COMPUTER-TO-PLATE -- CTP Editions

Since the leading publication printers typically have past the halfway point in converting to CTP production, it seemed like a good time to see how some are standing up to the test.

The Banta Publications Group (BPG) installed its first digital platesetter in 1997. Today, about 60 percent of the work at its Kansas City plant is CTP based, and the usage rate for its Long Prairie, MN, operation is closer to 50 percent, reports Patrick J. Aho, prepress superintendent. He believes the introduction of thermal plate technology and effective copy-dot scanning were key enabling technologies for the use of CTP by publication printers.