Massive Fairfax CTP win for Fujifilm signed off

The machines will be divided between the company’s Australian and New Zealand sites and the deal represents the second major order for Krause technology in the region. According to Warren Hinder, GSA national newspaper specialist, the contract was signed two weeks ago and will see four of the units go into Chullora in Sydney, two to Newcastle and eight to New Zealand.

The Fairfax contract is one of the last of the major newspaper CTP opportunities representing up to 400,000 square metres of plates per year. (Agfa has The Age contract in Melbourne.) The Krause machines will image FujiFilm LPNV plates.

Hinder maintains the production capacity and dependability of the large Krause LS-Jet 300 machines was the deciding factor in winning the deal. “We are outputting 250 plates per hour per machine, which at Chullora gives them 1,000 per hours at peak times. Because of the number of machines it also provides secure redundancy, although Krause is well known throughout Europe for its reliability.”

The eight New Zealand, along with the Newcastle Herald machines, are the smaller, 90 plates per hour, LS-Jet Eco. They will be divided between Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland and Waikato. The roll out is scheduled to be complete by April 2007.

The Fairfax deal comes hard on the heels of Krause’s win with five machines into APN News and Media plants in Australia. According to Stefan Beke-Bramkamp, Krause, it proves the company’s technology is suited to local conditions. “For us, Australia and New Zealand is a very significant market and we are pleased that our Australian customers realise that Krause CTP systems are an alternative.”

GSA, a division of IPP Print& Pack, has been sold to FujiFilm Australia. It handles the Krause agency along with the much larger FujiFilm business. www.print21.com.au The Fairfax win could not have come at a better time for Peter Carrigan and his team as they make the transition next month.