PRINTING PLATE UPDATE -- New Precious Metal

Matters were made worse for plate manufacturers by Alcoa's decision to exit the litho aluminum market, says John O'Rourke, director of CTP products at Presstek Inc. "The net result of Alcoa's departure is we have to manage our supply chain much more diligently," he explains.

O'Rourke sees this situation as analogous to the crude oil market. "It's a commodity product that has a standardized global price and availability," he says.