOPE.

I must say that as a long time Creo customer (acquired not earned) by Kodak, that their terrible handling of our business left a mark. I was also a major user of their plates and the handling of issues there was worse. But, I did test the Prinergy and it was good, I have many customers running PDF-X-Robot to Prinergy and they are successful with it. As vendors, both Kodak and Agfa have fallen out of favor with me over the many years I have dealt with both of them.

In my testing there was a real solid RIP from Xitron, their Adobe RIP, not the Harlequin. The Xitron Xenith Xtreme will hold it's own against all of these if not beat them. The Xitron is a price performance leader and has a lower cost of ownership than Prinergy or Apogee. I would have went with it except that my plant is a little too large with too many special needs requiring broad toolset to grow with. For a small to mid-size printer like yourself, this is what I recommend. The Xitron is a frugal but solid choice that will perform well. It will pass every rip test you throw at it.

With regard to plates, I recommend the Fuji LH-PJ because it is the toughest and most consistant no-bake plate there is. Now, this is not a processless plate, but is a process Le$$ plate in that Fuji has a new computerized processor that does the job using same reliable plate and chemistry but only consumes about 20% of the amount used by the previous processor. This gives you economy, saves 80% of the environmental concern, and most importantly is the best, most reliable plate to print with. The plate is tough enough for UV <tough>, can do 10 micron stochastic <accurate>, and amny users are getting runs over 1 million <durable>. To me in our operation it has been a great move saving us money, improving our run length and print quality over the Kodak Sword plate we were using. This plate with that new processor technology gives you the environmental peace of mind having cut your exposure by 80% or so. There's not another plate that beats an LH-PJ all around.
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JoePostscript -- support administrator

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Wind Turbine Buyer's Guide


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thank you both for your very valuable input. I'm looking into xitron now.
As far as plates go I like the idea of a process less plate as long as there are no problems on press. Before CTP we used only Fuji and they ran great. LT2's haven't been as reliable but I think that was more getting use to doing things different. We had to take much better care of the processor.
We'll see how it goes. Nothing is in ink now.

Mike

Mike, may be too late to weigh in here, but here goes:
Dunno how recent Joe's experience with Creo/Kodak is but I've had nothing but good results from them. They've bent over backwards to give us excellent service.

We decided to go with Prinergy for a number of reasons:
1) Cost
2) automated workflow was not an issue here, we decided we were smart enough to
choose which of the trensetters to send plates to.
3) Ease of operator use (pretty intuitive)
4) Stability and speed

We've decreased plate size 3 times in the last year (newspapers are frantically looking for ANY way to cut costs!) And re-configuring the Trensetters/software has been a piece of cake each time.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

BTW... like your (our?) Avatar! <G>
_________________
Dick Salter
Composing Supervisor
Athens Banner-Herald
706-208-2273
dick.salter@onlineathens.com

i'm not sure how joe qualifies the fuji as the "best" plate (thats a sweeping statement mate) - but i would recommend you look into azura from agfa before you make any decisions whatsoever. it is a chemistry free (yeah just another buzz/spin word) plate - very good indeed.

as for the front ends - well there's many - rampage, trueflow, all the scope stuff, xitron stuff, evo - which i kinda like but havent used - there's loads. budget will be a major factor - suppliers will allow you to spend any amounts you want!

its down to setting a criteria - room or norm workflow, proofing, archiving, upgrade path, support, cost of ownership, degree of automation, colour management - you need to decide what it needs to do, find out what each doesnt do that you need and where to go from there.
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expertise: nothing