Business Acceleration is designed to focus on solving the challenges of each printing segment. Creo solutions address, from the needs of commercial and publication printers, small to medium-sized commercial printers, on demand digital printers, packaging and newspaper printers, as well as creative professionals.
Among the more interesting developments are processless plates and Spotless printing, the latter of which Creo claims will enable spot colours to be reproduced from process sets.
Creo launched a pair of processless plates; a waterless polyester plate for direct imaging presses and a processless aluminium plate suitable for commercial offset printing. Creo says the new Clarus WL waterless polyester plate is affordable, easy-to-use and suitable for run lengths of up to 30,000 impressions. It is a drop-in solution for direct imaging presses
The Clarus PL plate is a processless plate that requires no gumming, processing or post-imaging treatment. The new plates are being imaged by the Trendsetter 800 Quantum CTP imaging device on the Creo stand. The Clarus PL plate is targeted for run lengths of up to 50,000 impressions. No release date has yet been announced though, and it is not likely in the immediate future.
Creo is launching Spotless printing, which it says will allow printers to dramatically reduce the use of special inks in their press room. According to Creo, Spotless printing enables printers to represent spot colours on press with process inks, making spot colour replacement easy and accurate. At drupa, Creo displayed samples of Spotless printing produced by Creo commercial printing and packaging customers in Europe and in North America.
New Spotless 4 software uses a conventional CMYK ink set to create process colour builds that accurately emulate spot colours, easily and reliably. There is automatic conversion of spot colours (originating in standard libraries or measured from physical samples) to process builds. It eases proofing difficulties by accurately presenting press colour at the proofing stage. It also allows printers to offer customers more colour options than before, designers can specify dozens of spot colors in a single file, increasing the impact of their printed materials.
Also new from Creo on the stand was a Magnus Very Large Format CTP, a new Prinergy Version 2.3 PDF prepress workflow, new Prinergy Evo, a more affordable PDF workflow solution for small commercial, packaging and newspaper printers, new Synapse UpFront 3.0 production planning software, new Synapse InSite 4.0 internet portal into prepress, and new Synapse Link version 2.0 which features new prepress event data tracking options by job part.
Other innovative approaches from Creo included the Creo Complete Solutions for small and medium size commercial printers: a family of full solutions that includes CTP, workflow, thermal plates, proofing and service, and brings together all of Creo’s leading technologies into very affordable, turnkey solutions that help the printer benefit quickly from moving to a computer-to-plate environment.
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