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August 1, 2008 — Troika Systems Limited, Highworth, a UK company at the forefront of innovative development for print-based quality control products, has announced the official release of the latest version of its Plate-II-Print flexographic quality control system software, as previewed at the recent Drupa exhibition in Germany.
This latest software release now allows “press fingerprinting” of the individual colours on the press, plate to press characterisation, and film/mask to the plate characterisation.
Press fingerprinting, or characterisation, is an essential part of quality control for all printers. It allows the printer to systematically check for where changes occur and quickly identify what has happened, allowing the printer to quickly rectify any issues.
Furthermore, the new software allows the characterisation data to be sent directly into the plate-making RIP, or the RIP on the proofing device, for RIP characterisation. It also has the ability to check the dot quality on printed output, providing printers with the opportunity to check on-press plate performance.
Too often plate or press problems result in costly, non profitable press time which often results in debate between the printer and the plate manufacturer or the printer and his customer. Plate-II-Print was designed to help the printer to get to the core of the problem and allow him to rectify it much faster than in the past.
“Plate-II-Print is so easy-to-use and affordable that several flexo plate trade-houses have said it is worth providing the system to their larger customers to help eliminate disputes,” said Phil Hall. “Certainly such a device would pay for itself in that kind of situation very quickly.” The flexo Plate-II-Print sells for just €3,600.
This exceptionally powerful tool was very well received at Drupa 2008 with several units being purchased off the stand even though the new software was a beta release. The final version of the software is now available with immediate effect.
Commenting on the latest enhancement to the Plate-II-Print device, Phil Hall, Managing Director of Troika Systems, said: “This latest release further enhances the capabilities of Plate-II-Print for flexographic printers. One key factor for a quality control device is the ability to read all around a sheet of plate or print, which the Plate-II-Print can do, meaning that measurements can be taken virtually anywhere in the production environment. Resolution is important for the digital image; the Plate-II-Print offers a maximum resolution of 42,000 dots per inch. But possibly the most important point is that, using modern technology, the price of such a powerful quality assurance tool is now around half of what it was 3-5 years ago, and is very viable for most printers and plate-makers.”
Introduced in 2007, the hand held flexo Plate-II-Print is an inexpensive tool for flexographic printers to check both plate quality and print quality quickly and efficiently. Its introduction completed a trilogy of quality control products designed and manufactured by Troika Systems for the flexographic sector of the printing industry, joining the FlexoCAM – a high-quality instrument for checking the fine detail of a flexographic plate – and the AniCAM – a quality control instrument for measuring the volume of cells on anilox cylinders.
The Troika Quality Control Product Line-Up
NEW: GravureCAM
The company received a strong demand from distributors and dealers for a device with the ability to read chrome gravure cylinders. The challenges for measuring gravure cells are different to those addressed so successfully by AniCAM, and new software for gravure analysis has been developed by Troika Systems. Based on similar camera technology as the AniCAM unit, GravureCAM is now in operation at beta sites in Europe and USA. Production units are scheduled for release during Q3 2008.
NEW: IntaglioCAM
Security printing is a specialist market. To cope with the special requirements associated with the security print market Troika Systems has developed IntaglioCAM. This product is a mono censored, high speed, camera with three times higher resolution compared to Troika Systems flagship camera, the AniCAM.
AniCAM
AniCAM is a quality control instrument for measuring the volume of cells on anilox cylinders. The product is now proving itself to be the worldwide market leader in anilox volume measurement, and is fast becoming the standard by which other devices are compared.
FlexoCAM
FlexoCAM is a 3D quality control tool for evaluating the flexographic plate, film and mask, and the printed sheet. On the plate, the relief and dot shape can be checked with out having to destroy the plate by cutting out a slice of the material. Dot percentage, screen rulings and angles can all be measured, either on a flat plate or on the cylinder.
LithoCAM / LithoCAM Lite
LithoCAM and LithoCAM Lite continue to be popular measuring equipment within the lithographic printing arena, with many leading computer-to-plate system manufacturers using these products to ensure continued plate production quality.
For further information on Troika Systems quality control products visit the www.troika-systems.com web site.
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