The Barrier Daily Truth had been struggling with its plate-making, but felt unable to justify the cost of a laser-plate system, said assistant general manager Rod Niemann.

When the Broken Hill-based newspaper heard about a sub-$70,000 system from Glunz & Jensen it realised it was the cost-effective upgrade it had been seeking, he said.

"We have been struggling to keep our traditional film and analogue plate system going for some time and needed to upgrade to CTP, however the huge cost of a traditional laser CTP system was going to be very difficult for us to justify," he said.

[Related: AGS secures Glunz & Jensen agency]

"The plates run so well on the press, the system is so easy to use, and with the time saved in making plates it’s a great investment."

The Barrier Daily Truth published its first edition in 1897. Last week's installation was the first iCTP NewsWriter A1 system to be installed in the southern hemisphere and the 30th iCTP system that Australian Graphic Servicing has sold in Australia.

The NewsWriter is a metal CTP system that produces press-ready aluminium plates for small newspaper applications or commercial printers with daylight operation and without the use of chemical processing, said Glunz & Jensen.

"The NewsWriter has the lowest energy usage in its class and it eliminates water usage, chemicals and disposal costs," said Glunz & Jensen.

[Related: More news about newspapers]

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