Technical Information

On the journey toward higher precision, greater efficiency, and more sustainable development in the printing industry, the plate-making stage has always served as a crucial link—connecting the past with the future. As numerous printing companies choose among the dazzling array of CTP (Computer-to-Plate) equipment available, one well-known name—Kodak—often finds itself at the center of attention with its CTP solutions.

So, what exactly are the core technologies that enable Kodak CTP to stand out in the fiercely competitive market? Why have its square-spot technology, intelligent environmental compensation system, and revolutionary wash-free plates become industry benchmarks? This article will delve into these key advantages, shedding light on the powerful foundations behind Kodak CTP technology.

 

I. Core Technology: Square Spot Laser Imaging Technology (SQUAREspot)

Even energy distribution: The energy distribution of a traditional circular laser spot follows a Gaussian distribution—strong at the center and weak at the edges—resulting in blurred edges in the imaging pattern. In contrast, the energy of a square light spot is highly uniformly distributed across the entire irradiation area.

Sharp edge of the halftone dots: The uniform energy ensures that the edges of the halftone dots formed in imaging are exceptionally sharp and clear. This directly leads to:

More accurate spot reproduction: It can more reliably achieve fine-frequency modulation printing (such as 20 micrometers).

Lower dot gain: During the printing process, the dot size changes less, and the color is more stable.

Faster ink-water balance: After the printing press is started, only 5–10 test sheets are needed to achieve stable ink-water balance (traditional techniques may require more than 15 sheets), significantly reducing waste during startup and saving time and material costs.

Stable imaging quality: The square light-spot technology ensures highly consistent imaging quality across printing plates produced at different times and on different devices.

II. Intelligent Environmental Compensation System: Ensuring Production Stability and Precision

 

The environment of the printing workshop—such as fluctuations in temperature and humidity, and variations in plate flatness—greatly affects the accuracy of plate-making. Kodak CTP effectively addresses these challenges through its advanced intelligent compensation system:

1. Dynamic Focusing System:

A low-energy laser is used to measure the distance from the surface of the printing plate to the laser head in real time and with high precision.

The laser focus is automatically adjusted in real time, ensuring that the laser remains precisely focused even when there are minor irregularities on the surface of the plate.

2. Temperature compensation system:

Automatically monitors and compensates for thermal expansion and contraction of the printing plate caused by changes in ambient temperature.

Ensure that the registration accuracy of printing plates output at different times and even on different devices can be stably controlled within ±10 micrometers (about one-seventh the diameter of a human hair), thereby meeting the demands of high-precision printing.

3. High-precision roller and magnetic suction system:

The printing plate is securely held in place on the high-speed rotating cylinder by a powerful magnetic system (capable of reaching speeds up to 200 revolutions per minute).

Ensure a smooth plate-making process and support the use of high-line screen printing (such as 175 lines) on lightly coated paper.

4. Distributed Plate-Making Consistency:

Multiple Kodak CTP devices can work together to produce different color plates for the same print job.

The system ensures consistent registration accuracy across all devices, with errors kept within ±40 microns, significantly enhancing production efficiency and flexibility, especially for large-format prints or high-load applications.

III. Revolutionary Environmental Technology: Tengri Wash-Free Printing Plates

Kodak’s Thermal CTP (Computer-to-Plate) technology represents a major breakthrough in the field of environmentally friendly printing, addressing the challenges of pollution, cost, and operational complexity associated with traditional chemical processing for plate making.

1. Core technical principle:

The plate coating uses a unique, ultra-thin, single-layer resin with non-hydrophilic particles at a dosage of 0.9 g/m².

After CTP laser exposure, the resin in the exposed area undergoes a cross-linking reaction, forming a strong, oil-loving image and text area.

No chemical cleaning required: The unexposed resin in the non-image areas is completely removed during the first 5–10 sheets of run-off, thanks to the mechanical shearing action exerted by the fountain solution and ink as the press starts up.

2. Core Advantages:

Completely eliminate the chemical rinsing step: No need for plate processors, developer solutions, replenishing solutions, or their maintenance.

Zero wastewater discharge: Completely eliminates the challenges of treating chemical effluent and prevents environmental pollution.

Significantly reduce costs:

Enhance production stability and efficiency:

High Quality and Durability: Excellent imaging quality with a print endurance of over 200,000 impressions, meeting a wide range of needs—including short-run UV printing.

Compliant with environmental certifications: Helps printing companies obtain various environmental certifications, such as the Austrian National Environmental Label.

Case Study on Actual Benefits (Taking a Certain Printing Plant as an Example):

Annual savings on plate-making machine maintenance costs are approximately 90,000 yuan.

Daily savings: 95 liters of developer + 250 liters of water + 168 kWh of electricity.

For every 10,000 square meters of printing plates produced, savings are: 800 kWh of electricity + 180,000 liters of water.

Completely eliminates the annual disposal issue of 1,300 liters of waste developer solution.

4. A comprehensive product lineup meets diverse needs.

Kodak offers a CTP product line that covers a wide range of needs, ensuring that printing plants of different sizes and business types can find the right solution for their requirements.

Quansheng Series: Known for their cost-effectiveness and reliability, these machines meet the needs of mainstream printing plants (e.g., the Quansheng 800 series, which can achieve a sheet-fed speed of up to 30 sheets per hour).

Chao Sheng Series: Highly automated, featuring even higher production efficiency and significantly reduced energy consumption (for example, the Chao Sheng Q800 consumes 80% less energy than comparable products).

Magnus Q4800 Ultra: Designed for ultra-large-format and extremely high-production-demand applications, this CTP can handle printing plates up to 1.6 x 2.87 meters in size. It is the world’s only CTP capable of simultaneously processing two 1.65-meter-wide printing plates. Featuring an exceptionally high degree of automation, it has been awarded the Pinnacle InterTech Prize.

ACHIEVE System: Designed specifically for emerging markets or customers seeking integrated solutions, this system includes a complete package featuring plate-making machines, workflow software, and plates.

This is precisely why Kodak CTP continues to earn the trust of numerous printing companies worldwide. Choosing Kodak CTP means opting for high precision, exceptional stability, superior efficiency, and future-proof sustainability.

After all, in an era of thin margins, the true winning strategy lies in technologies that can simultaneously generate both financial returns and positive word-of-mouth. And Kodak’s CTP is precisely paving the way for an increasing number of printing plants to achieve this win-win outcome.