FolgerGraphics Invests in Fujifilm Platemaking Solution

From left to right are Maria Guerrero, FolgerGraphics (FG) operations manager; Kirk Folger, VP of sales, Matt Mahoney, Fujifilm sales manager; Dick Folger, FG president; Matthew Revak, FG prepress manager; Dennis Siegrist, Fujifilm western regional sales director; and Tom Jansen, FG general manager.

HAYWARD, Calif. — June 22, 2017 — “It looks like just a bunch of beige boxes, but what a miracle machine it is inside!” So said Dick Folger, president of FolgerGraphics. (FG) When he started printing back in 1959 his platemaker consisted of a glass plate, some foam rubber, a plywood board and two C-clamps. He would place a film mask over an unexposed plate, clamp it under the glass and set it out in the sunlight for a few minutes. The exposed plate was then hand developed.

Today, more than half a century later, FolgerGraphics occupies two buildings on a three acre site in Hayward, Calif. Running three shifts with 43 employees, FolgerGraphics specializes in printing, publications and visual media services. “We’ve come a long way since 1959,” Dick Folger grinned.

The Fujifilm thermal CtP solution with auto plate handling now does Dick Folger's platemaking automatically and at a speed of 23 plates per hour.

On opening day for the new machine, Fujifilm reps came to join FG management for the maiden run.

Plates load into cassettes which then auto-load into the Javelin thermal platemaker. The exposed plate is then fed into the processor and into the stacker. FolgerGraphics uses four sizes of plates. Web press plates are 23x35; the Heidelberg 102 plate is 26x40; the Heidelberg CD74 plate is 23x29. Small press plates are also processed by the Javelin.