Presstek Inc.

Pull up a chair! Welcome to Printing Impressions' round-table discussion of the status, the direction and the promise of thermal computer-to-plate (CTP). Technology providers, ranging from thermal CTP's marketing-savvy pioneer Creo Products—whose campaign with Kodak ignited the industry's thermal frenzy—to an array of other world-class thermal technology suppliers, will debate the merits of thermal CTP today, address the technology's weaknesses on the consumables front and wager predictions for thermal CTP's next 100 days. Where do you think thermal CTP is headed, and when will your organization reap its full, processless potential? Time will tell. For now, let's join the discussion . . . When

What's happening in the world of digital halftone proofing? With new devices from Creo, Polaroid, Presstek, Screen and other technology innovators deep into beta testing and beyond, a number of commercial printers and prepress firms are taking note of the growing digital halftone proofing market. While digital halftone proofing may not be for everyone, it is proving itself a viable technology for consideration in digital environments, such as direct-to-plate prepress departments. In this focus on the emergence of digital halftone proofing, Printing Impressions offers a resource for your firm's continued evaluation of this color proofing movement. United Lithograph, of Somerville, MA,

Be it expanding the performance of a conventional CTP site or capitalizing on thermal CTP, this sampling of digital prepress pioneers runs the gamut. As technologies for improving computer-to-plate performance continue to test the mettle of the most ingenious of today's commercial printers, the question raised seems more a statement of logic than a much-pondered, genuine inquiry. How good is CTP? Whether the direction is a conventional CTP route, with investments in a team of platesetting devices and digital proofers, or a thermal CTP focus capitalizing on the proliferation of thermal plates and growing volume of thermal platesetting devices, one factor seems clear: CTP