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KODAK POLYCHROME GRAPHICS
NEWSTEC 2005, BRIGHTON 23rd – 25th MAY 2005
STAND 2010 HALL 1
KODAK POLYCHROME GRAPHICS LAUNCHES THE QUICKBAKE OVEN
Antony, France, 18 April 2005 - Kodak Polychrome Graphics (KPG) has announced the European launch of the KPG QuickBake Oven, which is designed for use with its DITP Gold Printing Plates used in heatset web and other long run applications. The new oven provides KPG customers with a range of benefits, including lower running costs, more even and consistent baking, reduced plate deformation and a significantly smaller footprint compared to other systems.
Like most printing plates the run length of DITP Gold Printing Plates is considerably lengthened when post baked. This makes possible runs in excess of one million impressions (subject to press conditions). In some cases this can be achieved with only a partial bake, which speeds up the process. In addition, post baked plates show excellent solvent resistance on press, with no adverse effects on the ink/water balance, demonstrating exceptional performance despite the fact that no pre-bake solution is used for in-line installations (for off-line applications pre-bake is required).
The QuickBake Oven brings benefits to anyone baking KPG DITP Gold plates, including printers currently using a conventional post bake oven who wish to upgrade in order to reduce running costs or footprint size, printers who are experiencing distortion problems with large baked plates and heatset web offset printers looking for plate security and longevity. The new QuickBake Oven is also aimed at sheet-fed printers requiring plates to handle long runs, particularly if printing FM screens, or plates to be used with UV inks.
The QuickBake Oven is available in two formats - 1250, which takes plates up to 1,250 mm in width, and 1550, which accepts plates up to 1,550 mm in width. A version is also available for VLF KBA applications. The KPG oven is extremely simple to operate, requiring minimal operator intervention, while its robust construction ensures reliability and accuracy. The footprint of the plate processing line for the DITP Gold Printing Plate can be reduced by up to 50 per cent, because the wash gum and rinse gum units are no longer needed.
Other benefits include lower power consumption for comparable plates baked with conventional post bake ovens, plus a reduction in chemical usage and the elimination of water. Running costs can be reduced by over 20 per cent when compared to conventional post bake ovens. The KPG oven does not require pre-bake solution to be added, only standard 850S finisher, and allows plates to be processed more quickly through the line at up to speeds of 1.5 metres per minute. The recommended speed is 1.3m/min.
The KPG QuickBake Oven uses a carefully controlled combination of heat and infrared radiation, from short wave infrared lamps, to achieve a full or partial bake with excellent consistency. To achieve optimum uniformity, a temperature probe maintains close control over the ambient temperature within the oven, even when the oven is not in use. Two extraction fans, controlled separately by the PCB, extract heat and fumes from four areas within the oven, ensuring uniform baking time after time. The equipment must be connected to an external extraction system.
On exit from the oven, plates are allowed to cool in such a way that the possibility of deformation is minimised. The cool plates are then conveyed into the gum section, before being dried on both sides, ready for the press.
About Kodak Polychrome Graphics
Kodak Polychrome Graphics provides one of the broadest portfolios of digital, conventional and business solutions available in the graphic arts industry today. Products and services include a wide range of computer-to-plate and conventional lithographic plate products, digital halftone, virtual, inkjet, and analog proofing products, digital printing applications, color workflow tools, business solutions and Kodak branded graphic arts films. With headquarters in Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, KPG serves customers around the globe with regional offices in the United States, Europe, Japan, Asia Pacific and Latin America. Additional information regarding Kodak Polychrome Graphics may be found on the company's website: www.kpgraphics.com.
For further information please contact:
Pat Holloway, Kodak Polychrome Graphics
Tel: +44 (0) 1923 655799
PR contacts:
Sarah Wadsworth / Yasmin Holzkamm / Katie Watson
Telephone: +44 (0) 1372 464470
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