CTP FIELD REPORTS -- Set to Compete

Quality in platemaking meant going with a system that produces a hard dot even without baking. "Plus, the plates come out clean and in perfect register, ready to go on-press. Our press operators love the digitally imaged plates," he reports.

The payoff in prepress has come in terms of cost savings and workflow speed. "We eliminated a proofing person by going to digital proofing and eliminated a full-time platemaker with the platesetter. Our Mac operators handle the complete CTP system; we have five or six operators all trained to run the platesetter. They were ready to roll with two days of training," Blasing says.