PLATESETTING SYSTEMS -- Generation Gap in CTP

"Our experience is that the need for automation is binary—printers either have the plate volume that demands automation or they do not," says Presstek's O'Rourke. "An exception can occur when the price point for automation moves downward with second generation systems."

"If a small printer is making very few plates every day, what's important is the initial capital investment," says Kodak's McLean. "Bigger shops want to produce more plates faster with fewer employees, so the trend is always to increase automation."