Technological innovation. Direct to plate technology within reach of the printer

Nowadays the procurement of printing plates using C-t-P technology is one of the more topical aspects posed to printing companies. There are overwhelming arguments in favor of this technology by the companies interested to incorporate it as a function of the necessities of production. According to official statistics at the end of 1998 about 2000 companies all over the world worked with CtP technology. Recently, on the occasion of a preprint open door visit organized by the supply firm OMCsur SA, Graficas had visited the installations of Imprenta Escandon SA of Seville, Spain, founded 38 years ago. Like most companies in Spain, this company has evolved along the lines of business, technology, and creation of jobs. The company is active in the industrial zone of Nuevo Calonge de Sevilla, employing 35 persons in the preprint, print, and finishing departments in an area of 4,000 square meters. In 1995, the company installed a fourcolor 100 Komori Lithrone 70 by 100 sheet offset press and now has installed a 70 by 100 five-color Komori Lithrone 540,. With respect to the ink supply, the company has a centralized system of tanks from which the inks go directly to the inkwells of each print head. The company also has four 50 by 70 print heads. About 1,000 plates per month were used before installation of the new Komori and now 1,500-2,000 plates are used from CtP. The company has orders in Andalusia, in the rest of Spain, and in Cuba. The production base involves magazines, posters, pamphlets, and advertising. The company is in the vanguard of the Andalusian graphics industry.