Pros and Cons of Pre-, Post- and No-bake Plates

BY MOLLY W. JOSS

Here's a riddle for you: It's not cake batter, it's not cookie dough, but you still have to bake it to get the most enjoyment out of it. What is it? To some the answer will be obvious: it's a printing plate.

Even if you didn't guess the answer to the riddle, you may still find yourself deriving enjoyment—or at least increased print runs and other benefits—from baking digital plates. Depending upon the plate and the print job it's intended for, you stand to gain significant production advantages by using a plate that requires baking either before or after imaging. You can also derive benefits from plates that require baking for longer print runs. If you'd rather leave the baking to bakers, you can find some plates on the market today that do not require baking at all.