The sun rises first on Agfa's :Advantage
New Zealand printer Printcorp recently installed a full Agfa computer-to-plate prepress system, including the latest Advantage DL platesetter and Arkitex automated workflow. The move to fully-digital newspaper production is a first for printing a daily newspaper in New Zealand and, because of its close proximity to the international dateline, Printcorp's is the first newspaper CTP device to go in to action as each day dawns. The installation is also a milestone for Agfa - the Advantage is its first in the southern hemisphere.
Printcorp is located in Tauranga (about three hours east of Auckland) and is well established as a web offset printer, having originally set up in 1984 as Sunprint. It is now part of major trans-Tasman newspaper publishing group APN News and Media. Utilising two web offset presses (a Goss Community and a Goss C150 with online oven for heatset work) the company produces 40 to 50 print jobs each week, including two broadsheet daily newspapers - The Bay of Plenty Times and The Rotorua Post; 17 weekly and one bi-weekly publication.
Agfa's Arkitex automated digital workflow (including Newsdrive, :Pair and :Imposer) operates the front-end of Printcorp's new system running N91V plates through an Advantage DL violet platesetter (with a 30-speed upgrade) and VSP 85 plate processor.
For Printcorp general manager George Murcott (pictured above evaluating Agfa's digital plates with prepress coordinator Martin), there was one major reason for leaving their imagesetter, film, and analogue plates behind for CTP.
"The simple answer is financial,” he says. “It is very hard to ignore the rapid return this choice offers to the business. Customers will see an improved printed product as previously-required steps are removed from the plate-making process to create efficiencies in the production process.”
“These efficiencies speak volumes to a daily newspaper by providing opportunities to extend or advance deadlines that can be used to capture more up-to-date news or, alternatively, extend the selling period,” explains Murcott. “For example, we are saving 20 minutes out of a process that previously took 45 minutes - leading up to good press copies.”
Before installing Agfa's newspaper-specific Arkitex software, Printcorp used a number of systems to handle their workflow. “Employing the new software avoided necessary upgrades to the existing systems,” explains Murcott. The Arkitex system integrates equipment and production tasks - from advertising and editorial to press - and uses advanced production and communications technologies such as PDF, JDF and XML, to deliver data transmission. For Murcott it was a 'necessary solution', providing better page management, more opportunity for client control, and a high-level of product confidence because of its supplier-support.
The Advantage platesetter features violet imaging technology, the newspaper industry standard, providing low operational costs and convenient bright yellow, safe-light working conditions. The device has a small footprint and has been designed with as few moving parts as possible to reduce maintenance requirements. It can be configured for multiple plate sizes without needing customisation, and can use different plates on a day-to-day basis, with resolutions ranging from 1000 dpi to 1800 dpi. Plates are loaded directly into the Advantage DL model (cassette-loading :Advantage models are also available).
Printcorp's Advantage DL includes a 30+ speed upgrade, increasing production throughput by approximately thirty percent (a 60+ speed upgrade is also available for the Advantage). With the speed upgrade, Printcorp can produce approximately 49 panorama plates (889mm x 586mm) at 1200 dpi compared to about 37 panorama plates per hour using a standard :Advantage DL model. For single broadsheet plates the speed upgrade boosts production from approximately 74 plates per hour to 98 plates. Although good plate production speeds were achievable before the CTP installation, the process was more labour-intensive (typically-requiring two experienced prepress staff).
The installation of the platesetter was smooth. According to Grant MacFarlane, Agfa's key account manager for newspapers in New Zealand, the machine arrived at Printcorp on a Monday in mid-January and was producing test plates the following day. “The first live plates to be produced were on the Friday morning for 'The Bay of Plenty Times'. Three weeks on, the machine had produced 2,200 plates with both dailies fully over to the platesetter as well as a large amount of their other work.”
For Murcott, the move to CTP has been very valuable. “The process is simple, reliable and backed by strong technical support,” he explains. “To be honest, CTP solutions can only improve as you remove processes - creating efficiencies and improved quality control. The Advantage system meets our requirements and has almost halved our production times.“
Printcorp is located in Tauranga (about three hours east of Auckland) and is well established as a web offset printer, having originally set up in 1984 as Sunprint. It is now part of major trans-Tasman newspaper publishing group APN News and Media. Utilising two web offset presses (a Goss Community and a Goss C150 with online oven for heatset work) the company produces 40 to 50 print jobs each week, including two broadsheet daily newspapers - The Bay of Plenty Times and The Rotorua Post; 17 weekly and one bi-weekly publication. 
Printcorp's Advantage DL includes a 30+ speed upgrade, increasing production throughput by approximately thirty percent (a 60+ speed upgrade is also available for the Advantage). With the speed upgrade, Printcorp can produce approximately 49 panorama plates (889mm x 586mm) at 1200 dpi compared to about 37 panorama plates per hour using a standard :Advantage DL model. For single broadsheet plates the speed upgrade boosts production from approximately 74 plates per hour to 98 plates. Although good plate production speeds were achievable before the CTP installation, the process was more labour-intensive (typically-requiring two experienced prepress staff).